My first attempt at a wood handle on a Talon steelhead blank. I glued up the pieces and Mark Blabaum was kind enough to turn it down and finish it (hiding some of my mistakes along the way). Thanks a bunch Mark, I'll get a lathe someday. Used maple, padauk, and walnut. I tried to match the crosswrap to the handle.
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Part of a weaving demo for the Oct. 30th Chicago gathering. Still needs to be tightened and rolled.
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Musky weave done on a weaving jig constucted(poorly)from plans provided by Jim Upton in Rodmaker Vol 9 issue 3. 90 total threads wrapped by 158 turns. All size A thread, measures out at approx. 33 X 20 mm
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Rainshadow SW967F with combination EVA and woven aluminum grips and Alps aluminum trigger reel seat. Sweet ride.
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Modified 8 point star.
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Maybe Billy, one way for sure to find out...
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Hello, I'm hosting a gathering of rod builders at my home in the Chicago suburbs. The gathering will be on Saturday November 8th, starting at 10:00 am. There is no cost to attend, all I ask is that you bring some of your work and a willingness to share tips and tricks. These gatherings have always been a good time and I'm looking forward to this one. If you are interested in attending, sen
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Sorry you can't make it Bill, I'll check the football schedule before I plan the next one. Glad you are in Mark, I will have a talk with my dad lol!
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I am hosting a gathering of rodbuilders at my house in the suburbs of Chicago on November 9th 2013. We will start at about 10:00 in the morning and end sometime late afternoon. There is no fee to attend, I only ask that you bring some of your work. If you are interested in attending please contact me at dmakauskas@gmai&
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I built a 9' Fiberstar SB1087, Predator series, very happy with it. It has a good feel and will cast your 2 oz with no problem (just check my neighbor's tree). It is rated 1-4 but loads easy so you can fish something lighter if you need to.
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I'm glad Talon will be there, great blanks. It will be good to see Jean again also.
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I'm about to glue a set on, they look awesome. Congrats Bill!!
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I had to replace a silicon nitride top because it grooved with braided wire, the rod now has a SIC top.
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I had a great time, thanks to everyone for coming, some from quite a distance. Always a fun time swapping stories and building ideas. Thanks to Billy for offering tips and tricks on his day off. Already looking forward to the next one. I wish Whitey left some of the pork for the rest of us! Lol
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Hello, I'm hosting a gathering of rodbuilders at my house in the suburbs of Chicago on Sunday October 28th. We will start at about 10:00 am and go until late afternoon/early evening. I've met some great people and learned quite a bit at previous gatherings and I'm looking forward to more of the same. There is no charge to attend. Please contact me for directions and details. d
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Since Lance took Vegas, I'll take Tulsa, Oklahoma
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Talon graphite has travel/multipiece in both spinning and fly. They also have blanks not in the cataloge or on the website, give them a call if you don't see what you want. Talon-graphite.com
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It was great to see Jim and Denny again and a pleasure to meet Darin. I had a bunch of laughs at the booth and l'm already planning my first Seeker build, now if I can just cast like Darin. Dan
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John, It was great to see the offerings from Talon and a hang out with you and Jean. That was big fun and I'm already looking forward to next year. Dan
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No problem, I've done both simple and revolver style on 2-piece rods and have no issues. I have a set of rods set up as simple spirals with the bumper guide as the last guide on the bottom section. They work fine and you can turn the top section over and it becomes a guides on top rod by not using the bumper guide. Makes it really easy to show the difference between a conventional and a spiral
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Thanks to all that attended. I had a good time as always and the day just blew by. It is always cool to see new things and learn a little but the people are the main reason to do this every year. No question I'm a better builder since I started attending these type of gatherings and I know for sure I've had a incredible amount of fun, two great reasons to keep doing this. And also, the chee
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I feel your pain! Uneven thread finish was something I fought with for a long time. What worked for me was adjusting the temperature in my work space. The room where I would do my work would normally be between 60-65F and I had many problems. I started warming the room up to about 75F and my results improved quite a bit. Give it a try.
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MMMMMM.... I love cheese curds.
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Hello, There is still some room for the Oct. 29th rodbuilder gathering in the Chicago Suburbs. Topics to be covered include crosswraps, weaves, and aluminum tubing for handles. Other items can be added if there is interest. I've met some great people this way and the day always flys by so I would encourage anyone who has an interest to send me an email: dmaka
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I'm going to host a gathering of rodbuilders on Saturday October 29th starting at 10:00 am. The gathering will be at my house in the western suburbs of Chicago. I've done this for the last couple of years and it has been a lot of fun every time. If you would like to attend, please send me an email ([email protected]) and I'll put you on the list for details and directions. Looking forwar
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I had the same problem and I don't think it's exclusive to Pac Bay. A while back someone posted on using rubberbands to solve this . I now leave the butt cap off and put a rubber band snugly on either the blank or a piece of scrap in the rod butt. I found the thick 1/4" wide ones solved the problem for me. One warning: if the band is uneven, the rod may not spin true. So if you are goi
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Getting back to the topic.... With the issues I have with thread finish, I think Ralph O'Quinn is a must see.
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Jim, I tried incorporting a weave into the bottom layer of the tiger. I was going for a "fish in water" kind of look. I looks ok, but my finish was lumpy in the first layer and I'd probably change my color selections. There is room for improvement but I've never gotten back to it.
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Looking forward to it Mark. Weather looks good, it will be a good time.
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The wooden grip guy is awesome. Especially when he's motivated lol!.
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