I have aquired a good amount of Yew wood in rough planks that has been aged for 10 years. Is there a use for Yew for reel seat inserts? Thanks, Jeff Hunter
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Doc, Todd and Bob, thanks for the reply. I still can't see anything past two posts on the West Coast.... thread. I'll get ahold of Jennife or Kendra. Thanks again and looking forward to see everyone Jeff Hunter
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Greetings all, I had posted this question with my comments on the West Coast Rod Show thread but this morning all but the first two posts seem to be gone. Might have been some well thought out editing on Tom's part. Or maybe its just something on my end. My queston has to do with the annual Lamiglas get together. Does anyone know if someone has taken that on now that Todd has moved on? I did a
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Unfortunately, I had to miss the Saturday portion of the event this year. I was able to take part in the Build Your Own Blank program that Todd Vivian from Lamiglas generously puts on. It was incredibly educational to see how a blank is made from a sheet of graphite to the end product. Todd and the crew from Lamiglas did a great job getting us through this process. During the afternoon some of th
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Shawn, almost everyone here is giving you very good advice. I wasn't sold on the spriral wrap at all until I built one. Now 100% of my saltwater rods are spiral wrapped and most of my river casting rods are too. Emory is right, the bias runs both ways. Those of us who like the spiral probably dismiss the conventionally wrapped rod a little too quickly. It simply comes down to what you like to fis
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Tim, just out of curiosity,why are you wanting to stay away from using the Permagloss? I tried it on a couple of guides on a broken blank and then "tied" the rod. It happened to be a Batson XST and it is a great look for that blank. I have attempted the white silk in the past and I won't do it again. I've seen some beautiful work with silk. Nothing wrong with the process, it just isn't
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I just checked the Tacoma store in Washinton and they don't know anything about it. Must not have made it all the way to the West coast. Jeff Hunter
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Thanks Tom. Looking forward to seeing this in action. Jeff Hunter
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I probably just missed it but has there been a post regarding the big announcement pertaining to teaching rod building that Tom was talking about before the show? Thanks, Jeff Hunter
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Here in the Pacific NW spey rods are becoming quite popular. On some of our larger rivers you will see quite a contingent of spey rodders out whenever the fish are in. Oregon has a spey conclave every year and while spey fishing certainly hasn't come close to eclipsing traditional fly rod fishing, it is becoming more common and seems to be growing at a fairly steady pace. As for price, there are
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Speaking of a rubrail, there has been some discussion about this in the past. The idea of replacing the bumber guide with some sort of sheathing to protect the rod finish seems like a great idea. Has anyone tried anything along these lines that they really like? I've wondered about a short half round of titanium or the like but was thinking that it may have an effect on the rod action. Although m
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This technique really caught my eye when I got my copy of RM. While I enjoy reading all of the posts above, I think some, maybe me, are missiing the point. This is not for everyone or for every rod. Just as complicated weaves are not for everyone or every rod. However this is something new that will definately cause a few more rods to be sold. Is it going to be a huge thing in the custom rod buil
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I've built 2 of these, a 4-8 and an 8-12. Have only fished the 8-12 but both are very nice. The color is very unique but the feel of these blanks is what impressed me the most. You wouldn't be disappointed in one. Jeff Hunter
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Thanks Tom, that must be where the rumor originated. Jeff Hunter
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I heard a rumor today from someone in the Woodland area that Gary Loomis has started manufacturing rods or blanks again under a different name. Sounds a little far fetched to me but have any of you heard anything about this? Jeff Hunter
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Paul, do you have a source for the Raven blanks? I searched some of the sponsors and searched on line but haven't had any luck yet. Thanks, Jeff Hunter
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Danny, if you're building rods for customers or people other than yourself, how are they going to check out your guide alignment? 100% of the time they're going to look down the length of the rod from the butt end. If the alignment looks right to you from that viewpoint, it's going to look right to them too. Assuming of course that your tip and reel seat are lined up and the guides line up with t
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Billy, it must be an East coast vs. left coast thing. Doesn't seem silly over here. Actually the Rodbond for lube works as well but the shaving get takes about 1/10th of the time to clean off the blank. I've used both ways and the gel works better for me. Jeff Hunter
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I don't remember where I learned this but I put the Rodbond just in the area that needs adhesive. Then I use a small amount of gel shaving lotion from where the grip first "grabs" the blank down to the top of the Rodbond. It takes a very small amount. Twist the grip so that all of the inside gets gel on it and slide it into place. I was told that it does not affect the Rodbond holding t
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You're right on Spencer. I didn't want to trash the rods too badly. Seems to be pretty typical of the new Shiloomis. Jeff Hunter
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I don't know how common this is.....I was down at Angler's Workshop a few weeks ago and saw a factory rod tied with recoil guides. A couple of the guides looked "off" and I mentioned it to the guy from AW. He took the rod and showed us how you can't straighten the guides if they are bent at all. It appeared that a couple of theses guides should have been scrapped instead of being used.
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Jim, I just picked up an 1141 and an 1143 in the XST. I just got home from chasing silvers up in Batson's back yard and haven't had a chance to build either one of them up yet. They do feel very nice and the color is outstanding. I won't try to describe it as it is hard to convey. Think titanium. I can't answer your question about how they'll fish, but they feel and look outstanding as blanks.
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James, IMO it is always better to use foam or cork as a shim under reel seats. Having said that, and I know there are many who disagree with this, until about 2 years ago, I used tape exclusively for my reel seat shims. I've been building for over 25 years and have only had one reel seat failure and it was an adhesive problem. I still use tape at times and I'm am very confident in it's properties
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Ole, I'm not yet a two-handed caster but I have built several rods on these blanks. The first couple I built for a buddy because to be honest, the price had me a little worried about the quality. I built the 7/8 and an 8/9. My buddy has been casting two-handers for quite some time. I have built a couple of Sage two-handers for him and he really liked them. After casting the Forecast 7/8, he wante
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Thanks Andy, I'll get it measured up and get back to you. Jeff
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I have a repair job that I can't find a tip for. What I'm looking for is a a black frame with a the old style mint green ring. There is a a black insert inside the mint green ring. These used to be quite popular but I can't locate any through my regular suppliers. Any help would be appreciated. It is going on a heavy trout/light steelhead type rod so it doesn't have to be too skookum. Thanks,
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Steve, like so many other issues here, this also comes down to personal preference. I typically wrap the bumper guide with the same color thread as the main guides, but without any trim wraps, underwraps, etc. that the main guides may have. I'm willing to bet however that you'll hear all different combinations in answer to your question. I think Tom has talked in the past about omitting the bumpe
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Joe, the RX8+ is available now but only in the 4 and 5 pc fly blanks. They are incredible blanks for the price. The last time I talked to the guys at Batson, they didn't have any immediate plans to offer it in any different models. For fly rods, there is a definate difference between the different graphite formulas. While the RX8 may not be better for all fly casters, it will perform better for o
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Can anyone tell me what color the Sage GSH2106LB is? I can't find it in any of my catologs or on the Sage website. Thanks, Jeff Hunter
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Dave, I think we all know you meant the Wonder Weaver. Glass houses and all that. At any rate, you'll love the W.W. when you get that far. There are a lot of usable weaving tools out there that builders use to turn out some beautiful work. For me, the Wonder Weaver is the easiest to use and does the best job of keeping things organized. Good luck. Jeff Hunter
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