I take Acrylic Bottle Stopper blanks and cut them into more manageable sizes for chocking up into my lathe. They can then be turned into whatever size/shape desired. Lathes can be found at pretty reasonable prices and I only ever use three types of lathe tools for shaping Acrylic - roughing gouge, skew chisel, and round detail finisher.
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3 weight through 7 weight = A7, RA7 8 weight through 10 weight = A8, RA8 11 weight plus = A8.5 Very simple basic style and more importantly - shape - that you can use as a platform to build upon.
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All of my fly rods have birch bark reel seat inserts. I only use turning tools to knock knock down the size somewhat, then spend the vast majority of my time from there - sanding. Also, I've recently been coring not only my birch bark grips but my reel seat inserts with carbon foam arbors that I've turned down. This results in a much more sturdy platform to not only turn with, but taper reami
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I use Minima's exclusively for my personal rods. For rods that will consistently throw 8 wt lines and up, I use size 7 runners and a size 8 tip top guide that I wrap using a slightly modified Forhan locking wrap. I have plenty of clearance for bulky loops, but I prefer nail knots as my line/leader connection.
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I build for both personal use and the occasional gift/barter. I also strive to update and optimize the rods' overall functionality by putting custom component accessories on my rods that are otherwise unavailable.
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One of my Regular Bass Flyrods was built using All Minimas - 20, 12, 8, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 8(tip) . I've used larger bass sized furled leaders with this rod and there are no line or leader hang-ups. I do prefer the double swagged chrome guides over the titanium single swagged guides. I have several size 7 titanium guides with rings that were swagged from the wrong side of the guide - lea
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Pac Bay Traditional Series 7'6" 4wt 4pc. still uses IM6 Graphite. These are usually a Med/Med-Fast Action blank by CCS standards. Very inexpensive too. MHX 7'6" 4wt 4pc. is "labeled" as Mod/Fast with and MSRP ~$80. Great Warranty. This would be my personal preference for that price range.
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I've steered many fly roddin' "traditionalists" towards birch bark grips and none of them have turned their noses up at them in the least. I always point out that the Native Americans made canoes out of them, so they have a storied history and a rightful place on the water. No reason grips on fishing rods wouldn't perform very favorably on the water either. I do highly recommend cori
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I'd use a heat gun to slightly warm the stuck sections. Then, while warm, put a few drops of PB Blaster - at the junction - followed by carefully tapping both male and female sections immediately adjacent to the ferrule with a hard plastic burnishing tool. Then I'd set a sandwich bag of crushed ice over the stuck sections for 10 minutes or so. If it doesn't come loose then, repeat a few times.
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In your case I would probably place the guide ON the female ferrule so that the end of the wrap will be right at the ferule edge. The result would be a very normal-looking guide wrap that doubles as a ferrule re-enforcement wrap. It also saves (just a little) weight and wrapping effort.
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I don't use color preserver on threads securing guides - as I prefer to have one type of finish (usually epoxy) penetrating uniformly all the way down to the blank. Another thing you could do with the black footed guides is only file them on the bottom of the guide foot. This often takes a great deal of time and effort, but if you're careful, will result in a well-prepped guide foot with unifor
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That's most unfortunate. He was a pioneer in this field and I personally benefitted immensely by his well written and illustrated works.
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The only way I've been able to make the diameter the "exact" same throughout the length of the turned piece is to use a duplicator on my lathe, but you can get pretty close if you sand gradually and check diameters at different locations periodically. For a finish, there are a few choices depending on the level of protection you're after. If I were wanting a birch bark grip that w
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Chris, A rod with only enough power to load with a 7 wt line at nominal distances (30-50ft) would be a little limiting in my opinion. If you're casting Bass flies tied on size 6 and smaller hooks, a 7 wt would be fine. But some of the larger wind resistant Bass Flies and Very Large Pike Flies would require a rod that load with an 8 wt or larger line. Are there a lot of weeds/structure for y
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Since your matte blank already has a satin finish on it, you could just "mist" spray it with an automotive clear coat. I don't do this application process myself (as of yet), but many on here do and hopefully they'll chime in. If I were tasked with the effort that you've undertaken, I would likely pay an auto body shop to do this as they'd certainly do a better job than I would. I th
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CTS has several blank colors to choose from including a brown that I think is the nicest color brown I've ever seen on a blank. It has subtle copper and gold glittering added. My 9' 4wt 4 pc CTS Affinity X is smoother than any Sage of equivalent size and power that I've ever cast.
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I always use CP on the under wrap, followed by 2 coats of epoxy. I then prefer to use a darker overwrap in which I apply epoxy directly to the thread, without CP. The darker overwrap darkens slightly, and really allows for contrast to "bleed through" from the CP'ed under wrap.
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I'd like to see someone invent a small scale STEPPER MOTOR. They rotate a partial revolution, then stop for a determined amount of time and then re-energize to rotate another partial revolution. If set up with a prolonged "off" cycle and proper pulley ratio on our winding lathes, they could conceivably energize once every couple of minutes, rotating the rod exactly180 degrees for each
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I personally prefer a larger stripping guide - size 16 on 4wts through 7wts, and then size 20's on 8wts and up. My second guide up is a size 10 when using a 16 for a strip guide, and a size 12 when using a 20 as a strip guide. The greater "stand-off" distance seems to relieve some of the angles associated with double haul casts, but a spinning style guide can achieve this as well. I
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If I were to build that rod, I'd definitely use All Minimas as follows: 20T, 12T, 7, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 7(tip). I know the 7's aren't necessary, but I often find it helps to use an oversized tip. The other 7 is merely to create a visual size reduction between the 12 and the first 6. I tend to use one more guide in the guide train than more conventional layouts but I still have a very we
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I'm only familiar with their fly rod blanks, but they are second to none!! I haven't weighed mine, but when using the same guide train, handle configuration, and reel seat hardware, that I put on virtually all of my rods - the balance point is further back towards the butt - indicating a lighter tip than other rods built on other blanks. Exceptional finish - the best I've seen to date. This is
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On a rod throwing an 8 wt line, I would generally use Minima's with size 6 runners. I don't usually employ loop to loop connections in my terminal tackle, so there is usually no hanging up experienced. I've built rods on identical blanks with almost identical handles, and reel seats in which one rod has minimas, the other, snake brand snakes. The balance point on the rod with snakes is about 3
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Spencer, How does the chrome ring to titanium frame interaction hold up with regards to corrosion?
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I've experimented with quite a bit of combinations en route to a finish that provides enough depth to COMPLETEY encapsulate all raised areas (like where the thread overlaps it's pulled through tag) while not having so much that it impedes either perfomance or aesthetics. I've settled on the use of two coats. The first coat is a low build(or Prokote original), which gives me much more work time
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Phil, I'm surprised I haven't heard of this technique 'til now as I'm a big fan of Lefty's. I definately sounds like something he'd do. About every 4th or 5th double haul that I do, results in coils hanging up in the first couple of guides - so I can see how this technique could be of benefit. Plus, dragging around a stripping basket is often just too cumbersome and isn't entirely foolproo
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Tom, I just sent you another email to rodmaker@earthlink.net with my newest rod with the two inventions. Let me know if you didn't get it. Torin.
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Thanks Scott and Tom. Sorry, I did not intend to hijack the thread. To protect myself, I would probably need the verbage of a well versed patent attorney. Tom, I sent you some pics of the components that I was considering patenting a couple months ago for your input. I understand you're a very busy man. I was merely hoping for some brutal input/criticism. Did you happen to get my email?
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Congratulations on obtaining a patent. If I may ask, how long did it take you to obtain - and at what approximate cost? I am looking to obtain 2 patents on components and I was quoted about $8K for each patent. Is that about right?
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I've actually broken a recoil. If you bend it enough times, it will break like any other guide - but this is extremely unlikely in any practical sense. I wanted to "cycle" the recoil guide that I tested to see if it was possible. Also, with recoils - or any wire fly guides for that matter - after enough use in dirty waters, the flyline contact with the guide wraps will start wear or
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I'm with Chris. I use CP on the underwraps, but not on the top wraps. I've found that this tends to work better when your top wrap is a darker color.
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