I'll go with, he was digging in a compartment laid the rod on the edge, and slipped. When the lid came crashing down the blank was crushed and snapped. I had to try something a little different, even though I don't think the saltwater guys have as many compartment doors as some of us in fresh. Joe
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Very nice work Tim. The first fish will make all of the effort worth it!
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Mike, I did a search over on the photo page, and came up with this. Hope it helps.
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I feel much safer using a secure web service than I do handing somebody my card and allowing them to swipe it themselves. It only takes a few seconds to learn all of the info on a card.
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Thanks guys!
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Ken, I used a locking wrap and left off the blocking wraps behind the guide. After seeing how much better the guide was held in place (before finishing) with a few locking wraps without blocking wraps, I can't see an issue with pulling the guide out, unless you have a rod locker and make some effort to do so. If, like Steve, I were building for others than myself in the bass crowd, blocking w
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Chris, I don't know the weight of that particular blank, but Batson currently lists the average weight for that model at 1.95 oz. Considering everything that goes on a rod, a finished rod at only twice the weight of the bare blank is very good. Joe
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Alex, I just stopped by the post office and had them weigh it. The postage scale said 3.9 oz. I may take it to work with me one day and see what it weighs on a balance, since the postal scale will round the weight up. There is room to save more weight, but I am satisfied. My reel seat threads aren't cut down, the reel seat isn't split. The proof board bushings under the woven graphite cou
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Thanks for the clarification, Tom. I may leave things as is for now, as a lesson of what can happen when patience gets thrown out the window. After all, the rod is only for me and I'm not trying to build a business out of it. If I ever deicide to rewrap, I will fix it then. The finish on the decal came out very nicely. Only a slight wave in the finish that I can live with. I have a few
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Just an update on my first build. I finally found the time to wrap my guides, finish them. The build: Rainshadow RX8+ 822.5 with split Batson woven graphite handle and blank exposed seat. Guides ALPS double foot 8, ALPS micro single foot fly guides in sizes 5, 4, 3 (6 of them in the tip section), with a size 4 tip top. The guides were arranged in a simple spiral, and the rod is paired with
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Don't trim your tie offs until after you have aligned the guides. I got tired of my tie offs popping out because I couldn't quit messing with my guide alignment. Once the guides are aligned trim the tag close the gap and put on your epoxy. Joe
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I believe that Jann's has the exact guides that Berkley uses. Looks can be deceiving, which weighs more a ton of lead or a ton of feathers? Heres the link to the single foot guides: Joe
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Blocks of the closed cell foam that "Noodles" are made of make for a great place to hang a few lures in your boat. Joe
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As above don't take these things personally, just a few more things to look at to help eliminate the rod as the culprit. A couple more trouble shooting steps. Is the line roller on your spinning reel actually turning? Once in a while it can get jammed with debris or over tightening the screw that goes through the center. Have you been using your drag more than normal? Also, what lures are
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Reply wasn't needed.
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The jig and worm have been around a long time. The difference is that now they make specialty jigheads with longer shanks and wider gaps that match better with a small worm. Some even have rotated collars or other means of putting the worm inline with the hook point for rigging weedless. What makes a shaky head presentation is that you almost dead stick the bait, and try to impart some subtl
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Robert, My first build uses the Batson woven graphite tubing in a split grip. It is much the same concept as the ATC handle. Mine uses two sections of tapered foregrip, but they sell a straight piece as well. The only differences are that you use a standard reel seat, and the straight handle uses a couple of straight proof board shims. The shims are very easy to shape, I reamed mine by han
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Herb, I know I'm still a rookie, and for that you can cast my thoughts off with a grain of salt. But, here are some of my thoughts. The blank for my first rod is a bit crooked, to the point that it has an inflection point (where the curve changes direction, kind of an "s" shape), and the spine was not very pronounced, in fact it seemed to have a couple different spines. After play
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Jay, I use a number of Falcon rods that I will eventually rebuild or replace with some new rods. I can say that on the shelf they look good, but the craftsmanship may not be the greatest. If I didn't desire to have something different than what was offered on the shelf, I would have never got to learn all of the interesting nuances of rod building and the differences that are used to save ti
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Finally I posted a pic. Not only that, I actually got a close up pic to come out, I'm not a very talented photographer. It is posted under the equipment and tools pictures. My picture of it hanging on the rod didn't turn out (I actually thought to take one while the epoxy was setting). I think the picture I posted makes it pretty clear how it would work though. Joe
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I would love to be able to write down that equation, as would many. I have spent some time thinking about rod geometry and optimum guide placement, but there are a number of parameters to consider, reel height, guide height, handle length, and rod action. I believe that it can be done, but can be done experimentally quite quickly as it is. Hopefully one of these days I will look at it some m
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Thanks for the kind words Bill, glad that my tip will be useful. I am more of an experimentalist, and still a grad student. Rod building is a blast, I'm working on my first build, and can't wait to get home and static test so I can wrap my guides soon. This is a lot more fun than deriving equations. Joe
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Michael, The 1/16 oz weight was light enough that it didn't flex the particular blank that I was building on much at all, not nearly enough to slide off. The blank was an RX8+ 822.5 rated for 1/8 to 1/2oz. You could also place an extra rod support just a few inches from the tip to keep the area stable as well. Joe
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I'm not sure how everyone else aligns their tip tops, especially on a spiral wrapped rod with a 4mm ring tip top, but here is my solution. I leveled the reel seat. Then I took a 1/16 oz. bullet weight and tied some line to it, and used it as a plumb bob. Mounted the tip top with 5 minute epoxy, and it came out great. No real need for adjustment other than double checking the level and makin
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Marty, Batson offers this blank in RX6 graphite. SB781-3 Clear Gloss 6'6" 3 6-12lb. 1/8 - 3/8oz. 0.500 5.0 Fast Medium-Light 1.89 oz. I throw Zoom flukes (the little ones, not super flukes) unweighted on a one piece blank with similar specs with a baitcaster. As stated above, you will have no problem throwing senkos, regardless of blank. Joe
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I received a dvd with a few back issues of Rod Maker, and I must say that both the ICRBE and the venue look phenomenal! When Tom says that any other place would be a step down, he is not kidding. WOW! I hope to make it to the show sometime. Until then, I will be in envy of all that can attend. Joe
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Tom, Just what should those 3 stages be? I know the weight of the load varies for every blank, but an estimation of angle of tip deflection (say, 45 - 60, 75 - 90, and 100 - 115 degrees) may be useful for those of us who are still new to the craft. Perhaps it was covered in your book, and I just missed it and need to read it a few more times, but I don't think it gave specifics on static tes
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John, Thanks for the feedback. I have one that I just need to mount and play with. I'll probably post some more pics when I get it finished. Joe
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John, There is a very good article in the Library section about building a wrapping jig. I built one of my own recently. I read the article, and looked through the photo section to gather some ideas. Then went out bought some supplies and started cutting away. I had an idea of what I wanted. You would be surprised at how far a few dollars in materials will get you. If rollers are desir
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It might add a cool look for bass fishermen that like to fish at night with a black light as well. Joe
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