Good idea, Bill. A full wells grip also gives you something to hold on to when you hook a big lunker on your 9 wt.
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I think you should just do the repair, then you have another customer. Also to some people it's a burden to have to try to fix things themselves, even if they can do it. For ten bucks, you're doing them a favor.
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I would just flop a premade formica countertop on there with a splash and bullnose already done.
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PacBay Tradition 2 blanks are good, I have an mb844 a t2p904 that I enjoy fishing with.
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If you're using ceramic insert single foot guides, like Fuji LAG, probably size 7 is fine. Wire single foot fly guides size 4 like John said.
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Go to a tackle shop and see how many of the spinning rods have NGC guide layout. Customers will have to spend a couple hundred to just get a rod with a straight cone of flight. Any micro guide spinning rods? I think there is still alot a builder has to offer besides good looks. Fly rod guys don't want a bunch of flashy stuff, but there is still a lot of style and performance they can get from a s
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Scott, your choker guide, the first #4 running guide, should be about 39" from the reel foot according to that chart.
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The rod looks nice Jim, cool handle. Amazing what you see in close ups, the thread looks so thick. I'm curious about those reel seats. A couple people are really promoting them.
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About optimizing guide placement for a certain reel, or size of reel. I am under the impression that most fishermen put a reel on a rod for good and don't take it off except to service the reel. Or they will always use let's say a 2500, or a 3000, on that type of rod. So, optimizing guide placement on a rod for a certain reel or reel size does make practical sense.
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I have a Quickline 9 wt and I like it. I normally use 30' of t-14 shooting head and intermediate Rio running line for reservoir stripers. Works great, I like it better than my RX7. I haven't tried the RX8 I believe the Quickline is lighter.
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I spray painted a sanded finish blank with Hot Hues "Lazer Blue Candy Concentrate" auto candy color mixed per instructions with automotive urethane clear coat and it is translucent, a lot like the Batson RX6 fly rods. Any auto paint supply will have candy colors, they normally apply over silver metallic on cars. If you do it over the bare graphite you get that graphite showing through.
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I built a Quickline 10' 4 weight for nymph fishing. The owner is a died in the wool Sage fan. He loves the Quickline. Not a comparison though because he doesn't have a Sage 10' nymph rod. I believe he put a #5 floating line on it.
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Troy, 12 10 strippers, 1- #4, #2 single foot fly is what I'd use.
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Paint store should have it. Denatured alcohol is shellac thinner.
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I bet that 8'6" 6/7 will be a lot of fun casting poppers and divers to largemouth.
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If you want to remove just the reelseat, try putting it in a baggie and immersing in boiling water to soften the epoxy. If that doesn't work, cut it lengthwise and pry it open with a screwdriver.
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I just like to use the same square end 1/4" artist brush over and over. They only cost a couple dollars and last forever or until you forget to wipe it and throw it in the jar of brush cleaner. If it needs to be thinner I turn it sideways so it only 1/8" wide.
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try making a circle with your thumb and finger, and guide the line flow through this as it shoots.
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They're good reel seats. The CL7 reel seat is pretty small, I think the CL8 will have better proportions when you have a big reel on it. That said, all my fly reels have about the same size reel foot from the 2/3 to the 9/10 so they fit on both the CL7 & CL8.
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I have really enjoyed this discussion as well. Getting off topic here, but another way to balance the reel is to wrap some lead core around the arbor before loading the line. Also, adding a small fighting butt when you build the rod moves the fulcrum toward the tip without really adding much weight.
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I suggest using a piece of colored paper between each ring and use regular rod builders epoxy. It will be consistent. I have done it with heavy black paper.
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I use a small miter box and a very fine toothed back saw.
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Maybe it doesn't matter, but I find it is easier to sand off the wing a bit to narrow the foot on the guide closest to the tip, if necessary just because it makes it easier to wrap. I like the shape of the wide feet on these and the fx micros.
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I don't like it either. Good thing I still have the old catalog.
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I melted a blank using a heat gun to get the reelseat off. Boiling water, or a dremel tool, has worked better for me since then.
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Also, when using loop to loop connections and shooting heads, the connections pass through snake guides much better than single foot wire guides. I have not used ceramic guides so i cannot compare those. If you are going to be swinging flies for steelhead or dredging for bass with shooting heads I recommend snake guides.
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I just hand turn it for a while until it's level, then turn the dryer on and walk away.
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A size 8 ceramic guide has a smaller ID than a size 2 wire fly guide, so a 10 would be better if using two ceramics. Another option might be a 12 stripping guide then a size 5 wire then the size 2 guides. Check it out like Tom said.
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The Batson IF804 is great for panfish and trout, you can't beat it especially at the closeout price.
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I like double foot on eight weight or more. If you're concerned about weight; Recoil heavy duty snakes guides. But I would use single foot if only an integrated line without sink tip loop to loops will be used. I just don't like the way the connections get hung up on the single foot guides.
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