Be sure to check on the 4 jaw chuck if it will actually hold anything when you get it. Many of the 4 jaw chucks on the market require that you buy an additional set of accessory jaws to be able to actually grip a round rod and turn or drill it. And you probably want to be sure you are getting a "self centering" 4 jaw chuck. There are also "independent jaw" 4 jaw chucks on t
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It is not graphite, but Lamiglas makes a series of fiberglass blanks that are very slow (speed, action, whaterver. they bend way down in the butt). I built a 6 piece, 8', 5 wt. that is very nice.
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Hey, if it does not involve cutting off cork, reel seats, or finished guide wraps or ordering a new blank, it is not a "dumb move". Just part of the natural working process.
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I built a heavy travel rod on an older Allstar 3 peice blank and I like it a lot. I think the Batson 3 piece blanks are very similar to the Allstar blanks. In fact, they might have made the original Allstar blanks.
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You looking for fly rods or spinning/casting rods? All my fly rods 3 or more piecies, up to 6). I was lucky (or smart) enough to pick up 3 of Allstars 3 piece spinning/casting blanks a few years ago and built a heavy casting rod ( The one they sold for Peacock Bass) and a medium light spinning rod. I took these rods on a trip to Alaska this summer and was lucky enough to really load them up w
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I personally love ceramic guides on a fly rod. Maximum casting distance had nothing to do with it. The good guides are better for shooting with little line out, shooting on the back cast, mending line, actually fighting fish, etc. It takes less effort to make the short and medium length casts that we do all day when we fish. On a light rod like a 2 or light 3 wt I now use a combination of gui
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I start the tip top wrap down the rod from the tip top at the other end of the wrap. I wrap up to the tiptop, then change the angle of the thread to make "loose wraps" until I get 6 or 8 turns up on the tiptop, then I push the thread back carefully so that all the wraps on the tip top are closed up. If careful, you can keep it from all falling off and making a lump. Then I finish the
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I have used cork handles with sliding rings a lot. Contrary to what the other posters have said, I have found the graphite rings to be almost totally worthless and the metal rings over hard cork to be only fair at holding the reel on very light rods and not good at all on medium rods. My experience has been that the rings hold fine until I hook a fish large enough to flex the rod down in the gr
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I have the slow speed grinder with the white wheels and the wolverine sharpening system from woodcraft. The sharpening system is a bit more pricey than you quoted when you add the cost of the diamond wheel dresser. (but it is a really nice wheel dresser) Basically, I like the system. But I would probably like some of the other systems as well. I also used to use a Makita flat, wet, wheel sy
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With a heavy reel, the rod is easier to cast with the reel as close to your hand as possible. I like the downlocking seats on light rods, but must admit that I cast by holding the reel seat in front of the reel with my hand jammed back against the reel. To me the uplocking seat cheats you out of a couple of inches of length on short rods.
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I don't know how well the"home brew" stabilizing works. One of the best commercial methods involves actually forming plastice within the wood. That process works very well, but the monomer to form the plastic is extremely flammable, and I would not try it at home. We have a flooring company near here that makes a plastic impregnated flooring that is beautiful and wears forever, but t
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One thing you need to know is that the pretty color of osage orange is very photosenstive. When exposed to sunlight for a while it is gonna turn brown. So you need a finish with a lot of UV inhibitor. Exterior spar varnish might work. Some turners use automobile clear coat because it has a lot of UV inhibitor. I like Tru-oil, but for Osage orange I would try the spar urathane and be sure to
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I have a standard 3 jaw self centering chuck, a mini 3 jaw self centering chuck, and I recently added a Nova 4 jaw self centering. Let me cast a dissenting opinion on the Nova. I don't like it much at all. I get the most use out of the standard 6" 3 jaw, but you do have to watch your fingers. but it works well for turning inserts and drilling inserts, I drillo cork rings with it, and I
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For me, it would be a necessary feature for buying a lathe. I currently use a lathe without it and am going to replace the lathe with one with the indexing. My use for the indexing head is to lock the head to allow use of a small router mounted on a slider to cut mortised seats. I also turn legs and bowls and could use the indexing head for those applications too. If you are just going to san
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The recoil tip tops are very light. Ugly, but light, and I can't see 8' or so any more anyway so I use them. I am not sure I like the wire size on them though. Does anywone have any comments about the thin loops, pro or con? In my experience, the titanium SIC tip tops are lighter than the std loop tops in most sizes. And the cerment titanium are very light. Never cut a standard tip. T
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I use a drive center and first rough turn the square blank to round. Then I can clamp it in the standard 3 jaw chuck on the lathe and use the Jacobs chuck in the tailstock and do a normal drilling operation. You should be able to drill a fairly long piece without the extension. Most lathes have a through hole in the tailstock. There is a dead center avaliable with a hole through it for a bi
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Venneri is the best for me I also like the Strubles if I turn the insert.
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I don't think there is exactly a "best" for stripping guides. SiC is very good. So is cerment. I think the guide size, shape, and frame material (weight) have more effect than the ring material on overall feel and appeal.
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Single foots. If you put the snakes on it you will end up cutting them off and putting the single foots on after you try to fish it a couple of times.
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I sand the grips on fly rods by passing the rod blank through the headstock hole and gripping directly on the blank with a small 3 jaw scroll chuck. I tape the blank carefully or do a dry wrap where I am going to grip and use rubber bands made from a bicycle intertube on each jaw. Don't know if the midi has a large enough through bore to do this though. I use a ball bearing tailstock center ru
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I think it matters some how the rod is going to be used. I have made most of my flyrod reel seats from unstabilized wood. And I have bought seats from winston, struble, and REC that did not have stabilized seats. But you use a fly rod for a half day or so, generally don't keep the reel and handle under water for a long time, and dry it and put it up. However if you through a rod out on a boat
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I think you are gonna need a self centering chuck. Penn state Industries has some at pretty good prices. And a Jacobs chuck for the tailstock too.
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cherry burl for me. also burl redwood.
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Do you think there really is an "ultimate" fly rod?? My experience is that there is probably not. My taste in rods changes and fishing conditions necessitate a "quiver of rods" rather than just one. But good luck with the quest. You might check out Tom Morgan also, if he is still offering rods.
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If cork is obsolete, then so am I. I just love cork handles on light spinning and fly rods.
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The drill chuck in the headstock is going to take up a few inches also. The preferred setup would be a small self centering lathe type chuck (what I refer to as a 3-jaw chuck, but in reality it can have any number of jaws past 3) that will allow the mandrel to extend through the headstock. But that will only work on mandrels smaller than the hole through the headstock. I would hate to cut the
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Before you decide, try this. Take a SIC, a Cerment, an Alconite, and any other ceramic guide you are considering. Take a paper clip or guide foot or some piece of metal and rub it around the inside of the guide. I think you will find that the Cerment followed by the SIC are noticbly "slicker" than the other ceramics in this test. I don't know if it really means anything, but it was
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I have come to like the single foot ceramic guides, either the SIC or the cerment or the Alconite, for my flyrods. Those guides have enough frame to keep the line away from the blank. The Pac bay single foots sit too close to the blank. I use pretty big ones when I use those. Big snake guides are heavy. It is possible to overload a rod with heavy wire snakes. My easiest casting and fishin
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I already know I am incapable of art. so with me it is strictly function.
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Out of your list, I prefer the Rikon. I have not turned on one, but I sure like the features and price and size of the lathe in the store. I bought a little Delta and gave it to a friend. It is a nice little lathe too. I like 3-jaw self centering chucks better than the 4 jaw Nova ( I have both). What I want a chuck to do is to grip a roughed out round blank so that I can drill it to put it on
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