I use a propane torch only when needed, and 95% of the time, its not needed. On decorative wraps it tends to cause more problems with hot air wanting to come out and then creating more bubbles. When i do, there is no put it on the wrap then back off as I am using it to pop a couple stubborn bubbles only. One fluid motion down past the rod (almost pointing at the table) and right back up. Never
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Roger, I'd easily compare it to a deep speed jigging rods where the line is from 3-400ft out to all on the spool about a hundred times in a single day all with either a 4-9oz jig or fish on the end. Thats likely one of the most torturous uses of a saltwater rod without ever being connected to a fish. NEVER have I had any issues with my spiral wrapped rods on even these rods. 2 little other op
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What reel? MNSGs if you are after fish that rip a ton of line in a very short period. (AmTak NICs and NIVs are lighter though) If you are bottom fishing, either Alconites (BMNAT) or Hardloy (BNLG) will suffice. (I don't prefer the V frame guides (personal preference, they work fine)) I'd imagine something along the lines of: 40-25-16-12-12-12 and 12 tip (substitute 10 for the 12 if your
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I always test cast and still do a stress distribution. Sometimes things need to moved around and played with, but if you've been doing this that long, you'll be awfully close every time. I rarely move a guide more than an inch or so from my initial setup unless I am able to remove a guide or in the rare event I have to add one in.
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Congrats Alex. FL redfish slot is 18-27" though ;)
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I do the same as Walt. One thing to keep in mind is leave the tip off until the gimbal is installed so you do not have trapped air trying to push the gimbal back off. That gets annoying really fast, leave the tip off and that issue isn't an issue.
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I'll second roger on the surplus store. I only got 2 to see how they'd last, and while they have not quit yet (and I doubt they will), the store no longer has them. What you want to look for in those for a/c is a timing motor as its designed to run continuous duty. Anything with finish and intermittent duty is asking for failure at the exact time when you need it the least. Been there, done that.
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I have for a while used 90% American Tackles guides for all my needs. I had only used the NIA A frames a couple times previous to today and had to significantly grind them to be suitable for use. Well today I just used a set that I got about a month ago, and WOW what a difference. I'm not sure who's end it was on, but I had to grind 1 out of 9 guides, and remove 3 or 4 minute burs. Laying flat, a
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With the smaller guide feet you can also try starting your wrap, after a few turns and knowing it's not going anywhere, slide the guide foot on in about halfway up the foot. Take about 5-10 turns and very carefully pull the guide foot toward the tip while pushing the thread back the other way. This does take some practice and carefulness, but it's one of the easiest ways to do it. Once its all se
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You could also take a look at American Tackles A frame ring lock guides with the duralight ring. It's a wonderful compromise with a lightweight newer style guide, just a little lower end ring insert. Should be right on par with the hardloys. I'm also not big on that purply grayish color of hardloy inserts, but of course that is all personal opinion at that point. I should say that no matter
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Do you know if he beats up his tackle. If so, stick with glass. If not, you can drop into the composites. Not that they arent durable, but in some cases, sometimes the more forgiving choice is the right choice even if it weighs more.
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Someone on this board also has a taper offset spacing excel sheet. That thing is VERY VERY useful. Thank you again to whomever I got it from!
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100% with Darrin on this one. I actually love the ring lock design in every guide they have it in. I have personally tried (unsuccesfully) to pop a ring out in every way shape or form. What it ended up taking to do so was a whack with a hammer to a block of wood with the guide between. If you are simply fishing, it is literally impossible to pop these rings out, something a few of my previous cli
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All else being equal even two lures with the same weight and shape but one having a different surface will affect it some. Mythbusters recently proved that the dimpled golf ball is indeed the most aerodynamic shape escalating the theory to a life size car. This may or may not increase the air resistance for both lure and/or line. I have no idea, but in any case, it's a very intersting topic to th
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I'm with Tom. I turn and wrap in the same area, just not on same days. Anything that is wrapped but not finished while I am turning is put away in a seperate room. Once the dust settles (usually a day or so) there are no issues.
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I dont put any decal or writing on rods unless specifically requested. I do ask if they would like the manufacturer's decal on them. I feel that they are paying for a high end rod to THEIR liking and taste, not mine. Just my opinion. I also agree that a simple small signature of artwork will not take away from any piece, it is just my preference to not do as such.
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What style of jigging is he doing with a 50W tld? I have one here, and that thing would wear me out in about 20 seconds. Most use a smaller reel capable of a lot of drag, often 2 speeds and often narrow spools. Avet and Accurate are a couple that quickly come to mind.
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Really that ends up coming down to your costs and projected profits. It will vary from person to person and shop to shop as such. You will have to start somewhere though, and I believe a past issue of Rodmaker has a suggested price scale.
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I drill to match the closest turning mandrel to the blank, turn on said mandrel, then finish off by hand with a hand reamer (plenty described above). Drilling it out to get a close match without going too far is NOT cheating, its just using your available tools to your advantage.
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My formula is to the end user only, as I do not sell to shops. If you do, you will have to modify the formula and likely have two seperate cells OR set up another imbedded if statement where a cell's value either is equal to "SHOP" or "USER" and then set it up accordingly. Pretty complicated to do it this way, but it would work if you can figure it out. The good news is, you o
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This is the proper formula with a basic if/else statement. If "cell" x .6% < 10, then cell x 6% is FET, else its $10. This is the simplest formula I have found to use and works well. This assumes G15 is the subtotal of the rod. =IF(G15*0.6*0.1<10,G15*0.06*0.1,10)
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If I remember correctly, they may be out of it. If it is out of stock, you may not see it listed on their site under any menu.
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I got a look at it earlier today, they just keep outdoing themselves with each new catalog.
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Thats a close starting point and sounds about right, you can move back or forward a little bit depending on test casting, stress distrubution test, etc. Sometimes I'll goto my choke size with a higher frame one guide back from the actual choke guide which is often a fly guide.
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I use madeira on underwraps for guides, but never for overwraps. The underwrap gets CP, then one coat of finish, then I overwrap it and finish normally. For ME this way works well using madeira underwraps. I cant say that I'm willing to put madeira on as a full guide wrap. Gary I'll shoot you an email later about the metro.
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At 20 cents an hour (might be lower, just seems about right) I'd be milking the clock too
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heat with a propane torch and have someone else pulling the tip off with a piar of pliers. Once heated enough to break the bond it needs to be quickly removed to not damage the blank. I also keep a bucket of room temp water nearby to quickly cool the tip back down so any residual heat does not affect it. I also HATE using 5min epoxy for tips.
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I know Tom won't promote himself, so the book Rod Building Guide by Tom Kirkman will be the best 15 bucks you can spend to get started. I've been wrapping rods for almost 15 years and still use it as a reference occasionally. It just has such a wealth of information.
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I'd personally look at the 60H if you afford losing the foot off the rod. Reason being is that you'll have less of a leverage disadvantage with a shorter rod, although with teh way the hercules rods bend, that may not end up presenting a problem under heavy drag. The St croix 2m69xhf is a WONDERFUL blank and will handle grouper up to about 20-25# (snapper up to ~30#), but if you are looking at
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George, thats the only real feasible way to do business online. The reason is the volume of orders they get on a daily basis. Business 101: you pay someone hourly to sit and watch the orders come in, figure out how much it will cost by each carrier and then send out via the least expensive one. You'd have to have someone doing this 24hours, (maybe even 2-4 people for some of the higher volume dis
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