Is there an index of Rodmaker magazine anywhere that you can use to find what articles and info is in which issue? Ray
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Well looks like I am cutting off and re-wrapping. Thanks for the info guys. Ray
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Here are pics of the guide finish on the two rods I am currently working on. I am getting better at the close up photo thing but still not perfect. One of these is a 4wt Winston blank and the other is a 9wt unsanded Dancraft blank. Anyway, These are the first two rods I have used the forhan wraps on and I have a question about the finish for this type of wrap. I am getting a little epoxy b
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I do a lot of my wraps that way on fly rods. I have not had a problem yet. What I do to keep weight down on ultralights is use 6/0 oval metalic fly tying thread on bottom and #100 silk on top. On bigger fly rods I use size A threads. I do use CP on the metallic thread before wrapping the second layer. I don't build bass rods but I wouldn't think it would be a problem there either. Ray
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Tom has a good point about the bottom of the foot not matching the blank. I use a round or half round fine cut file to "shape" the arch of the foot to match the dia of that section of the blank. I do this after straightening the foot and making sure the foot is 90 degrees to the ring. Sometimes you have to bend around and file on these things a while to make them fit the blank. Th
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Interesting you mention that Eric, I really kinda like smaller click and paw drag reels if their good ones. I have a little ross colorado that I tuned and polished all the contact surfaces on and it is one sweet reel using the light spring. Especially when fishing with ultralight rods. I have been looking at a Hardy Marksman. I am trying not to be brand loyal in order to get experien
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Thanks Toma nd Cody, I have not cast it as of yet. I have a slow lazy casting style so I like slower rods that throw line gracefully. Right now I only have the blank. I did measure the ERN to find out that the rod Sage rated as a 000 is suited for a 1wt line at the 30-40 feet I generally fish. I tend to like small reels on little rods I have a tiny little Galvan that I love that is only
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Hey guys I will soon be building this little sage rod (I hope soon). Anyway I need a little reel to go on it. The rods ERN is 1.28 so its tiny little thing I plan to use for small panfish and local small trout. I am looking at either a Ross Rhythm 0 or a 2" Avon by J. Austin Forbes for this I currently have a Ross Rythm on another set up and I like that reel but since I already hav
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Mike is right about the tag ends. When I do metallic trim wraps The trim wraps are a entity unto themselves. Three wraps will usually hold themselves on fairly well but a two wrap trim is tough. By doing it that way you don't have the metallic tags sticking up under the translucent thread. It takes some practice because you have to start the wrap with the puller in place but it gets easier
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I actually like that look. I rarely use CP because I like the translucent look. Sometimes I will wrap the guide on with flat oval 6/0 fly tying gold metalic thread and then over wrap that with size #100 silk leaving the metallic stick out the ends a few wraps. Boy doe sthat make a nice effect with the gold glistening under the silk, especially if you use garnet or blue silk colors. Somet
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We have a Joannes Fabric store in town. I will have to go by there and see what they have. Ray
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I forgot to ask. If you lathe is one of the mini lathes do you have a steady rest for it? Ray
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What kind and what size of lathe do you have Gerald? Do you have a through hole in the spindle? If so what size? Ray
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Well, Now I know what I'm doing the next time an engraving job is going sideways. :-) Ray
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Thanks fellas, I may have to go see what I can find in the sporting good dept. Those plastic boxes sound like they might be the ticket. Ray
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Thanks Jeff, That's what I was afraid of. Does anyone make anything like that to hold rod thread? Ray
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I sent my table form and money in today so I guess I will be there. Ray
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Does anyone know if these thread spool safes from Wapsi will hold standard rod thread spools? I am tempted to order one but I am not sure it will hold anything but the tiny little fly tying spools. If it doesn't hold rod thread does anyone make one that does? Thanks in advance,
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Tim, The nicest manufactured reel seats for a high end fly rods that I have seen have been the ones made by Winston with the Bellinger and Struble lines being tied for second. I can't speak for the REC seats since I have never held one to look at it up close and personal. The problem is that the classier offerings from these companies are in Nickel Silver. They may exist but I have not
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Thanks for the kind words guys, When things aren't gong right at the engraving bench I go out to the garage and play on the lathe or go to the back yard and shoot my bow. IT keeps me from throwing a half finished Colt across the room. :-) Ray
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I had one of those crappy days working yesterday so I went out to the lathe to let off some steam and relax a little. This is what I came away with. Bill explained to me how to use permagloss and that it helped to have a tall narrow container to use it out of. Well I needed something with a wide base that was virtually spill proof, heavy enough to stay where I put it, had a cover, and a d
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Peter, To get the ring out I just turned it upside down and taped it on the rim of a pail I was collecting th rings in. Then put in another one and drill. The L shaped block clamped to the drill table makes sure the fixture returns to the same place each time. Yes, if you use 1 1/4 and 1 1/2 " rings you would have to make a clamp for each. One of the reasons I made the slot so big
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Well this thread has caused me to do a lot of further evaluating of my rods and how I build. The biggest question I wanted answered here for myself was a practical one. Do I need to be concerned with making my rods as light as possible in order to have a good performing rod as well as an attractive rod? What I have gotten out of this is simply..... probably so. While I am happy with the
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Thanks Mike! Ray
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Just goes to show there's nothing new under the sun. I have a whole stack of those magazines. One of these days I'm gonna have to get myself laid up by a car wreck or something so I have time to read them. I keep thinking, "next year I'm not going to work so hard and have more free time" but it never seems to work out. Ray
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I needed to drill some cork for a few salmon rods for friends and I to use this fall. I needed a jig because I had a lot to drill (4 rods worth........ OK OK for me its a lot ). I have spent all my rod building funds for a while on anodizing equipment and blanks so I had to come with something quick and easy to make. Here are pics of what I came up with. If you get the hole the right si
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Tom Kirkman Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Ray, > > I'll add to what I mentioned before and what Emory > has also said here - the reason that building a > "sensitive" rod is important, is that the things > that make a rod sensitive are also the things that > make it efficient, i.e. able to transfer more of > your impa
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Basically, my original intent was to put some general parameters around the definition of rod sensitivity. Maybe that is not possible maybe it is. I originally was not concerned with balance or sight but what could be felt in the rod and just how important that was and IF it was really important to the fly rods I build. Maybe I was being way to general but I don't think so. I mean the gen
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That's a good point Bill, I do have an agenda here but is not an evil one. :-) Ray
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Nobody is looking to chop Doc. I am just trying to see if my understanding of my own rods is where I need it to be. I do agree with your statement whole heartedly. I was blessed with very good eyes and I primarily am a sight fisherman (trout and panfish mostly). Unless the water is stirred up and murky I have no trouble watching a size 18 scud drift down stream at 40-50 ft away. If the ligh
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