Thanks Tom, I think you have caught on to where I am going with this. One more question I just thought of. How does where you hold the rod in relation to the weight or mass of the reel effect sensitivity? For example on a fly rod you generally hold in front of the mass of the reel, on a spinning rod most people hold almost over the mass of the reel, and on a bait casting rod most folk
Forum: rodboard

Great Info guys thanks to all of you for chiming in. OK so lets update this so we can move on to the next question, Reasons for sensitivity: 1. So the fisherman can feel the strike. 2. So the fisherman can tell what obstacles or environment their lure/bait is in (ie hard bottom, grass, etc). Things that effect sensitivity: all materials (guides, blanks etc) being equal. 1. Rod weight
Forum: rodboard

Sean, Just to clarify and make sure I understand what your saying; What you do is leave minimal slackness so the lure does not bounce and what you are watching/feeling for is for the line to go tight when the fish has it. Is that correct? Ray
Forum: rodboard

Thanks fellas, I am primarily interested in fly reels since I almost exclusively build fly rods. Thanks for the contact Info Brendan. Do you know if they have a website with examples of their work pictured? Thanks, Ray
Forum: rodboard

OK To keep things moving I am going to ask my second question. Since all the reasons given so far deal with what goes on with the lure/bait on the other end of the line: 2. Is line tension needed to transmit this information from the lure, to the rod, to the fisherman's eye or hand? It seems to me that a slack line would not transmit the vibration or tension change but that certain level
Forum: rodboard

I hear clucking out there. :-) 40 people have viewed this and only Mike and Tom have answered. Ok, so far we have 1. So the fisherman can feel the strike. 2. So the fisherman can tell what obstacles or environment their lure/bait is in (ie hard bottom, grass, etc). Are there any other reasons or situations that sensitivity is an advantage? Ray
Forum: rodboard

Let me say up front and right off the bat, I have an agenda here. These are not trick question but I do have a goal for myself at the end of this discussion. I have been thinking about the issue of weight vs sensitivity as it relates to my rod building. At the end of this discussion I plan to take your comments and opinions and formulate a hypothesis to help me better formulate my own o
Forum: rodboard

I'm showing my ignorance again. Are there any talented machinist out there making their own custom reels? I am thinking since there are so many guys making nice hand built custom rods that there has to be a few guys out there making / hand machining custom reels. It just seems kinda silly to me to put a mass produced factory reel on a finely crafted hand built rod. At this point I ca
Forum: rodboard

Thanks for the info Darrin, I appreciate it. Ray
Forum: rodboard

Hey Mike, Thanks for the kind words. Now its confession time. I have a few different motives for doing the blog. 1. This is the big one. It lets my customers know what I am working on. The guy I am currently doing the pen for knows I am working on his stuff and its about finished and the guy waiting for me to get started on the next knife knows his project is on deck. This all
Forum: rodboard

George, That's a good point. I had not thought of that so I will do some checking on that. I usually nail knot a piece of red amnesia on the end of my ling and put a loop in the amnesia. On my 9wt bass and salmon fly rods the big 9wt line with 30# amnesia passes through #6 guides easily with a lot to clear. I suspect the smaller ultra light fly lines with 10# amnesia would probably cl
Forum: rodboard

Thanks Joshua, I am thinking 4.5 to 5 might be what I need. Thanks, Ray
Forum: rodboard

I don't want to hijack this thread but>>>>>>>>>>>>>> I know these are intended for bass rods and the ones I have seen pics of look super small. I am wondering if these come in a size appropriate for size 00wt-2wt fly lines? I need some super light guides for some future ultralight fly rod projects. Thanks, Ray
Forum: rodboard

Does American Tackle make their colored zirconia guides with titanium frames? I have a bout three 00-2wt fly rods I am planning to build after I get this current Winston finished. I am looking to put light weight single foot guides on these. I have weighed single foot wire guides and weighed fuji ti framed gold cermits to compare the two. The fuji cermits were about 10% lighter s
Forum: rodboard

That is what I usually do Bill Honestly I tried the permagloss just to try something new. I like the translucent look thread gets without CP. I tend to get off into my projects and disappear under my rock. Because of that there are a lot of products out there I have never tried. So I ordered several new finish products to try and this was the trial run of the permagloss. I probably w
Forum: rodboard

Tom, Your perma-gloss at 8 coats pic is about what mine looks like now with 8 coats. SO I guess I need to set baqck for a while and see if I like that for this particular rod or not. My initial response is that on a casting rod or spinning rod I might like that look . On one of my fly rods.....................I just don't know yet. I don't have time now but I may search later and se
Forum: rodboard

I have a question for some of you PG users out there. I'm using it for the first time as a wrap finish. I wanted a transucent look tot he thread so I have not used CP and just soaked the thread with the Perma-gloss. I have put it on in thin coats per the directions. At this point I am up to 8 coats. The PG seems great about not bubbling however, it does not seem to self level like epoxi
Forum: rodboard

That's the problem I have a 1oz bottle. I bought hte small one to try it out because I didn't know if I would like it or not.
Forum: rodboard

If any of you all care to check it out, I just started a "projects blog" this week dealing with rods I'm currently building, tools I'm making, engravings I'm working on, etc. Its basically a what's going on at Ray's work bench blog. There is a link below If anyone wants to see it.
Forum: rodboard

WELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL Gonna have to try something else. The testers paint lid does not fit my bottle ...............ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!
Forum: rodboard

Thank you guys Steve, Mr Richards suggested a testors cap on that thread you link to. I happen to have some of those left over from the kids last round of awana derby cars. I'll give that a try. Thanks for the heads up. Chris, I have been trying to keep it clean but I think keeping it cold in the fridge made the plastic a bit more brittle than I was ready for. As a matter of
Forum: rodboard

Thank you guys Steve, Mr Richards suggested a testors cap on that thread you link to. I happen to have some of those left over from the kids last round of awana derby cars. I'll give that a try. Thanks for the heads up. Chris, I have been trying to keep it clean but I think keeping it cold in the fridge made the plastic a bit more brittle than I was ready for. As a matter of
Forum: rodboard

OK y'all know what happened. Third time I put the lid back on the perma-gloss jar. seems to me that I read somewhere that i read somewhere on here about a storage can that you could vacuum air out of for perma-gloss. Anyone on here sell these little cans? I never used this stuff before and thought I would give it a whirl on my current rod. I haven't built up enough to tell if I'm goin
Forum: rodboard

3 pc blanks are my blanks of choice. I have no practical reason for preferring a 3 over a 4 other than the aesthetics of a 3pc rod. I have a few 2pc rods that end up being loaners when I take a friend new to fly fishing to the crick. Other than that they never see the light of day 3 and 4 pc rods are the way to go. They have every advantage, They are shorter and easier to travel
Forum: rodboard

Tim here is a pic of the power hone I use with the diamond laps. There is also a pic of a diamond lap by itself laying in front of the hone. The one on the right is the slow speed one that I use. The other one is a faster variable speed hone I usually use with rough grits for rough shaping engraving tools. That one would burn up small stuff like this. Honestly I don't think it would
Forum: rodboard

Bill, I am actually trying to work out the 09 school schedule now. I'm running a bit late with that because I have some other people teaching some specialized engraving classes here next year and I am having to co-ordinate with them on the schedule. I am trying to leave that last couple weeks of Feb. Open. I want to attend this year if I can make it work. Even if I don't get a table I
Forum: rodboard

Bill, Titanium is a like like aluminum in that it tends to be a natural heat sink. If there is heat to be had Titanium will collect it and hold it. That's why I use diamond laps and I turn my lap slow. 250-300 rpm seams to be about right. If I took that speed up to 1,500 -2,000 rpm that lap would burn that foot up fast. The diamond cuts a lot more efficiently and cooler than most ab
Forum: rodboard

If I am reading this correctly (and I may not be) you have the leader and tipet backwards. The tapered leader attaches to the fly line. On the end of that you have a short section a tippet. I find tthree reasons for the tippet on the end of the leader. 1. Having a fine tippet on the end of the line helps keep the fish from detecting that the fly is attached to something. 2. Since most
Forum: rodboard

Thanks Tom, I forgot to mention that the best place to get the laps is @#$%& you can get a 800 - 1000 grit 6" lap on their for $25-$30, the nylon rod and screws are cheap from places like MSC or Enco. and an arbor to fit the 1/2" hole in the lap shouldn't be too expensive. A guy could put together the whole set up for $40-$50 and make life a lot easier grinding guide feet ( especial
Forum: rodboard

I know there are very few new wheels being invented now days so I am sure someone has done this before but ... Here is a fixture I came up with for grinding the tapers on guide feet. I have better and cleaner tapers with this than anything else I have tried. It is also fast. Only takes a couple minutes of grinding for a first class clean taper. Basically it is a nylon rod drilled and tap
Forum: rodboard