I have seen this repair process either here or in the magazine (I think). I would rather strip the rod down and rebuild but that is not what the customer wants. I wasn't sure about the strength of the reel seat either so that is why I asked. Thanks for the help
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I'll be using a standard Fuji ECSM reel seat and it is a crankbait rod, medium / fast action
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I need to replace a broken reel seat on a casting rod. I am going to cut the reel seat and rod in half in the middle and repair the rod using the ferrel repair then put a new seat over it. Question; Should I use a sleeve over the repair and then step up the size of the reel seat, or can I use a full reel seat as the sleeve? Thanks, Steve
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I have not been charging anything different but they sure seem like more work to me. I don't build no where near as many rods as most of you but maybe I just need more practice. Thanks for the input, Steve
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The older I get, the harder it seems for me to work with micro guides, but everybody wants them. I was just wondering if anybody charges more labor wise for micro builds? And how much more? I'm not looking for total cost pricing since that depends on components, just the cost difference between building a standard build and a micro build. Thank you, Steve
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I have used poker chips for trim rings, sometimes you can get them in several different colors too and they are cheap. I built a spinning rod for a golfer friend of mine and used a disgarded golf club shaft for the butt end of the rod. I knew what kind of clubs he used and I have a friend that rebuilds golf clubs so he gave me a really nice shaft in the brand my friend used. I built the grip o
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Could you wrap the bottom 2 feet of a blank then put a coat of epoxy on and let cure. Then install your grips and reel seat right over the epoxy? Would there be an issue with the strength of the bond since you went over epoxy? I have done this several times painting the bottom of a blank. I have not had any bonding issues yet but the builds are not that old. Steve
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Mike Harris, that is some very nice work
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I do not use the heat shrink tubing, never have tried it since I met John Timberlake at one of the Expo's and he showed me how to make the grips without it. I use a zip tie at the ends holding the fiber down on the mandrel and I use a small brass wire at all the other contours. The wire bends real easy and one small twist locks it down. Once dry, you remove the wires and I will sand/file down
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I use size A for all my guide wraps and sometimes D on a butt wrap. Couldn't do any of it without my El' Cheapo 1.75 readers
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I bought the Pac Bay dryer when I started and it was the best investment I made. I use it to apply all my finishes and run it all night in the drying mode. Now I am considering the multi dryer with 4 stations for drying only. Probably plenty of sponsors to the left sell them, I believe I got mine from Donart, it is $65. Steve
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I asked this same question when I started building and was told that the metallic threads are just as strong as the non metallic threads. I use it most of the time for complete wraps and an occasional trim band when desired. I have had traouble with some spools of thread that come apart in the middle of a wrap, you need to watch your thread tension closely. If I had a choice, all my wraps will
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I caution you on calling Lance, the last time I did it cost me $350 bucks! Lance is a great guy, he will help you through anything. Steve
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don't see how I missed that, thanks Chuck
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I like to stock up on discount and close-out blanks when I can. Sometimes the action is perfect but the overall length is just short. I would like to make an extention in the desired length that fits inside the main blank. I would fit it as tight as I can and epoxy it in place, and I assume I need to wrap the outer blank to keep it from splitting under pressure correct? I know that adding an
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Thanks for the info guys, I appreciate your suggestions Steve
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I've built a couple rods with size 4.5 micros and used the same size top. Now I see the size 3 micros and want to build with them but I can't seem to find any tip tops the same size. Without looking through all the vendor sponsors, can somebody please tell me where I can purchase size 3 tip tops? I just can't run 3's all the way out and put a 4.5 tip top at the end. Or, is there a reason yo
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Cal, I attended my first show a couple years ago when I first started building and repairing rods. I don't remember seeing any booth that was not somehow related to the rod building industry. There were plenty of vendors selling product to give you choices, and plenty of blanks to be purchased and/or handled. Depending upon your interests, the seminars are valuable enough to just attend for t
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sounds good guys, thanks for the info. Steve
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I guess it's best just to cut any tops from glass blanks. And I guess the small dremel tool with an abrasive wheel is what you all are using? Thanks for the help, Steve Chontos
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I have been having fits trying to remove tip tops from a couple fiberglass boat rods. These rods are 6' 6" medium heavy fiberglass and I removed all wraps and epoxy up to the top before heating it up but they will not budge. I hate to heat the fiberglass up too much for fear of damaging the blank. Can anybody help me out with this? Thanks, Steve Chontos
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Breakaway, that is the brand rod this is, built on an AllStar blank. I'll check that website too and see what I come up with. Thank you, Steve
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A customer brought me a salt water surf casting rod (baitcasting set up) that he would like me to duplicate. It is a 2 pc. AllStar blank, 11' 9", 20 to 50# line, 3 to 6 oz lure. The only number I can find is LDFC 119-2XH. Can anyone offer assistance where I might be able to locate these blanks, or something similar? I have not yet checked with any other manufacturer but will if that's wh
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Lorenzo, I would order the 12.0 and the 12.5 and use the one that fits best. I have found some variation in sizes between manufacturers, but not much. If I was to only order 1, I would go with the 12.0. If the 12.5 is even a little too big, it won't be a tight fit where you want it to get your grip length right and performance and looks will be sacrificed. With any of the exposed blank reel
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I love the split reel seat and have built many of them and have had no problems with adhesion. I use Rod Bond for all my builds. However, I did have the front section slip one time and that was due to me using wide masking tape under the section. The tape was wound several layers thick and the tape slipped, not the epoxy. Lesson learned, I always use arbors to fill the gaps now. Steve
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Thanks for all the input, that's some good stuff. Steve
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I have repaired several rods in various locations with the inner ferrel, outer sleeve method and have had no failures. I am wondering if there is an alternative to the big, ugly outer sleeve? I have tried to thin the sleeve down as much as possible but you really can't remove too much material without loosing the strength. How about using carbon fiber material and wrap it around the repair
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Looks very similar to a Fuji ACS that has been customized. They (Kistler) call that a Fuji Skeleton Split, may be something Fuji is making for them?? It looks a little different than the stock ACS, and , by the way, Kistler charges $50.00 for that split reel seat on their Build Your Own Rods.
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This incident took place last week as Bill was preparing to go to the expo. I purchased some micro guides and tops from Swampland over a year ago and finally decided to make that first build. I had a question about how to run my guides so I sent Bill Stevens an email about it. About 2 nano seconds after I hit send, I knew that I didn't give Bill enough information and sure enough, he replied
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Roger, Holding the rod firmly upside down and pulling the line as described, I do not notice anything weird going on. Pulling side to side the rod transitions smoothly, it does not try to rotate in my hand. I understand what Tom is saying, it just seems exagerated with this blank. None of my other rods perform this way. I think something occured during manufacture and that is what I'm se
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