I presume you are rinsing well after salt water use. I keep my black boat looking like new by first cleaning the spots off with a dilute mixture of CLR. After that cleaning, which works well, all that is necessary is wiping it down with Lucas Slick Mist Speed wax after each use. Spray it on, wipe it off. No need for the CLR cleanings after the first one.; For rods I would think wetting a
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While it is easy to prove the stability (lack of torquing in the hand), with the smaller, lower guides of today, I don't think it's a significant advantage , significant enough to complicate your builds. I personally don't believe there is a casting advantage or disadvantage to them. If there is, it's pretty small. As you get more experience and more familiarity with the types of "spira
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Here is an example of the front of the uploading setup I mentioned. I turn my own cork-built a simple setup that works well in a drill press. No lathe.
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I agree on everything David had to say on the running guides. I think 5's make a lot of sense-going smaller can bring on some problems with no significant advantage. While his reduction train will work fine, I usually start with the KR reverse #6 and go all the rest of the way with the #5's. For spin I love the KLH set-up, and have settled on the 20H-10H-5.5M for the reduction. For lighte
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If you built your own CCS rig and the source would accept returns, you could cull their blanks as you now are, take some home, return the ones that didn't fit your requirements. I test every blank I get on my CCS rig. Power and action angle, not frequency. Really helpful to have the data. Some brands do give data, Quickline, Point Blank, and some will, on request, provide it.
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I think you are doing the best you can since objective specs are not available. Whipping a graphite rod through the air will provide no information. Really big butt diameters for the length of the blank usually indicate a magbass or extra-fast action, but not infallible. If the store has a carpeted floor you can gain a little info on power and action by flexing the blank with the tip on the f
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I would ask Rodgeeks-they are very responsive and may know the best answer. Worst case buy a Pro Wrap metallic in Royal Blue and Deep Blue- looks like one or the other will look good. But as you say, photos on a computer don't work well.
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I think the lower guides are in position to get more rough treatment than the upper ones. Maybe the easy deflection of the tips save some guides, too.
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The problem with saws is that it is possible for a tooth to catch fibers and break them out. So tape is right, and the fastest, smallest/finest tooth saw moving very slowly will work. But not as reliable as a high speed abrasive wheel moving slowly through the blank.
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Any info on how the MB and SJ differ? I can guess, but could use some experienced comments.
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Build yourselves a CCS rig and know what the power and action is. There is a way to do it without having to have that huge piece of pegboard around. You need a vise, a pedistal, and a level floor.
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Pro Wrap regular thread is fine, their metallic is very hard to manage. But they have a metallic black which I really like for its really black color and the fact that it holds well in nail knots for trim. The Fuji polyester ultra threads are very good, have not tried their or Pro Wrap's color fast threads (No CP).. I'm not fond of the Fishhawk thread, seems like a sort of coarse twist, but ha
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I think the lightest of all , given that the ergonomics of no seat at all are too bad to consider, would be a rigid foam polyurethane seat shim epoxied to the blank and topped with epoxy to prevent it from shredding, then tape the reel to it. It would have decent feel/ergonomics, good transmission of bites, would secure the reel well, and would weigh very little.
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Masking tape is ideal for gaps of the type you describe. I have used them many times. I have no experience with the thread. Wrap the tape until you get just a little play between the seat bore and the blank. You want a film of epoxy, but not a lot. Wrap it tightly, mash it down well, and when you epoxy (I would use paste-less messy, very reliable, but different strokes) it make sure to cover
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I, like Norman, use KBKT's on both cast and spin, and have had no problems of any kind. I use the locking wrap just to be sure-the KT foot is very small. On cast I usually use 3-4 KB's. If you like spiral, do it. I used to dislike spiral because of the goofy visual it gives, but with these small guides, they are hardly noticeable, so I'm back with spiral again. Although the advantage of spir
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Any blank of gray, gunmetal, charcoal, black, charcoal, will look very handsome using candy apple red as the main thread, then accents of black and gold metallic. For accents in black the Pro Wrap metallic black is a great thread which holds well for nail knots and is intensely black. But as stated above, there are so many options that will look very good. If you don't understand the alcohol c
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Get a 4 piece blank. So much easier to transport and nowadays, one cannot reasonably argue that 2 piece is better functionally.
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Great info here-shows the power of this forum very well. Thanks1
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Not rocket science, put a book under one or the other support. One can argue that it is not important, but it's so easy to fix, why not fix it. Put the book under the low support at the end that measures fewer inches than the other. Select the book thickness appropriately.
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Or buy from others during their Black Friday sales.
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I suggest you take a look at the Revo X inshore casting reel. Revos have a good reputation for casting well and this one has an 18# drag rating. Many casting reels only go to about 11 # on drag, and I think you want more for inshore. Check @#$%& for a seller with almost 100% satisfaction rating and and buy new, not used. Less than $100. If you buy a reel designed for inshore it should have
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Check GetBit for NFC, too.
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Cannot argue with Jay's experience-I know what he is doing is a tough duty cycle. I suggest a SIC tiptop, titanium alloy for the lightest that will confidently do the job.
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Why not ask Abu Garcia?
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I agree with Alex. I've been through this and built two fly rods into spin rods, a 3 wt and a 6 wt. The 3, being only 7 1/2 feet long, is OK, but a little sloppy. The 6, at 8 1/2 feet is too sloppy. It casts light lures a long way, and it's fun fighting fish with it, but it's too sloppy to accurately cast except for long casts. I was recommended a blank by Ron Schneider, a sponsor on the
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The problem with the nail knot that stands by itself is that it will not work with just a few wraps, the number depending on the characteristics of the thread and the skill of the wrapper. I've gotten 4 wraps to work fairly regularly, but not often 3, and 2 is out of the question. Unless someone has a secret that I don't know, which would be nice. For all nail knots I immediately stabilize the
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Ron Schneider, interesting that your link shows the tiptops, but if I were to rely on the BatsonsEnterprises.com web site, I would never find them.
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A wrap at the end of a main wrap is fairly easy, no matter how many threads. Lay a thread and a pull loop along the blank so that when you finish your main wrap you can wrap the trim band as many threads as you want, then pull it under the main wrap. Make it a little farther around the blank than where you want it to end, then as you pull it under, help it end where you want it by pinning the t
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OOPS! My rod is the SB841-3, not 843. CCS says it is a much more powerful blank than the "1" in the model number indicates.
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Nope, but SB843-3 (travel rod) seems fine. I don't know if all SB's are the same with respect to action, but the 843 is very fast indeed. Heavy butt that goes a long ways up.
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