Get it when it's still warm and not that hard. No way to prevent it 100%, so just take it in stride, peel it off with a fingernail while it's still warm.
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Thanks, mick
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Tom, one last question on this failure. How do you differentiate between the case where the guide is crushed into the blank first and is the primary cause of failure and the case where the blank snaps between the legs of the guide thus crushing the legs of the guide into the blank as the blank pieces are bent severely toward each other? thanks
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And that stuff has a cause, a reason for happening. It doesn't just "happen." Donald was looking for more than just "stuff happens," and thanks to Tom, he got what he wanted.
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Stuff happens, but there is a technical reason for every rod failure. I agree that with the long foregrip fighting grip that it is unlikely that reaching out is the cause. My failure caused by that was nothing like this failure. The fact that the guide is bent back is significant. If the guide were defective and simply broke and nicked the blank would it be bent back like that? I don't t
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I think Michael is asking if someone reached up and supported the blank at that point. I did that with an 8 wt and the break was much messier than this one. It was almost as if the blank "exploded." I don't think that was the cause of this failure. With this clean a break I think it may be a rod defect and that the guide failure was secondary. The defect could be in the blank fro
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Do it right, it works. Most likely issue is not being able to get epoxy into the right spots, or having it stripped and getting a poorly glued sleeve. But done right, you won't know that it has been repaired.
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If you were to mount a CRB (Mudhole) thread tensioner on the rear (vertical orientation, just drill a hole and insert the tensioner) of your moveable center piece, a little cup hanger hook on the leading edge of that movable wood piece, you will have a very easy to use tensioner. I used one like it for years, and it works fine, easier than the wing nuts. Then mount two or more simple wooden
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Fly rods only makes it much much more simple. All the manufacturers have guide sizing and spacing sites available, search for St Croix guide spacing charts for one, hit the button for guide spacing at Batsonenterprises.com, and look around at Mudhole's site for info. One thing to remember, though, is that you should adapt the spacing guidelines to your own blank by doing a stress test, and you
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Let's suppose you get more responses supporting ceramics? Since you've had bad performance from them, what are you going to do with the information? Start using ceramics since they work for others? Not likely.
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Sounds like cork, right? I expect it will work fine. But there is one thing you can do next time to make sure the cork doesn't split from the radial force imparted by the very tight fit to the blank, and that is to keep reaming (with close to the proper taper) until it needs very little force to seat it into the right position. Some cork isn't that strong in tension and may split when forced i
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You said you live near Mudhole, right? I suggest you take the rods to Mudhole and ask if they have an expert who could evaluate them and advise. I'll bet they would help, and it would be a lot more effective than the help we are able to give.
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I would put the new guides exactly where the old ones were and blend the end of the new epoxy to the old. Should look fine. Do not epoxy the whole rod. If your rods are finished with epoxy, I would be surprised. If you use epoxy you will create a wavy mess. If you have to add finish, try a little permagloss on the underside to see if it is compatible with the existing finish. If it is, it c
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Sounds to me like a clear case for using what works for the duty cycle being imposed. I have never had a ring fall out. I've cracked one tiptop ring. My son fishes much more than I with rods I've built for him, all ceramic, and not one failure. I have friends who bring their rods to me and it looks like they've gone to war with them. Sounds like my son and I can use ceramic ring guides and m
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I will take an extra rod if I have one. I will always take an extra tiptop of a slightly larger size than the original.
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I've not used the CER guides, and I would not use them on your rods. The fat, white, rings are not my style. I prefer the Vertus guides you are considering, and you have nothing to fear from using them. And they look good. One thing to consider, and I'm basing this comment on the original rod reel seat pic, is that all rods and reels should be thoroughly rinsed after use in salt water. Whi
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Roger is correct on the use of glass on a graphite/carbon rod for repair. It is the preferred material, but I have used graphite and found no problem with using it. There are so many variables like wall thickness, modulus, etc, that you theroretically cannot predict exactly what will result. But practically, whatever you can find that will fit will work much better than simply adding a tiptop.
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Roger is correct on the use of glass on a graphite/carbon rod for repair. It is the preferred material, but I have used graphite and found no problem with using it. There are so many variables like wall thickness, modulus, etc, that you theroretically cannot predict exactly what will result. But practically, whatever you can find that will fit will work much better than simply adding a tiptop.
Forum: rodboard

Roger is correct on the use of glass on a graphite/carbon rod for repair. It is the preferred material, but I have used graphite and found no problem with using it. There are so many variables like wall thickness, modulus, etc, that you theroretically cannot predict exactly what will result. But practically, whatever you can find that will fit will work much better than simply adding a tiptop.
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A couple comments-if you are able to pull through with 1/4 inch of overlap then you don't have as much tension as you think you have. It would break. But, on the video, the deflection of the blank and the effort of the pull through both indicate excessive tension. And, it's hard to evaluate on the video, but are you actually cutting with a razor blade against the blank? You may damage the blank
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If I understand your first two questions properly, I would not simply put a tiptop on. Go to the library and read the rod repair article. That failure can be fixed to return the rod to almost its initial power and action. As for guide sizes, if you like it, don't change it, but it could work well with very small guides, as small as will pass any knots you want to use. Then the rod will become
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I agree, Phil. I didn't mean to disparage them, just to express an opinion regarding how different level fly fishermen might interpret them differently. It is great that they do show all the data so that if one's priorities are different than theirs, it can be easily handled. I'd still like one of you experts to comment on whether a rod that can handle 100 feet of line well would feel underl
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The best rod for an expert may not be the best rod for me. The Yellowstone 8 shootout puts high priority on handling 100 feet of line. There is no way I can reliably handle 100 feet of line with any rod. A better rod for me would be one that would handle about half that easily and accurately. I'm not sure that prioritizing 100 feet compromises its performance at lesser distances, but in most
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I think the most likely reason for the cracking at the feet is too much epoxy. You have to get epoxy there, but pick it off if it forms a significant "blob" forms. Regarding the peeling, I can only speculate that something happened between the first and second coat. Maybe too much time between coats? Without scuffing it? Contamination? I usually use two coats of Flex Coat Lit
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I've tried a number of locations and found the bottom, 180 degrees, in front of the reel seat the best for avoiding the line. 90 degrees is the worst, based on my experience. Both spin and cast. Just behind the seat has been recommended to keep the hooks, farther from any boat storage sock problems, but I don't care for it. The hooks are nearer the hands. As for style I really like the l
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I would try the dry wall tape before purchasing a roll of it. I found it so messy that I gave mine away. I like the open mesh which allows the epoxy penetration mentioned but found it too hard for me to handle cleanly compared to the other methods, which are plenty strong, too. When using masking tape I fully encapsulate the tape with epoxy, and when using foam I also glue it into the seat bef
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You can cobble a rod dryer from a couple V blocks, one with a cheap motor from @#$%& and an altered tuna can for a butt holder. Regarding a wrapper, I have never had a motorized wrapper. I wrapped for many years with a home made one, worked OK, but I finally upgraded to the Am Tack unit without a motor. Just the wrapper, no motor. I find if far superior to the hand wrapper I cobbled, and
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Got it, thanks.
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How do you define "art?" From the title I thought you were talking about "aesthetics," but now I think you are talking about art as being "that which we cannot understand", or "that which science cannot explain.". If it's the former, I argue that it depends on one's own priorities. If the aesthetics of the rod mean a lot to you or your customer, then a
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I don't see how CP could prevent this. If in fact two parts of the same component were mixed, CP is irrelevant. Heavy on the hardener is suspect too since it is a chemical reaction in which discrete, individual, molecules are looking for another with which to mate. It just seems like we would have left over hardener molecules. We really don't know if it was not two parts of hardener that was
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