I'll have to try it on the next build, Tom. I'm not going to start removing guides from what has become one of my favorite rods, one that seems to work just fine. I'm just a hobby builder, building a few rods max a year, and when I finish one, it's a significant occasion, and not an accomplishment to be undone. Yes, the original topic was centerline vs bottom edge of the ring for the line pat
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To clarify, what I did was mount an 18 to the 25 with the rings concentric, centered to each other. So the centerline line path was unaltered and the distance to the spool was unaltered at 24 inches. Tom, I can place a guide at any distance less than 24, will try a couple positions of each size and see what happens. Of course there will be the extra guide a few inches in front of the first g
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Regarding Eugene's 15,000 rpm for the line coming off the spool, I found that number to be suspect intuitively, so I did my own computations. Lo and behold, he is right. Pretty illustrative of the dynamic process we are discussing. Just think about the dynamics of 15,000 rpm, .014 seconds from reel to the first guide. Sorry to doubt you, Eugene. As you can see from this string of postings,
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Answering the questions on guide placement and alignment, the 18 was placed "over" the original 25, rings centered, so it maintained the line path through the center of the rings that I had used when I built the rod. The distance to the reel was altered maybe 1/16 of an inch, essentially unchanged. Tom interpreted my posting exactly right. Here is a number I haven't given you befor
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Ken, my trial was with the same line path, through the center of the guides. The 18 allowed me to center it in the existing guide. No changes were made to subsequent guides, so it's through the center on all guides. I tried it only because I thought someone would have said the 25, since it showed line revolving all the way around the guide instead of just hitting at the bottom, was not contro
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I am fully aware that gravity is always there, but what my numbers were looking at was how significant it is when the line is accelarating from zero to about 90 mph in miliseconds by being pulled axially off a reel spool. And as you cannot argue the fact that gravity is always there, you also cannot argue the fact that if the line has only .014 seconds between the reel and the first guide in wh
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Thanks Tom for your last post, it answers the question of how do you know. Knowing that the videos have been consistent is important. Some numbers to give some idea of the dynamics involved: One source said fly casting dynamics calculations resulted in velocities of up to 600 ft per second, about 400 miles per hour. One casting distance I've seen mentioned a lot is 135 feet.
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Great discussion, thanks for all your comments. I'll go to work now. Rob, one thing about the reel being below the guides-while that's true, the centerline of the spool will be pointing right at either the centerline of the first guide or at the top of the guide (in the options we are discussing) and the line will be pulled toward that guide by forces in front of the guide either about at the
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Good comments folks, and good test suggestion, Tom. Ken, "what I have observed" refers to a rod I recently built that I did a little test casting on, not a rigorous study like Tom suggests, but some test casting with different setups. If it makes any difference, it is a 7 1/2 foot spinning rod made on a 3 wt fly blank with 3 transition guides (27x) and micros as running guides, design
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Thanks, guys, appreciate your comments and expertise. I'm interested in hearing from the people who have posted here in the past about how the line goes off the reel and through the guides. Since it is a pretty dynamic process, I feel a little uneasy in believing that the line sags due to gravity rather than contacting the first guide all around its circumference due to the inertia of the fast
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The primer in the library doesn't mention the 27X; I believe that is a development since the primer. I am laying out a rod and will use the 27x, but another question keeps bugging me and I could use some advice. The primer runs a straight line from the reel spool centerline to the tops of the guides leading to small guides. Why would it not be more efficient for line flow to have a straght li
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I don't think that a decal will adhere to cordura no matter what you do. Cordura is nylon fabric, and you will be destroying it by sanding, if that's your method of clearing. The fabric texture will, in my opinion, prevent a decal from adhering. One possibility if you want to invest the time is to find a piece of thin "rigid" smooth plastic tubing about the same size as the tube and
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Flex coat resin and hardener have slightly different colors, can't remember which is darker, but if they are identical, maybe you have two of the same.
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pennsylvania game commission has a very nice image that may legally be used. click on the thumbnail, the big image will open, right click on the image and save to your computer. Once you have it, you can manipulate it with a photo program to get it the size you want then printi it onto one of the label media that everyone has been talking about on this site for a while. Best would be the
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I have a friend looking for a new spinning rod for casting ~ 1/4 oz jigs to sea trout, and he prefers 2 piece. I agreed to build one for him-it will be his first custom rod designed for his reel and his preferences. He uses braid. I've found some nice one piece rods, like the Castaway 964, but am still looking for a 2 piece. Any suggestions?
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One good way to make the darker color feathers show nicely is to put the inlay on a ramp coming out from the front grip or front of the reel seat, tapering down to the blank, using Batson foam reel seat shims. Very light in weight, with finish looks like ivory, takes flex coat very well, easy to make on a drill press. Be careful, it "machines" very quickly-it's easy to go too fast and
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If you are looking for a panfish rod, stay away from the steelhead/salmon rod blanks. They are way too heavy. I haven't gone as long as 8 or 8 1/2, but I built a spinning rod off a 7 1/2 foot 3 weight fly blank, and it is awesome. It has become my go to rod when the fishing gets slow and I have to go small. I've caught bass to 19 and walleye to 22, and it works. You just have to be patient.
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Batson foam reel seat shims, when covered with a few coats of rod finish, look very much like ivory.
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Andrew, I think you gave me detailed instructions on how to build that reel seat, and I built it into a really light, wonderfully responsive, panfish rod. That rod seat you advocate is really wonderful. Only thing I would add is to go big. Because the only penalty in going big is a little cork, it doesn't cost much weight, but the ergonomic advantage in going 17, or bigger, is significant.
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I suggest you try to tactfully tell your customer that there just are not many rods that fish as poorly as Ugly Sticks. I take a young man who doesn't have a dad to take him fishing out to the lake now and then, and I had been giving him my old Ugly Stick to use. He got it tangled, and I took it to fix and gave him one of my rods. Then I started fishing with the Ugly Stick, and it was a revela
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My choice for a finesse rod is to build a conical ramp from the front of the reel seat,or from one cork ring in front of the reel seat, to the blank. Make it out of Batson or other foam reel seat shims and it will weigh almost nothing. Very comfortable and ergonomic. Be sure to keep your hook keeper out of the way.
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I use the wrap and slide, and it works well. What it doesn't do is allow me to find one if I drop it. To fix that I take a very small brightly colored cable tie, cut a one inch piece of one longitudinally so it fits snugly into the micro guide's eye, and stick it in. Handle the guide by its new "handle," and if you drop it, the bright color allows it to be found easily.
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I have built that rod with Gudrbrod olive without CP and it matches the color of the blank quite well, giving a "stealth" appearance, if that's what you want. Not sure of contrasting colors that would work well other than gold metallic trim, which looks good on the blank.
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Just think how much trouble it will be to service the reel after it is glued to the rod. Reels are so complex now that I don't attempt a complete servicing any more. BPS has a service operation, probably Shimano as mentioned,
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Eugene, I assure you that there is indeed something to this. Over that last few years with the high interest in the highest moduluses on graphite and the stiff rods that seem to be used for jigging that the opportunity to make a really nice, soft, light, responsive, bait casting and spinning rod for casting lures has been missed. If you look at the fishing shows with the pros they are using fai
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on my first micro build I lost two of them, never found them. Then I found how to keep track of them, I trimmed a brightly colored cable tie in width and length so it just fit snugly into the micro, cut its length to about an inch, and handle the micros by hanging onto the cable tie. If I drop it, it's easy to find, but don't drop them nearly as often as before. My next build should be a littl
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My last build has become my favorite rod for not only panfish, but other fish that require really small lures. Just caught a 22 " walleye on it with a tiny "beetle spin" type lure. It is built from an American Tackle AMF 763 blank, 3 weight fly blank. It is 7 1/2 feet long, and I think that length is right-it casts Norman Deep Tiny N's like rockets, and lighter stuff quite well
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Eugene, have you built that blank into a spinning rod? It sounds very tempting, based on my experience with the panfish rod. (American Tackle AMF 763).
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Regarding rods humming-when the charge is building they do hum. My son and I had a close one and it was not yet even close to stormy. First indication of trouble was the line going into the water almost vertically instead of sagging into the water. When I raised my rod it hummed. We took off immediately and nothing happened. But it appears to me that the humming and the line not entering the
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Thanks guys, both those blanks look very interesting, maybe have to build them both. I'm still open to other suggestions-much appreciated. Mick
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