A friend recently gave me an older 9-foot spinning surf rod (and 80-size[!] Mitchell reel) to clean up and use. It has several broken guides and the Eva grips are pretty well shot. The first guide was held on by shrink tube and the top was definately not the original. I'd like to start over, but I need some guidance from the experts out there. I've seen articles about using low heat to re
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I have a potential client asking about a telescoping rod to pull plugs for walleye using leadcore. He's been using fairly cheap fiberglass rods, and is not finding what he wants on the shelves, so he's inquiring what's available that I could put together for him. I see an 8ft blank from Janns Netcraft, and then everything else looks like it's built for saltwater boat rods. Those of you wi
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White testors model paint under the orange will give you a great, bright, solid orange look. I had the same frustration the first (and last) time I tried it without the undercoating. Even an underwrap of white or grey thread didn't look as good (IMHO)
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Thanks a bunch, both of you! I'm really excited to get started on this one!
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Anyone have the guide heights for the PacBay Minima4 guides? Specifically looking for the SV single foot spinning guides. I'd rather not order extra guides as I'm setting up a seven-ft rod using the 27X outlined in the library and RB. I wouldn't think that the heights would be consistant across manufacturers, and there couldn't be a "rule of thumb," as the reel face and len
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Thanks to all for the feedback...I'm looking forward to getting this one, and I'll be sure to post results. Thanks Again, and Happy New Year!
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I'm looking to build a truck rod for my father-in-law that he can keep behind his pickup seat (in a tube, of course) So, it will have to be a 2pc. Spinning rod, on the lighter side of things. He likes to use smaller jigs and tubes, with live bait leeches on the equivalent of a drop shot rig. Local fish are mainly walleyes and crappie, but he loves to find the occasional smallmouth tha
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Looking ahead to a project for early next year...building a 7' panfish/crappie rod. Request is for a matte black blank with orange and white threadwork. I've seen several good examples of the thread colors in the photo pages, but I'm having trouble finding a blank in matte black, of all things. I'm sure I'll kick myself when I see the replies, but I'm going to ask anyway. Thanks in advance
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I'm looking for opinions...(pretty sure this would be the right place for that sort of thing.HA!) How iridescent is the Beetle Green Madeira thread? Are there others that run more towards blue/purple? Does the color hold up under finish? What I'm looking for is to get close to the color combo on a pheasant's neck. Also, I haven't used Madeira before...any special handling or techniques
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I've made several rods for my kids and their friends using the 42" graphite rods from Janns Netcraft catalog. I like the largest-diameter best, but the middle size is good, as well. The rods are IM6. To find them online, you'll need to search for "Ice," since they don't list under the rod blanks on their own. The bigger ones are .225 base, size 5 tip. The next size is .185
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Following that last thought...Many of the rods I've built with the favorite colors of the kids' current favorite team, etc, instead of the characters themselves. The color choices tend to last longer than the cartoon.
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I used the 3s56ulf2 to build a backcountry spinning rod for my brother-in-law. Great Blank!. I cut down a Matrix Vetre handle to basically the length of his hand and balanced it using the same reel he was going to use with it. The blank felt longer than it actually was, since the handle was shortened. I've got pictures of it with a UL reel (before final finishing.) The handle wasn't tough to
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Thanks for your feedback. I'm looking forward to posting pix of my rods when I get done!
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I'm looking into using automotive paints/pigments to color a blank I'm building. The owner wants to have either a translucent color or, preferably, one of the color-shifting paints like Alsa's Mystic. Question #1 is...will I need to add a flex agent to the paint as I reduce it to cover the blank, or can I put flex into a clear coat on top of the base color, (or could I cheat and just use a
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Thanks for the advice....what grit would you recomment I start with, if I'm just going to knock the ridges down a bit, and polish it up. Also, do I need to have a fast rotation, like using a lathe, or can I just put it into my normal turning equipment.
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It's getting closer to ice fishing season, and I've got a couple of small blanks that are unsanded and still have the marks from the cello wrapping. What is the best means of prepping these blanks? I don't want to compromise their action, but I do want to make sure they look like a quality job.
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Does anyone know if Falcon rods sells their blanks to rodbuilders? I just got done reading Tackletour's ICAST reviews and I'm interested in their new line of Crossmatch blanks/rods. Obviously, their not even for sale yet on their own products, but I've used their rods before and been impressed. Thanks in advance! --Scott
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I just finished my first full-sized rod since deciding to take the plunge into rod-making. Now I have a question...I'm shipping this one and, given shipping costs, would like to use a thinner-walled pvc to ship it to my customer. Standard-issue pvc from "the big orange box" weighs so much, it's going to be prohibitive to ship it. Any suggestions? It's a two-piece UL rod, so tube l
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