All these people are right, I have made all these mistakes and have spent more time doing rework on my first three rods than I did doing them the first time. Also remember you are going to make mistakes, no matter how much you have reead and videos you watch, let it roll off your back and keep going, it is worth it.
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I usually use 9 guides on an 8'6" rod. My preference is to have slightly oversized guides, as it seems to help it to shoot line a little further due to more room for the line to flow through and therefore less friction. I would use , from top down, 3 size 2, 3 size 3, 1 size 4 and an 8mm stripper then a 10 mm stripper. I like having two stripper guides some people prefer one I guess, if s
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Yes, I am talking about the Satin. It is actually Tru Oil gunstock finish, the bottles I get don't say gloss or satin. But they do put a very nice finish on bamboo, just not real glossy. I can verify now though that we are talking about two different products from the same company. And they do still make and market both. The one I am using is regularly used under a urethane, I can see where
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The reason people use urethane over tru oil is to get a high gloss along with the beautiful dark coloring you get from tru oil. You can not get a good gloss finish with tru oil alone no matter how many coats you use. Believe me I have tried. You can over apply and make it look glossy, but it will also look cheap. I have a Ruger M77 stock with 21 coats of tru oil, a little over half a bottle, a
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By the way, That would need to dry in a worm dry spot for two days, In regular conditions it should dry for about a week, the tru oil must be completely cured. It will probably be done in 3-4days at 72 degrees but I would give it a week. If you have a spot where you can keep it around 100-120 degrees for the first 12 hours it can be done in two days.
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You CAN put urethane over Tru Oil. Yes it is an oil, actually a mix of a few. A lot of people and major manufacturers put urethane over an oil finish on gun stocks. I have refinished two bamboo rods like that and had good results. You should go over the rod with fine grade steel wool after the tru oil has dried for at least 2 days before applying the urethane. Polyurethane is used on gun sto
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That is precisely how I did it. but I would use permagloss.
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I have done it twice with a drill and it worked, it was ugly until I was finished, but it worked and seriously cut the time usually involved when starting from scratch. I had a casting rod that I liked but wanted it to be spinning, and I had a broken spinning rod, funds were short so I made something work. And it did very well. You may have not been using a big enough drill bit. I used a ha
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Vern Metcalf was my bus driver when I was in elementary school in Hazen Arkansas, and the girls basketball coach. Now he is a retired principal that spends as much time as possible entertaining his grand kids. Didn't know he had a junior, good to meet ya! That is a joke, but it is also for the most part true.
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Sorry Bill, I am a legitimate drug user. I had knee surgery a couple weeks ago. I apologize for the apparently inappropriate comment. Thomas, are you in the Navy? I noticed NMCI next to your name, I was in the navy for 8 years.
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Underwraps on a 5 weight just add unwanted weight. Keep fly rods light as possible, the way they were intended!!! Fish can't see trim wraps, and they would run off if they could. That is all I have to add, as though it were needed.
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George, is that why I can't catch a fish? I have all the best stuff though!!! The A just takes a little longer, but your wraps will be more flush with the rod and your mistakes (if small) will not show up as bad after finish is applied. I have use Gudebrod Rod Varnish, Permagloss, flexcoat high build, and Duragloss LS supreme, all have there uses. All work well and are fairly easy. If yo
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Are you using color preserver? I have seen some of mine do that when I did not. Also what kind of thread are you using?
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The A7 is not too large, I have an 8' 3/4wt that it looks great on. I have seen a UL3 with the graphite insert as well.
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I fly fish quite a lot, and well, what steve said, nothing to add really. If you step, slam a door, close a trunk, misplace your guides, or whack something fairly hard on or with your rod, it doesn't matter what type of rod you have, it will break. Want to be over cautious, throw blank weight aside and trout fish with a nine weight. Otherwise get what you like, I always prefer light weight. I
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Put the cork seal over the tru-oil, otherwise the tru-oil will rub out over time (probably a years use for the average angler). Also you can use Birchwood Casey Walnut tone gunstock filler and it will come out a beautiful dark brown, when you have applied a good coat and let it dry, then coat it with cork seal. The tru oil will be about two shades lighter than the filler. On the good side, th
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I have some teal colored gudebrod thread but it is not NCP. But it would match really well for the Jaguars. I can look and give you the color number if you like. A while back when I was looking for a make shift color preserver I found something that works better than gudebrod or flexcoat color preservers, I have never used the others. It is Fabric Stiffener made by Plaid industries. I found it
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Your issue is humidity. Here in Arkansas I have to put my finish on at night because I have to do it out in my shop and cannot regulate the temp in there. I have noticed that the higher the humidity the worse the finish turns out. I lived in Jacksonville FL for quite a while and the weather was very similar to what it is here. This is just a guess but I believe that is your problem. If you h
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OK, Thanks.
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Have you tried anything yet? I was anxious to see your results.
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That looks great, I have been wondering how to do that.
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My Idea is a little extra work but I think it would show up nicely. I recently took a cork grip that I had made finger and thumb grooves in to fit my hand and put four coats of birchwood casey walnut tone gun stock filler on it. After it dried I put a coat of cork sealer. It is beautiful and has held up very well so far. That being said, If you could laser engrave it and rub one to two co
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When I have done my coats with only a few minutes between the finish was nice and even, but it turned cloudy after about three days.
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Then I need to learn the art of wiggamajig. Cause I lose a lot of hooks.
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I think it is your line as well. I have some cheap Cortland Fairplay line that binds terribly with my guides. It was all I could afford at the moment and I needed it then. For a while I thought I had screwed something up building the rod but I soon realized that it was the line. It seems to be far more porous than the other lines I have and it sticks to my guides, the more surface area of the
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I have never done it with a fighting butt, you may well be right. The ones I have done were for bream and crappie and an occasional trout.
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I don't know, I was about to drop a ton on a TXL for bream and trout when I can make the 120 mile drive once a month, but now I am thinking of cutting a few corners on it and getting one of these as well. I live in Brinkley AR and there is far more bass fishing in my area than anything else, Also Catfish but I hate fishing for them. Just a thought, how many here have caught a 3 pound catfish o
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So if you have a rod without the straightest axis marked, how do you find it. I know how to get the spine by weighting the rod in the middle, but how would I arrive at the straightest axis?
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Take a 8 inch piece of a broken rod that will fit very close to perfectly into the butt of the rod. Use a generous amount of what ever epoxy you would use to set the reel seat and epoxy the piece of rod half way into the butt of your blank ensuring a tight fit, when that is cured set your reel seat on the extension. I would not try this for any other purpose but to extend it the length of the
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Why would someone ignore the spine? Especially on a fly rod?
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