RodMaker Magazine has covered this topic in-depth, many, many times. In a very recent issue we even showed how to turn an oval or hammer handle shaped grip. Grips are just spindles for the most part. Any wood turning DVD or book will give you the basics. ...........
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No, it will not be recorded. .........
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Victor, You can go overboard with this sort of thing. In terms of any practical difference - what the human senses can actually detect, some things just aren't worth worrying about too much as you'll never know the difference. Having said that, I do build as light as I can in every respect. ...........
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It can also undermine the CP already on the wraps. Be careful. ............
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One of the perks in getting a new website for the Expo is that I'm able to host one heck of a lot more photos. I went in this morning and added some additional photos, many not published anywhere before. In all, the Expo photo page now has 36 color photos specifically from the 2009 event. ................
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You can certainly do that. The thing to remember is that the drop in sizes is more for the human eye and less for the line, which does not recognize guide sizes. If you used the #10 instead of the #12 the line wouldn't really be aware of it as the change in angle or drop is absolutely of no practical difference. It's just the human eye looking at the ring opening that likes to see a gradual dro
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Temperature does not play a large role, but you would not want the room extremely cold. ............
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The blanks are not available, although I know where all the Austin fly rods went when All Star discontinued them. You can find 100 of them at the upcoming Expo in High Point in February. There are plenty of value priced big water fly rod blanks that will do what you want to do. You're just going to have to do some looking among the sponsor's offerings to the left. I'm sure you'll get some sug
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Yes, yes and yes. That's what makes it a good material for future use in fishing rods. If the only important thing was a higher modulus, there are already plenty of other fibers to chose from. ..............
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Put a steaming tea kettle in the room to raise the humidity. Repeat a few times to get some moisture in the air. .............
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Size 3's are fine. Omit the 5 and the 4 for a straighter line path and a little less weight. ..............
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A new higher modulus carbon fiber with properties suited to making fishing rods. ............
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Blotching is generally a matter of wraps that have not been packed well. Never thin your CP. Never expect CP to perform miracles. If you put a very light colored thread over a very dark colored rod blank, you will loose a shade or have dark areas. ............
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I set up this website specifically for folks who don't subscribe to RodMaker. I wanted them to have some access to "trickle down" information from the magazine. I have no problem with folks here who don't subscribe because that was the reason for this site existing to begin with. Having said that, I can also see David's point (David is a District Attorney and you have to understand
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Something I became aware of in the last couple weeks - it has been a long time since there has been an actual improvement or advancement in rod building materials/fibers. But, there is something available now that just may find itself into fishing rod and blank manufacturing before very much longer. It would represent the first major advancement in a carbon rod fiber in a decade or more. ....
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Doug, You could take any rod made today and make it more sensitive. Use a blank with a larger diameter with thinner walls (which would give you more stiffness at less weight). Remove some of the guides (or all of them and run the line down through the blank). Get rid of most of the handle and anything else that adds weight. Tape the reel to the blank. In short, do everything you can to make t
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Vic Cutter has told me that Pacific Bay has fully tested them and he says that they are not easily grooved even by braid. Only a bit more time and use can validate this sort of thing. For now, however, they remain very hard to come by. Some sizes are backordered for a month and more out. ...........
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That's true - the NGC does not require you to have any running guides whatsoever. Whether you have them or not, or how many, depends on the size of the reel against the length of the rod. The only point of the running guides is to control the line and distribute stress on any rod length remaining past the choker guide. On some rods that length might require just 1 running guide, on longer ones i
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That was covered in the article, along with the supplier for the expanding urethane foam. In the meantime, Mike at Riley Rods has picked up the supplies and is offering them to rod builders in more economical quantities. His link is to the left in the sponsor column. .............
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At the moment, they are almost impossible to get from Pacific Bay. Certain sizes in particular. ...........
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Morris Schlesinger is one of the top wood turners practicing today. We're lucky to have back again in 2010. If you attended one of his normal demos you would find yourself paying a couple hundred bucks. At the Expo, it'll be free. .........
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I added an additional page of photos for those who have never attended, just to give them a little better idea of the scale of the event. .................
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There has been an unprecedented amount of traffic to the official rod Expo website these past couple months. Things always pick up and we see a surge in late December on through the month of February, but for some reason the traffic has been unusually heavy this year and our direct mailing has not even landed in most peoples’ mailboxes yet. In fact, the site was down for the last 5 days in Dece
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You should already have a live center for the tailstock. That will fit into a 60-degree bore on the other end of your mandrel. So you really don't need to buy anything else, other than to make sure your mandrels have that bore in place. ...........
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Your best bet is not to convert. But if you must, there are 25.4mm in an inch. .............
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You're fine. Remember, the length of the rod is not really an issue. There is no set number of running guides you must have. The running guides are just there to take up the remaining space between the choker guide and the tiptop. On two rods of different length, but using the same line and reel, the choker should be the same distance from the reel on both outfits. The only difference in the rods
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Move to the Flex Coat arbors, or the common brick foam arbors. I think once you try them you won't go back to masking tape. ...............
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Dry fit 2 arbors to the blank. The arbors should be short enough so that they won't show when the seat is mounted. Once you have them reamed/bored to fit each specific location on the blank, number them fore and aft, and then mount them in the appropriate positions inside the reel seat from either end. Just put a little epoxy inside the seat at either end and a little on the arbors themselves.
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You need to use as many as needed. How many will depend on the length of the rod, the handle length and the action and power of the rod. Generally, if you were to use say, 7 guides plus a tiptop on that blank, you'd have enough for good stress distribution without having so many that you undermine the blank's response to any great degree. You can always try it with 1 less, or 1 more, just to se
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