Good custom builders should have no trouble meeting or beating those weights for rods of similar construction. The nice thing about the ever increasing price of commercially produced rods, is that gets the fishing public more used to seeing those higher price tags. After awhile, the same money for a truly custom rod doesn't seem so bad. .........
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Yellow and black make green, so it stands to reason that if you're using the much more amber 205 hardener, that may be your problem. The 207 isn't crystal clear by any means, but it is the clearest of the available hardeners that West System offers. .............
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I've done a lot of them and haven't run into that sort of thing. ..............
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Those appear to be straight taper carbon tubes. You can buy them or make your own, straight or in any size and shape you want, with the information in RodMaker Magazine's past articles. ..........
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No, the top wrap should be very precisely spaced. Only burnish the bottom wrap out of place, not the top. ............
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I have a Vega Duplicator. It's well made, works as advertised. But there are some things it will not do. It cuts by a scraping action so on very hard/dense woods like the exotics it simply doesn't work very well. And Vega will openly tell you that it's not much good on those type woods. On softer woods, or things like cork, it's fine. It works pretty good as a cork duplicator but due to the sc
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One attendee has requested that we have a class for spincasting reels and said that even if we decide not to, he will be happy to go up against any spinning or casting reel. I took it as a joke, but many spincasting reels cast very nicely at this casting weight and general distance. ..............
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I have a set and will try to get those measurements for you in the morning. ...............
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You told me that line was not available, that's why we changed. Sure, use the heavier line. ..........
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It's certainly a very clean and professional looking rod. Well done. Decals are nice, but hand written inscriptions just fit a hand built rod. The ability to hand inscribe information on a round surface isn't easy. I'm no good at it. Wish I were. ..............
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I checked with the Best Western High Point this morning and out of approximately 500 rooms, they are down to only about 30. If you wish to stay directly across the street from the Showplace (Expo exhibit hall) this is where you want to be. They will sell out, probably before this week is over. There are 2 other hotels within walking distance of the Showplace - the Atrium Inn (336-884-8838) a
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There is a formula, but you have to understand that it's only marginally correct because there are no standards for fly rods. In other words, one company's 4-weight rod is another company's 5-weight rod and another company's 3-weight rod. But, if you want to try, take the line weight number and make that your numerator. Use 16 for the denominator. So if you're looking at a 4-weight fly rod yo
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No, but as soon as you put the top thread on and remove the spacing thread you'll know for sure. ..........
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Following is the final floor plan for the 2010 International Custom Rod Building Exposition. ...............
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This is nothing new. And it's not limited to fishing rod sales. Most things are sold this way and always have been - "sell the sizzle, not the steak." Obviously it can be taken to extremes, but painting rods in bright colors and giving them fancy names isn't such an extreme. It's been done many times before and will continue for decades to come. In the last few years you have almost
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You don't want to go too small on the bumper guide ring size. It's important that it be low to the blank, but the ring itself should be large enough that any line path movement between the 1st and 2nd guide should not put any side load on the bumper guide, which can happen if you use a ring that is too small. ..................
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If you're using regular nylon, you should put CP on the base layer if you want to maintain a vibrant, high contrast effect. ................
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Changing the threads in the base layer will impart a different tint to the top, by a little at least. Or you can introduce a new thread into the top layer which will totally change the color from that point forward. .................
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Check with any shop that sells them and tell them you're after a reel seat. These are often returned to dealers once they're broken and the dealer generally doesn't have to return them to the manufacturer in order to get a sales credit from the wholesaler. So they end up with rods that are tossed in the trash. You may find one that's willing to give you the handle from a broken one. It will be
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It's about 29mm. It will be a little large measured top to bottom as the hood flares in the area where the reel foot is inserted. ..............
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I assume you're talking about the cover photo. The second rod from the left contains a base wrap of black and white. The top layer is scarlet red. Notice that you do not see any black in the wrap - the overall color scheme is red. But you do see a high amount of contrast owing to the black and white underwrap. ..........................
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I want to remind anyone that might be interested about the Expo project I'm working on - I've gotten nearly 200 responses thus far and would gladly take another 200 before I finish up. ............
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Unhook it from your dryer while applying finish. Then once you have the finish where you want it, chuck it and start the dryer. You have so much more control finishing under hand power rather than trying to do it while the rod is being spun by your dryer. ...........
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Most of the Shimano rods are built on blanks sourced from the Orient. ...........
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As a unit, no I don't think so. But you could easily make your own with some skeleton hardware and a section of clear lucite tubing. Just shoulder the ends to accept the hardware. You can make your wrap, or whatever, on the blank underneath and it will show through the Lucite. ...............
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Start at the tip to begin with. The smaller guide wraps are easier done while the finish is still thin. You shouldn't require more than 30 to 45 seconds per guide wrap. If you're taking longer than that, you're doing work you don't need to do - the finish will do it for you if you'll let it. ...........
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I bring the leader around the butt of the rod and stick the fly hook in the frame of the stripping guide. ...........
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I have already stated that the attachment sent by Gene is fine. The one sent by "Joe Hall" is not. ...........
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The seat has been "ported" mostly for looks but it does lighten a seat quite a bit to put a half dozen 3/8th inch holes in it. Nothing else was done except for a 1/2 inch shortening of the threaded barrel. .........
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The Murray brothers, Bobby and Billy, were among the first to try and get bass anglers to use the proper terminology when describing rod attributes. They were instrumental in the "Bass Fishing Research University" (product of Indiana State University, I think) which toured the U.S. back around 1982 or so. They spent considerable time explaining the difference in power, action and spe
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