The adhesive didn't fail - the bond did. Never rough up the surfaces beyond a good scouring/deglossing. Deep scratches and grooves actually weaken the bond. Clean and then scour with Scotchbrite. Some plastics are difficult to bond to. Hard plastic chips aren't generally one of those, however. When side of the adhesive is not bonding - the side to the aluminum or the side to the plastic?
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The pieces of the puzzle are in front of you. If you read the article you should be able to easily piece them together. If you take a sound rod blank and simply high stick it until it breaks (harder to do than you might imagine), the break will not exhibit much in the way of splintering. It will more closely resemble that of a standard overload failure, appearing mostly clean albeit with some
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It's being delivered to most right now - holiday mail slows things a little. Once I get the newest issue finished up, I may consider taking the above idea and creating some sort of single page "quick start" guide or something with the basic photos and causes of breakage. I'd have to leave out all the background information but you already have that in the article. I'll kick it around
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By hand, turning a full 180 degrees only when needed. ..............
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Fenwick has not made any blanks for themselves in over 20 years now. They are part of the former Pure Fishing corporation and their blanks are made in the orient. ...........
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There will be a company at the Expo unveiling a UV activated finish. To my knowledge the product itself has not yet been released. It will debut at the Expo. RodMaker Magazine reviewed a similar product about 10 or 11 years ago. It required a light cabinet and while it worked very well, the finish was extremely brittle and more than a little brown. The Diamondite product was heat activate
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Cedar should withstand the elements extremely well, but it's going to be considerably more heavy than cork. I'm talking the wood, of course, I can't really advise you on the bark itself. ...............
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Jon thought better of it and asked that it be removed. ...........
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These blanks are fairly new and not every model has been bought and built by a large number of people yet. The reviews on other models in the line seem to be positive. You may just have to be one of the first to give this particular model a shot. ....................
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"Robert," I have written no less than 4 articles on the Concept System since the mid 1990’s. The first ran in an issue of the old Rodcrafter’s Journal and 2 others subsequently appeared in RodMaker Magazine. The book I wrote for Amato Publications contained a chapter on the concept. At no time in any of those articles did I claim to have originated the “New Guide Concept” nor
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It won't hurt you to back off on the tension just a hair. If the guide foot is flat to the blank, and your thread tension is correct, you will still be able to slightly shift the guide with some firm pressure on the side of the guide ring. If you can't shift it, or you find that you actually bend the frame when trying to shift it, you're probably a bit tight on your thread tension. .........
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Victor, It's some type of either very hard acrylic or "tru-stone" material. Somebody had given me some material left over from a bar countertop and I cut and turned it from that. ...........
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I'm glad you're enjoying it. I wrote that for the folks at Amato Books. I wish I had been given the editorial control over it - think I could have made it even better. But overall I think it's helped a great many people get started in the craft with good, practical information. ..............
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If you're building for customers, you'll eventually find that most fly fishermen do not like decorative butt wraps. Don't ask me why - most simply don't. But there are other things you can do in that same area that they seem to go bonkers over. Here is one idea: ..............
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I had left a couple vendors out but have added them just now. Yes, this will be the largest Expo in history. I think we added an additional dozen booths this year to what was already a pretty full line up. As good as all the past Expo's have been, I think this one will blow the rest of them away. ...................
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The problem isn't so much the tension of the thread, but the fact that the guides do not sit flat on the blank. Take a close look at the underside of those guide feet - I'll bet you they're rough as a cob, sit on their ends or heels (usually ends) and will have a burr on the end where they were ground. It doesn't take much thread tension to force that end into the rod blank. Sort of like somebod
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Extending a fast action 6' or 6'6" blank by just a few inches will result in an extra fast action. ...............
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No, too much else to do right now. The continued growth of the magazine and Expo continue to take up all my time. Maybe things will slow down a bit in the coming year and I get back to work on it. ............
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The Tormek or copies have attachments that make sharpening nearly any tool very easy. If you can afford one of these, get one. You can get by with less, however. I use a Delta slow speed water-wheel grinder and get very good, though not automatic results. ..............
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Cason's Custom Rod Finishes (Cason's Crystal Clear) is our newest sponsor. Bill has some new color preservers on the market and will be talking more about them here and at the Expo in February. For now his link to the left is not linked to any web page, but I'm sure Bill will soon announce his product's release and provide all the necessary contact information. ................
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Following is the final list of vendors and exhibitors for the 2010 International Custom Rod Building Exposition taking place February 20 and 21, 2010. 2010 Exposition Vendors Batson Enterprises - Rainshadow/Forecast/ALPS Midwest Rod & Reel Seeker Rod Company REC Components Donart The Rod Shop, Inc. Skin Shop USA Fishsticks4U Rod Dancer Products Kinn
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Not really, no. The manufacturer is simply listing a range of line test that he feels coincides with the power of the blank and what it would most likely be used for. You can certainly use less. Using more, however, could put you beyond the design limits of the rod, i.e. the rod then becomes the weak link in the chain if you use the rated line break strength on a steady pull against the deadlift
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Yes, it's a straight shot and then one street over. When you get to the train tracks in High Point (main Norfolk Southern line) just turn right and you'll hit the Showplace. It's quite a large and spectacular facility - you won't miss it. .................
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The website will be back online on January 1st. The information can also be obtained in either of the last 2 issues of RodMaker Magazine. ...............
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Did it break where the rod was "dented?" If yes, then you have a problem with either too much thread tension and/or a guide foot that was sitting flat on the blank surface. It's important that guide feet sit flat on the blank so the pressure created on the guide against the blank is distributed all along the surface instead of being concentrated at a single point. Thread tension shou
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If you're using at least 1 guide per foot of rod length, you should have enough to provide adequate stress distribution to the rod. The only exception would be if your spacing is simply terrible. Even so, with that number even a fair progressive spacing should keep you out of hot water. Generally, using 1 guide per foot of rod length plus a tiptop is about right. Sometimes you may feel bette
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Cast it. If the lure or bait "hangs" on the way out and creates a sudden bounce in the rod, the guides are too small. At a size that is sufficient, you may still hear or even slightly feel the bump of the knot passing on the way out. But that's okay, as long as the line or knot doesn't hang or cause a shock or bounce in the rod. Generally, guides that are large enough to pass s
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Unfortunately, the Expo website exceeded it's bandwidth limit for the month and will be unavailable until late next week. The response to the upcoming Expo has been overwhelming. The largest in history. I'll have additional bandwidth made available once they get it back on line. ..............
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If you're referring to your earlier post, I just took it as a joke and let it go. No problem. ............
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If the rod was 3 years old and you've taken a number of good fish on it during that time, one thing you can be sure of is that it was not defective. Most likely it had suffered some type of impact or crushing force recently and failed the next time you put a good fish on it. I have no idea how CTS handles such warranty claims but you can always contact them and see what they have to say. I h
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