Acetone is a better solvent for that use. I think you're going to have to use something like varnish or PermaGloss, followed by epoxy, to get what you're after. ...............
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Another builder stopped by today while I was busting some multi-piece fly rod blanks. I thought he was going to cry as each one met its end. "You're not going to save even a few?" No, they all volunteered and each one knew what they were getting into when they signed on for this. The purpose of breaking so many is so that the photograph we show will be entirely representative of tha
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I've worked on several such devices where a blank is pulled through a coating and then through a membrane that would wipe any excess off. The membrane was the tough part. I found it difficult to get just the right amount of tension and pressure. The best membrane I found was the particular rubber used in those punch ball balloons. Seriously, that one worked like a charm. The other good medium
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Gary will be on the Expo seminar team at the 2010 event. He'll be presenting on rod blank properties. ...................
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You'll just have to browse all the catalogs and do your own comparisons. Even then, the intended use and various models offered often make any sort of a direct comparison impossible. ................
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I sold one to Steve Sink less than a month ago. I kept it for 15 years or more and then decided I wouldn't ever use it. There's bound to be a few left around. Try posting on the buy/sell page. ...................
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You're actually better off using fewer guide sizes. The reason so many builders use so many sizes is only because they're offered. You aren't creating a smoother nor more gradual anything when you use a bunch of different sizes. In most cases, you need 3 sizes at most, and even just 2 is likely to do as well. This saves weight and actually provides a straighter and smoother line path. The pr
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No, fishermen don't fish at extreme temperatures as far as the rods are concerned. Nothing from 0F to 100F is extreme to a fishing rod and will not affect the breakage scenarios we duplicated. We didn't break these to see where they would break, why or how - we already know all that. The intent is to give rod builders a photographic reference of what various type breaks look like. When a
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Rob, Without getting into a vast amount of detail I'll just say that it's possible but not extremely likely. Rod flex is a deformation of the structure. Within a certain range, that deformation is "elastic." This means that within that range of deformation, once the load is removed the structure will return to its original state. Beyond the elastic limit, however, and before you rea
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I have 2 more in the works but they won't be released until the end of the year or so. ............
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Actually, I found it unnerving to purposely break good rod blanks. But in the interest of science... A couple of months back one builder misindentified a shear break caused by a fracture as a “load limit failure.” It dawned on me that most rod builders might not have any idea what the different breakages actually looked like and that if they had that knowledge, they would be better able to
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...and tomorrow I will break 60 more. In an effort to most closely portray what various types of breaks caused by fisherman abuse/misuse actually look like, I've spent the better part of the day breaking 1st quality rod blanks and recording the breakages on video and in photographs. The results will be published in the Volume 12 #6 issue of RodMaker due out in December. The idea is to better
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Weight does not affect action (where the rod initially flexes), it does affect speed (reaction and recovery time). I believe Joe is probably pretty close in terms of most freshwater rods. A clear coat will not add very much weight but any time you're dealing with a paint in order to provide opaque color, the difference is going to run about 5% to 7%. The lighter the color the more paint that
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You might consider what some of the guys wrapping micro ceramics are doing - start the wrap first, make a few turns, then stick the end of the guide foot under the wrap and continue. .................
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No, you can't go by diameters alone - the wall thickness and material involved all play a role. Diameter is a major factor, moreso that wall thickness alone. But even then, it is possible to get the same stiffness in a thick walled, small diameter blank as you have in a thin walled, large diameter blank. The smaller diameter, thicker walled model will be more durable, but will also be much he
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You will save weight and get a much straighter and smoother line path with just 3 guide sizes. One for the stripping guide, a smaller one for the intermediate and then all the same size for the running guides. This makes a real difference. ..................
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Instead of a tutorial, would you like to read the original articles that brought the technique to the craft? You can find them both in the online library here. ................
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Certainly good advice, although, I spent 20 years turning and shaping cork and EVA on the same lathe that I did my wrapping and finishing on. Never had any problem with dust in my finish. The key is not raise dust and debris while finishing. Dust falls to the lowest possible point. If you employ the box fan/filter, or a shop vac, whatever they don't capture will fall to the floor or benchtop.
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Kerry Hansen provided this link earlier this morning. It pertains to a Government initiative to set aside portions of our waterways as non-fishing zones. ............................
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You may want to put this on the buy/sell page where it will stay in front of people a lot longer. Somebody is bound to have one. .................
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Fuji has always made a high quality product and still does. Nothing has changed there. What has happened in the past decade or so, is that the companies that previously made guides that were not so good, have vastly improved their products to the point that most all of them now make very good quality guides. ................
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The term "rod shaft" was used for many years. The latter half of the 20th century saw that term move towards "rod blank." I can only guess that a rod with nothing on it, a naked rod, is called a blank because if you leave something "blank" that tends to mean you have added nothing. A rod blank is the shaft with nothing on it. But I'm only guessing here. .......
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Seat size is covered in-depth in RodMaker Volume 10 #3 in the article on ergonomics. There is a lot to consider, the angler's hand size of course, but also the type of reel used, casting, spinning, etc., because these rods are not held the same way. Beyond that, your best bet in selecting components is to rely upon a good service oriented dealer who can advise you on the parts and pieces that
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All the Special Edition #2 CDs are in the mail as of this morning. Everyone that ordered should get theirs in a just few days. There were a few dozen left so I may add them to the website in the next week or so. ................
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You can allow it to harden and then sand smooth, but the thinner the layer of finish between the 2 layers the more subtle the effect will be. It won't hurt at all to put another application of Flex Coat on. It will likely heighten the effect so you've got a bit of a silver lining here. ..................
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He's been by the RodMaker office in the last few weeks. ............
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Such set-ups have been used for years for light duty cork work. It should work fine. You might check to see if your drill has a constant on catch, that locks the trigger. That would spare the zip-tie. ...............
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What you got, was guys telling you that, no, they had not had any such problem with Batson blanks and that it was not any sort of "ongoing problem." ................
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Jason, Good points. The CCS has been around now for about 6 years and we've had some previous discussions concerning the precision of the measurements. Taking the ERN and AA measurements is fairly simple, of course, but not as simple as say, measuring length with a tape measure. Obviously there is going to be some deviation between measurements of the same blank model, not because of any flaw
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That is part of the Common Cents System which you can read about at .................
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