There is no way I could produce this as a paper magazine - the smaller the quantity the greater the cost per copy and with greater numbers I'd have stuff lying around here for years. The demand will be limited. You'd be paying $100 for a single copy if I had done them as paper magazines. It's a CD. ....................
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I would look at a Hot Shot blank rated for casting 3/8th to 5/8th ounce. No more than 3/4 ounce at the outside. I'm assuming you plan to cast shorter distances and are primarily interested in fish fighting power. ...............
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Wrap one in place and load the rod to the same extent that you expect to do in a real world fishing situation. Note whether or not the guide flattens out. .......................
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Angler's Roost has really done a job with their ferrules - beautiful stuff and the price is only a fraction of what similar ferrules cost. And, they're already fitted so no other work is required on your end. They're also a sponsor of this forum. ..............
Forum: rodboard

You can always obtain a cheaper product by buying something off the shelf. But it would be difficult to buy a better product than you can make yourself, provided you arm yourself with good information and proceed carefully. As far as rod building being a profitable market - no, for most it's not. Hanging out a shingle and expecting people to beat a path to your door asking for custom rods is
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Sort of. A tube is pretty sturdy, except at the ends where the openings are. Flexing at that point can cause minute cracks that get worse over time. It's not imperative that you have those plugs, but it's easy to make them with Rod Bond or a little cone of firm EVA. Take a piece of brass tubing and punch out something just a little larger than the opening, compress, insert and glue in place and y
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The ideal reel seat is the one that fits you or your customer's hand. If you read the article in RodMaker on grip and seat ergonomics, you know that most reel seats are generally too small for most fishermen's hands. A seat that is too small requires more effort to hold and more effort to control in a fish fight. Just something to consider. In terms of sensitivity, you lose a little each time
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Most companies are too busy to try and mis-match somebody else's butt section with one of their tip sections. I doubt you're going to find anyone willing to spend time on that. If you could figure out who made that butt section, it might be possible for the maker to fit a new tip to it, or even make something that was out of production. Otherwise you're stuck trying to match something yourse
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You need to invest in some woodturning calipers. They'll help you keep your cylinder straight and true to size. You could also try the sandpaper taped to a straight edge. Factories, in fact, use a similar contraption although it cuts with a stone rather than sandpaper. The problem you'll have with the sandpaper is that it will tend to clog pretty quickly. But give it a go and see how it works
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Just a thought, contact Ian Miller at ian@millerods.com and see if he'll buy a few to distribute there. I send his magazines to a guy here in the US who then reships them to Australia. ............
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Postage isn't the problem - I don't have anyone to send to the post office to fill out the postage forms and stand in line waiting to mail it. I certainly can't take an hour out of my day to do it. Sorry. .............
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You're going to have to create the proper taper by hand, so a straight reamer is nearly as good. But some taper helps get the reamer started. The fact is, a reamer that is the same taper and size as your blank is going to be too large to even get into the cork to begin with. Get something close, start small and move up to the next size as the bore enlarges. Pay attention to the approximate ta
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Cork doesn't take cutting well. Scraping is better, or at least easier for most. You want to keep the scraping device at the same distance from the cylinder so that it becomes concentric to the bore. A round nose scraper is as good a tool as any. Set it on your tool rest about even with the cylinder's centerline and allow it to bite into the cork. At first, you'll notice that it's only remov
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Use NCP white and pack the threads tightly. Use CP and then apply a thin coat of epoxy. That should provide you with a nice, bright white background. ............
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Just as a tape measure can record length for both graphite and glass, the CCS can record power and action for graphite, glass, etc. The material the rod is made from makes no difference whatsoever. .................
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Open clubs and gatherings are always free to contact me about having their events listed in the News column of RodMaker Magazine. It reaches a ton of people that the internet doesn't. I'm also happy to send a box of the International Custom Rod Symbol to any such events by request. ..............
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For hard copies I would have to offset the printing set up so those would run you about $100 each. I don't think the market is there for something that steep, thus the CD version. A single magazine issue costs me about $35,000 while doing this on CD is just a fraction of that amount. .................
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I'm told that the new CDs will be here on Friday. It will be Monday and Tuesday before they begin shipping. Those of you who have already ordered should see your copy towards the end of next week. I mistakenly left off a few of the included articles and have added them below. This thing ended up pushing out to over 80 pages and there was so much in it that I just overlooked a few of the articl
Forum: rodboard

With the exception of very heavy power surf rods, if you'll use the same number of guides as the rod length in feet, plus one more, plus a tiptop, you'll have enough to provide more than adequate stress distribution. Provided, of course, that you do a decent job of spacing them. If you happen to use one less or one more than what I mentioned above, you'll still be okay. Anywhere along these li
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Well, approach it as a fun project and you'll be fine. It's all a learning experience. ................
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Those are SCV and they are available from any St. Croix blank dealer. Several of whom are listed to the left. ....................
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Take a look at the warranties offered by the makers of the better commercially made rods. Most warranty their rods against actual defects in materials or workmanship. Unfortunately, many fishermen have come to think that a warranty or guarantee is against rod breakage - any rod that fails must have been defective. As a custom rod builder who sells rods, you need to have a written warranty poli
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You can get down quickly enough that you don't need them in the super high versions, just the standard BSVLG, but if you do you'll have to go with the 30 for the second guide. If you stick with the regular BSVLG 40, you could move to the 25 for the second guide with no trouble. ..................
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As long as it's not so tacky that it grabs your brush or spatula, you'll be fine. ...............
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The ring thickness also affects the size of the actual opening. There is no universal standard for component sizing due mainly to the fact that we have no trade organization to set up such standards. ..................
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RodMaker reaches a good many more builders than any rod building website, including this one. Next time you plan such a gathering, if you can give me a little advance notice I'll be happy to run a news item in the magazine for you. .................
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Yes they can. Anyone can buy the magazine and resell it if they wish, but that's something you'll have to contact the dealers about. ................
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They are not the same thing. Tip into butt ferrules are difficult to repair for fit because you are putting a smaller section into a larger section. Such a ferrule is not self adjusting for wear. ...............
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General information on building fly, casting and spinning rods is available in countless books and videos. This Special Edition CD concerns building specific type/use rods. ...................
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Another reminder about bad language - sticking in a few %$* between letters to supposedly hide something that is obvious anyway won't cut it. Don't use bad language or your post will be removed. ...............
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