Thad, If a sale is made, even at the cost of parts, the tax is due. Whether you make a profit or even if you lose money on the transaction, if a sale is made, the tax is due on the selling price. So if you build a rod for a friend, and sell it for the cost of the parts, you must charge him 6% of the selling price or $10, whichever is less. ...............
Forum: rodboard

Thad, If a sale is made, even at the cost of parts, the tax is due. Whether you make a profit or even if you lose money on the transaction, if a sale is made, the tax is due on the selling price. ...............
Forum: rodboard

Tongue in cheek aside, you do not pay anything to the IRS - you simply forward your customer's tax to the IRS. He pays the tax - not you. The amount was capped at $10 a few years back. So if you're selling to the end user, you'll charge either 6% or $10, whichever is less. If you sell to a reseller (sporting goods shop, etc.,) then you charge 10% or $10, whichever is less and the reseller pass
Forum: rodboard

Mo, No. The ones I've been using have rings that are simply hard chrome plated. I had an interesting discussion with Vic Cutter at Pacific Bay yesterday. What you see these days as "Minima" guides actually began life at Berkley way back about 15 years or so ago. Their R&D work led them to the conclusion that mono was actually tougher on guide rings than braid. In testing the
Forum: rodboard

If you keep your thread dry and out of the sunlight, it will last for many, many years. Even those spools that have been UV damaged, or that might even have a bit of mildew on top, can often be returned to usable condition just by stripping off the top couple layers of thread. .................
Forum: rodboard

What is the length of your rod? ............
Forum: rodboard

Garcia Conolon 5-star. Most were either black with maroon and white (paint) trims, or green with green wraps and white (painted) trims. Not sure if they used the numerals as feet and inches, or just inches. I have a couple and need to take a look and measure them to match to the numbers. Pretty decent rods in their day. .................
Forum: rodboard

I should mention the rings I tested were not coated with anything. ...........
Forum: rodboard

Here's the dilemma with that - the higher guides will be heavier, so using one less guide may not save you anything outside of having to wrap one less guide. Maybe. ..............
Forum: rodboard

All I can tell you is that I've weighed a bunch of them and the lesser expensive lines are generally within the actual AFTMA specs for weight. The more expensive and specialty type lines are often as much as half line weight heavier than marked. Some will mention this on their packaging, others will not. ..............
Forum: rodboard

I've been unable to cut or groove the standard Minima ring even after weeks of moving loaded braid across it. However, take note of what Barry mentioned above - this is clean line, devoid of minute particles of sand, grit, silica, etc. As I said at the outset, what I'm doing does not necessarily approximate what actually takes place under actual fishing conditions. ....................
Forum: rodboard

Line is flexible so moving something in inch or so fore or aft makes little difference. You can use an average if you want, just be sure and cast it with both reels to make sure you're satisfied with how it works. The larger and stiffer the line the larger the butt guide ring you need. The smaller and more supple the line, the smaller the butt guide ring you can get by with. A ring that is at
Forum: rodboard

Find one of the old "underspin" type outfits. Refurbish it and have her try it. She might fall in love all over again. ..............
Forum: rodboard

As long as the line isn't well down onto or below the rod blank, momentary touch of the line to the blank isn't going to harm anything and 9 guides on an 8 foot rod will certainly provide adequate stress distribution. If you wanted to try 10, that wouldn't hurt a thing either. The kind of weight we're talking with such tiny guides isn't going to change much by adding one more. ..............
Forum: rodboard

Gary, I remember a magazine article done in BASSMASTER around 1972. It detailed how to build your own custom bass casting rod. The parts utilized were an Eagle Claw fiberglass blank, Featherweight custom pistol grip handle and butt ferrule and a set of either Perfection or Mildrum SS guides. I think the total price for all the parts was under $20. This was the thing that got me thinking about
Forum: rodboard

Sanding a modern graphite blank is a bad idea period - it's not a theory it's a fact. You don't have the margin for error on the latest high modulus graphite blanks that you did on glass or very early graphite models. Go a little too far or run the sanding scratches too deep and your blank will indeed be toast. Blanks are indeed sanded at the factory, but the intent is only to remove the outer
Forum: rodboard

Titebond is excellent for cork to cork. Only thing to remember is that if you're gluing the rings on a steel mandrel the moisture in the Titebond will cause rusting of the mandrel if you're not quick to get the grip turned and removed from the mandrel. Leaving the glued cork on the mandrel for more than a day or so is going to result in serious rust on the mandrel. ................
Forum: rodboard

These are very subjective terms which attempt to cover a broad range of flex with only 3 or 4 designations. I doubt you're going to find too much difference in the actions as they are all designed along the lines of what the public seems to prefer overall. They're all good blanks. .............
Forum: rodboard

Temperature and age will cause the resin component to crystalize. It's normal for this to happen. As you've read, warming the resin in the microwave for a few seconds or in a pan of hot water will return it to like new condition. You do this repeatedly without causing an ill effects the resin. ................
Forum: rodboard

Unless you high-sticked or forced the rod into an unnatural bend, a load limit failure is going to take place somewhere between the reel seat and the first (butt) guide. It will not break at the ferrule unless it's a very poorly designed rod. ............
Forum: rodboard

Fenwick once produced rods and blanks here in the U.S. In the early 1990's, they were purchased by OTG and rods procured offshore simply had the Fenwick logo applied to them. They do not have a service department nor do they sell or stock rod blanks. Trying to jury rig another tip from another rod isn't going to result in a very good match I'm afraid. This may be one of those instances where
Forum: rodboard

If somebody gets out of hand, I will edit their posts. I am preparing to edit/delete a couple in this very thread. ..............
Forum: rodboard

Putting another guide on there may reduce the bow, but it won't help anything from a performance standpoint. I wouldn't do it. ............
Forum: rodboard

I try to put up a few new articles each year as funds allow. I am obligated to the magazine and the magazine's customers, however, so that remains the priority. If things go well over the next few months I may add the newer NGC article at that time. ...............
Forum: rodboard

It is wrapped around the blank or just bowed up at that point? The former indicates a common problem that can occur when line loops the butt (yes, the butt) on the cast and the latter is simply the nature of the beast. The line drops as it leaves the tiptop and because it's not as limp as mono or braid you have a bit of a bow formed just behind the tiptop. ...............
Forum: rodboard

I think I know what's happening and adding another guide isn't going to fix anything. If you could duplicate the problem and take a photo I could be sure. ...............
Forum: rodboard

This topic thread is now closed. The next person that posts here, or edits a previous post, or insults anyone in any post elsewhere, will be permanently banned from this forum. ................
Forum: rodboard

Tim, I still don't understand your beef - not one single person here has said that you had to do things their way. No one here has said that you shouldn't do exactly what pleases you. No one has attempted to make you do anything you don't want to do. In fact, several, including myself, have flat out stated that you should do whatever you want with your rods. You were the one maligning a s
Forum: rodboard

Tim, It would definitely have worked fine with your reel. It appears your objection was solely based on how you perceived it to look, not with any functionality problems. Several of the rods from which the 27X was garnered used the U.S. Spinning reels. The choker guide ended up "just about right" on those as well with regard to the spool diameter and likely line to be used for t
Forum: rodboard

Unless you can break the exact same blank you wouldn't have any sort of valid results. No 2 blanks are likely to have the exact same deadlift capability, even among the same models. ..................
Forum: rodboard