No, it was a matter of dollars and cents. The consumer rarely realizes the cost of doing business and what the final selling price involves. A fly rod that sells for $500 cannot have a physical cost of more than $75 to $100 if you plan to hit the price point and offer the dealer a keystone (or near keystone) mark up. That was what their upper level graphite rods sold for at that time. The re
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It won't be hard to find attachments for it - it's all standard sized stuff and Emerson made the same lathe for both Rigid and Craftsman. ....................
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I have done consulting work for Thomas and Thomas. They prefer ceramics, but cannot afford the cost. I built some saltwater rod prototypes for them a decade and a half ago and their budget for an entire set of guides was something like $3. They loved the Fuji Ti-SIC guides, but the cost blew them away. You can't do ceramics for that. But you can do snake guides for that and for them, this was th
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It will be more than adequate for the simple tasks of turning handles and reel seats. Sounds like a good deal. ...................
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I think there are also some photos of the technique on the photo page. Try there as well. ..............
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They are compatible. It is possible you have experience "amine blush" in the Flex Coat itself. This can happen under a rare but documented precise combination of CO2 and humidity. Neither by itself will case it. Wait a day. Set the rod in a warm place. Try wiping the surface and see if the stuff tends to move or come off. If it does, you most likely have amine blush. Sometimes it im
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Do a search of the archives here - it's been done and there may be some tips you'll find helpful. .............
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This was fully covered in a recent issue of RodMaker Magazine. I won't go into all the details here. You have several options. One is to bore the block first and then turn, or you can turn it first and then bore. If the latter, which is fairly easy on the lathe, you'll need to leave shoulders on the grip so that you have something to chuck onto. You may also need a steady rest to help center t
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Yes, but you'll still have to follow the proper procedure for applying any epoxy if you've waited more than about 2 days since the last application. ...............
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A photo would help us, help you. Just not familiar with what they use. ..............
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Spencer's tip is doubly effective because the line runs on the bottom but the bug stays up off the bottom just a bit. .................
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The new RodMaker Magazine website is now complete. I took some of the comments users here made about the difficulty of having to place multiple orders for different items and the result is a single shopping basket for subscriptions, renewals, back issues and CDs. It's a much more user-friendly process now. Thanks for the suggestions - many of them have been implemented. .................
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You can tie or buy sinking flies. You can buy sink-tip or full sinking fly lines. Fly rods aren't limited to top water use and if you want to get the most and best use from them, you'll spend the bulk of your time using one sub-surface, just like you do with your bass rods. ...............
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I had some luck - the fish saw me and ran towards me trying to wrap around my legs - probably thought they were rocks or trees. So the entire fight took place without the fish running very far. Probably was over in 3 or 4 minutes, tops. .........
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The PG won't bond to the SIC ring. Just take a sharp pointed knife and scrape it off. .............
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I was told just moments ago that the block will show in their computer on Monday, so just give them a few more days and all should be well. This far out you won't have any trouble getting the rooms you want. .................
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The 2nd largest fish, also taken from TN, was then installed as the record. This is all fun to discuss, but it's way off the topic of custom rod building. ..........
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They are supposed to be in the system by now. I'll make a call and see if I can't get things straightened out. Thanks for letting me know. ...............
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I caught it on November 2nd a few years ago, on a very cold and windy day. I measured it, weighed it and photographed it carefully against objects with a known length. I had a witness. I would not have kept it had it been a world record. I only knew it was the largest smallmouth I'd ever caught and the largest I'd ever seen. I knew that the 3 largest smallmouths ever caught came from Tenness
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Fly rods aren't limited to topwater - I've been fishing a fly rod for almost 35 years and in all that time have rarely bothered with topwater. My 8lb 4oz Virginia smallmouth came on a fly rod and it took a big buggy nymph. What you're going to find, if you're willing to invest the time, is that such a fly rod can be even more deadly than the other rods in your arsenal. And you can go deep with
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The Hotel High Point (formerly the Radisson Hotel) is now accepting room reservations for those seeking lodging for the 2010 International Custom Rod Building Exposition. Mention the Expo in order to get the special $84/night room rate. The special rate is available for Thursday (19th) Friday (20th) Saturday (21st) and Sunday (22) nights. The hotel phone number is 336-889-8888. The Hotel Hi
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Great Lakes Trolling Rods - RodMaker Volume 8 #1. Author Tom Kohl recommended glass or composite glass/carbon blanks. Too much information in the article to list here, but he did state that these types are the most popular for this application. ...........
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Thanks - I suspect RodMaker Magazine already reaches any of them that are still active, along with many thousands more. But send it along and we'll have it for reference anyway. .................
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The helix core is not intended to offer linear strength. Linear fibers are still used for that purpose. The blanks offered by Graphite USA over the years were indeed a little heavier than blanks of similar power from other makers, but not due to the helix core. The slight additional weight was due to the small-diameter/thick-wall design that Dick Kantner chose for nearly all his blank models
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It does away with the more common glass scrim and supposedly provides equal or better strength to angled carbon scrim. It is a little more labor intensive but proponents say it's worth the additional cost. ...............
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We just added paypal to the list of payment options. You may use it for subscriptions, renewals, back issues or CDs. .............
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I don't remember saying that, but I do remember telling people quite often that using the proper size guides is the best thing you can do. Why use guides that are too small or too large? Use whatever size is optimum for the particular rod. You can't do any better than that. ................
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Polish can be mildly abrasive - I'd recommend against it. Instead, apply a good wax to the rod. That's really all you need to do on a new rod. ..............
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If you're talking about getting the finish off the rod blank itself, then either scraping the finish or using a mild citrus type paint remover is your best bet. ..........
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At this point I would say there is a 90% chance of some sort of RodCrafter event taking place on Saturday evening of the Expo. More details to follow. ...............
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