If you'll shoot an email to Bill or Karry I'm sure they'll be more than happy to run down their ring materials for you. I don't think you're far off but you may wish to check with them. .................
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It is a reliable company. Many love their blanks and give them good reviews. I believe the blanks are made in the orient. At one time they were made in Japan, but I'm not sure that's the case any longer. ...............
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I would give the epoxy a minimum of 24 hours set time at room temperature before applying the decal and the Micro Set. ..............
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The coatings over the ink aren't the problem - it has to do with the ink and the ink settings one uses. The newer archival inks are less prone to UV degradation but they also have some issues with some of the media. This was noted in the article. The fact is, there are many different types of printers and many different types of ink in use these days. The best thing anyone can do before putti
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Billy, Quicktime for Windows is available as a free download: ..........
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I believe the author stated that burning the end of the cord was advisable even if you used the needle to keep the end of the cord from passing through the needle eye. .................
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A shoe repair shop may have something similar. .............
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That depends on what and how you plan to use the rod. The right length for you may not be the right length for somebody else. Do you cast 2-handed? Do you need better leverage against the fish you catch? Do you mount a spinning or casting reel on the rod? I'd suggest you start by doing this - take your current favorite 6'6" rod and hold it like you do while fishing. Is the handle len
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Sean's email address is visible, so shoot him an email if you're in his area. .................
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The stiffer the blank is the easier it can be to find that softest axis. But the shorter it is, the harder it can be to flex it enough to find it. Luckily, the straightest axis, where the commercial makes and most custom builders set their rods up, is easy to find whether the blank is stiff, soft, short or long. ..........
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It's not adding a lot of weight, but it is adding some, mostly through the additional epoxy needed to cover it. Using size D on those rods is probably overkill, but it's not going to make a huge difference. .................
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A surf plugging rod is generally a light casting or spin rod, from 8 to 11 feet long (9 feet has traditionally been the most popular) used for casting and retrieving lures/plugs in the surf, from jetties, etc. ....................
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With 8lb line you should easily be able to toss such a rig 75 to 85 feet. Easily. There is a possibility that the lure weight rating is a tad low and that you're not getting it well loaded with just 1/4 ounce of weight. This sticks in my mind because you're close enough on guide sizes and everything that a maximum of only 50 feet isn't likely to have anything to do with your guide selection.
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Two things - First why not put up a photo so folks can see how well your method works. Second, you don't want to continue taking cheap shots at people here. It will be detrimental to your continued participation on this forum. ..............
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The material the blank is made from does not determine the action. You can make a fast action blank from bamboo and a slow action blank from from the fiber used in the GLX rods. I do believe the GLX blanks were built on faster action mandrels, but since I don't have one I really can't compare it. I do have one of the GL3 blanks in that model. .................
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I use the NCG as outlined in the Volume 10 #4 issue of RodMaker. This will locate the butt guide, depending on guide height, at about 23 to 28 inches from the spool on the largest surf reels per the plotted line path. I generally try 2 different sizes (one will fall on the path a little farther up than the other), and settle on the one that offers the best overall distance. If the distance is ab
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That doesn't sound like a bad idea. You might be onto something. ............
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What you're seeing there are not cracks - those are the subtle lines between the abalone pieces that are set into the laminate. You will see them in your flat veneer stock even before you attempt to bend it. ........
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It shouldn't take you more than about 30 seconds to coat a guide wrap. How long are you spending on each guide wrap? The key is to load the brush, lower it to the wrap, rotate the rod once or twice and then move on. You can come back later and touch in any dry or thin areas. The main thing is to get the wraps covered quickly while the epoxy is still very liquid. .................
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What is the casting weight range your blank is rated for and how much weight are you trying to throw? I strongly suspect your problem is related to something other than those guide choices. ..................
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That site is hosted by Bob Hesser and all appears well as far as I can tell. ...................
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It was common on many rods back in the 1960's and 1970's. It's mylar film tape. Jann's would almost certainly have it, others may still stock it as well. .............
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Black and white, or black and yellow on the bottom. Green on the top. ..................
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You can always back up a bit if you're able to cast farther than necessary, but if the fish are out of your casting reach, well... But these two are not mutually exclusive. You can and should have both. Generally, a rod will give you just as much casting accuracy as you're capable of. Your lure lands where you throw it. ............
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No, the spine isn't your problem. And distance isn't going to be affected even if the rod does twist - turning around a central axis doesn't change anything. The only difference the spine would make in casting has to do with the load required on any particular axis to fully and easily load the rod. That amount is going to be slightly different on each axis, as the blank will exhibit slightly
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It should be obvious if it's a split bamboo rod. Although, a few metal rods were painted to resemble cane. Still, you should be able to tell by just looking at it. ...............
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I like the Seeker CLB series, the 702 and 704 work well on stripers. I free-line live bait and use them for trolling plugs as well. They make them up through 706 and 708, so the power choice is up to you. These are very fast action, soft-tipped blanks, so you'll have to decide if that sot of thing will work for what you want to do. ....................
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If there are no leader knots to pass, you can easily use size 4's with braid, perhaps even smaller. But 4's are a safe bet. .................
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Could be a great product for this use. Thanks for sharing it. .............
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If you read the article I did in RodMaker on the shrink tube method, you'll note that I talked about getting the right size skins for the grip size you're working with. This is very important. If the skin is too small and requires stretching of the fabric, you'll run the risk of the core material showing through in the finished grip as well as have a hard time getting it on straight. The ski
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