Most all blanks are curved (warped if you prefer) to some extent. A perfectly straight rod blank is rare. A slight, gentle curve is not an issue. In fact, if you build on the straightest axis, the weight of the guides tends to straighten the blank which otherwise would have a slight downward droop in the fishing position. Different companies have different standards when it comes to what is a
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You'll have a very hard time getting dye into the cork. ............
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Unwrapping is not necessary. Do a good job on your guide feet, getting them smooth and flat and you'll have no problems. ............
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Fly rod blanks don't generally make good spinning rods because in most cases even those consider to possess a fast action are far slower than the popular fast action spinning blanks. I'd look at a true spin/casting blank and save the fly rod blank for a fly rod. You can always mock it up, tape on the seat and guides and cast it a bit, to see if it will turn into something you'll enjoy using.
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The sponsors have good selections of quality blanks for inexpensive prices. There is little reason to buy cheap blanks when better blanks can be had for the same money. ............
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No, not all bargains when you can get first quality blanks much better than that from a dozen of the sponsors to the left. ....................
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One of our former sponsors sold/sells it - Dan Craft. It's called a "Crafty's Cutter." I think Mud Hole may have it as well. ...............
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You didn't pack the threads against each other well enough. The "streaks" are minute gaps between thread strands. CP won't fix it. Look at it under magnification and I think you'll see what I'm talking about. .............
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joefehr@msn.com This is the last I have on file for him. .............
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Nail knot a short piece of 30lb Amnesia to the fly line and put a Perfection Loop in the end of that. Then put a Perfection Loop in your leader butts. Simple and strong and everything will lie straight. The Albright is more in tune with joining the fly line to the backing. ..................
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You can do it either way. There is nothing wrong with a thin coat of finish on the underwrap first, and then overwrapping the guide on top of that. .................
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Or you can simply make a double wrap with your cord. .............
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EVA and similar foam are closed cell materials - they do not readily absorb water. ............
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Okay, here's what I would do. Start with the yellow and wrap a bit, then put in the orange and wrap both colors simultainiously for a bit, then drop the yellow and continue wrapping the orange for a bit. That's all you have to do. ............
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Not sure I understand - thread is super inexpensive. Only other option might be to use paint in some fashion. ............
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Jack, Spine has nothing to do with rod twist. All rods that have the guides located on top will either twist, or try to twist, when under load from a fish. All rods with the guides located on top of the rod are inherently unstable. ............... John, Your assessment is correct and shows again why spine orientation in a particular plane makes little sense - rods aren't used that wa
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It's not hard to do, but because of the number of rods they build and the rate at which pieces must run through a QC check and be sent on to production, they have built a series of laser alignment stations that do everything from checking for straightest axis to aligning guides. ..............
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Give them until Monday or so - they may not be around on the weekend. If I had a new catalog I'd look it up for you. I assume you looked at their website? Not sure if it lists the differences there or not. ..........
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Let's call it "Tom's way" as this isn't something I came up with. It was the norm for rods until an author in the 1970's came up with the spine idea. Even then, commercial manufacturers have nearly always built on the straightest axis and have done so for over 100 years. You'll be interested to read the comments on rod spine and rod set up by a leading blank designer in the issue o
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On a good spiral wrap, there will be no radial forces from the guides trying to twist the rod - just the opposite. The guides are already on the bottom so the lever arm effect of the guides holds the rod stable under load from a fish. On a conventional guides-on-top rod, there would be some attempt (or even success) in the rod trying to twist as the guides attempt to turn and move to the bott
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That's because they mistakenly believe the stiffest axis is exactly 180 degrees opposite the softest. It rarely is. The stiffest or most powerful axis (and this is marginal in most cases) is along the straightest axis. ............
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Just trim ring inlays. The upcoming issue will have Bernie Cohen's article on pattern inlays. .............
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This illustrates just how unimportant that this whole spine thing really is. They're marking totally different spine orientations and yet nobody's rod is blowing up or short circuiting. The spine cannot make a rod stable and has no effect on casting accuracy. It just doesn't matter. If it did, bad things would happen if you didn't orient it a certain way. The "hard bump" is neither
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Max, Tape the guides to the rod blank and load it. Watch what happens - nothing. The one sure way to put your mind at ease is simply to try it for yourself. .............
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There will be no twisting or "torsion movement" if you use a spiral wrap - any load from a fish will hold the rod stable. Conversely, if you put all the guides on top, there will be twisting and possibly loosening of the ferrule when loaded by a fish as the guides attempt to turn to the bottom of the rod. ...........
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2000 pixels is the maximum size allowed and any larger will not upload. The ideal size is from 800 to 1000 pixels, which is as large as most computer screens will display anyway. ............
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Anyone that is willing to pre-order and do so in large orders of about 1000 rings or more, can get really nice cork. But you do have to pay for it. ...................
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Spin the EVA on the lathe and use taut rod winding thread to slice it. Cuts like butter. Weldwood contact cement is the ticket for glue up. RodMaker Volume 7 #3 would have any particulars you might be interested in for EVA work. But it's really quite simple. ..............
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There is an article on making tapered reamers in the online library here. .............
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Spiral wrapped rods don't twist - that is the main point in doing them that way. If you have read up on the Simple Spiral, you know about where the 2nd (first 180 degree guide) goes. If it lands on the ferrule, then put it on the ferrule. It's fine there. ...............
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