Any finish will quickly wear through by buffing with any sort of polish (abrasive compound). ..............
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A chevron is done the same way as a diamond, except instead of wrapping threads on both sides of the center, you wrap to one side, either inside or outside the center. ............
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It's not likely you'll need a fighting butt on a short, light line weight fly rod. Any simple fly reel seat, mated to a cigar or reverse half wells grip, will suffice nicely for what you want to do. ................
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Go here: Look at cover volume 10 #4. I think you can see it well enough to get the idea. ..............
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Sounds like a good idea to me. Very simplistic. What's needed would be there and what's there would be needed. .............
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Many of us once wrote our inscriptions on short pieces of Scotch Brand Magic Tape, affixed to a clean piece of glass, and then transferred that to the rod blank. Properly done, you have pretty much created your own decal of sorts and it looks pretty good. But there are problems - you have a window in which you must make the transfer. Wait too long and the ink will crack as you lift the tape. T
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It can still be shaped. The urethane foam is often used for model and set making where it has to be shaved, sanded, etc., to arrive at the final desired shape. ............
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You need to start by reading Steve Gardner's excellent article in the Volume 10 #4 issue of RodMaker. Handle to blank offset is fully discussed there and addresses many of the questions you've asked. As far as the 27X factor for choker guide location - you'll have to try it for yourself. I have no doubt it will still work, but you may find that it will do even better with a little tweaking. Al
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Or, just pour to a cylinder and then turn to shape. ............
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The 27X factor is just a means for locating the choker guide on a New Guide Concept lay out. It's not really a concept or guide system of its own. .............
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Actually, I doubt anyone out there has the experience Ralph does when it comes to repairs, and difficult repairs at that. What he can do with broken rods is nothing short of amazing. Would you even consider splicing a 3-weight fly rod tip that was broken 2 or 3 inches below the tiptop? Ralph does it all the time and you'd never know the rod had anything done to it. He's made some very difficul
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The finish isn't going to run down onto the male section unless the rod is not level or you somehow slop it on there. Just lower the brush to the wrap setting the brush edge just barely past the edge of the ferrule wrap, rotate the rod one time, and you're done. That's all there is to it. ...........
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To be brutally honest, once you get past a certain point, the harder rings are tough to justify on most applications. The difference in price versus performance just doesn't justify them unless you simply have some money to burn or a very specialized application where the ultimate in hardness is really needed. Frames are a bit different sometimes. If the rod is going to be used anywhere th
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What you're calling "graphite" arbors are actually foam. Not a urethane foam but very similar similar. Weight is also similar. True solid graphite arbors would be far heavier than the common 6lb and 8lb urethane foam used by most. Inside of a reel seat, durability is not much of an issue. ............
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You will be putting the Flex Coat on the guide wraps only, of course, not over the entire rod blank. ............
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Steve, No it's not a problem at all, but I wouldn't want folks to get the idea that they should or must use those specific guide sizes. Anyone that wants to play with this stuff can buy a full set of the least expensive type guides, then once you find what you're after, order the same guide styles in the more expensive ring type you desire. Every rod builder should have a "test"
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There's always the little Grizzly hobby lathe that uses a common drill as the drive unit. Doesn't cost much ($50?) and has been used by rod builders near and far to turn all manner of cork and EVA grips. ...............
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It will take more than an hour to become adept with it. Most folks require a few rods under their belts before they get the hang of power wrapping. What seems awkward or difficult at first, will soon become second nature. You just have to do it for a bit to get used to it. .............
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16 lb is most likely overkill, but if you're after a concrete hard core, that will certainly give it to you. I've played with the 12lb and you can beat it with a hammer and barely leave a mark. ...................
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Your Flex Coat epoxy is 100% solids and will neither react with nor harm the underlying varnish in any way. .............
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The term "micro guide" is misleading to begin with - exactly what the heck is a "micro guide?" To some it's a size 20, to others it's a size 2. The best course of action remains the same as always - use the smallest guides that will perform the required task. You can call whatever guide by whatever name you want, but that doesn't change what it is. The desired line pa
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Putting light colored thread over a dark colored blank creates a situation not at all unlike trying to paint a black wall with bright colored paint - you can't expect a miracle and color preserver isn't going to help you here. If you must use a very light colored thread over a very dark colored blank, use NCP, with color preserver. ............
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Mike, You can gain even more durability by following the recommendations in the article on using the 8lb and 10lb foam. They're much, much harder than the 4lb (which we recommended against using for heavy duty grips). Coupled with the thicker carbon skins or dual layer process, you'd destroy the rod before you'd destroy the grip. ..............
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That's not how I described setting up the NGC. You can't predetermine guide sizes - you have to let the line path determine your guide size. Once you do that, you'll not find a better way to go about it. You'll have exactly what the path wants. ............
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It's not really a fair comparison because they are in 2 entirely different price ranges. The Custom Power Wrap is the better machine. It also costs about twice or more what the Rodsmith does. ...................
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You could only use them in the running guide positions. They will not work as well as ringed guides. Give them a try and see for yourself. ....................
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You might find a sizing chart in one of the companies' catalogs or online. Or, find a guide that is in the package, knowing that size, you can size up or down from that one with what you have left. ..................
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John, If you read the original article on the technique in RodMaker, you no doubt read the section on making foam core grips for heavy duty applications. If you follow the guidelines, you'd be hard pressed to dent one of them with hard pounding from a hammer - they're nearly as hard as concrete (but significantly lighter). It's easy to speculate based on specifications and numbers - It's mu
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The amount of hand labor involved in blank making precludes any blank tip from matching the target specs entirely. They're usually going to be on the money, one size up, or one size down. .........
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No, you can always go halfway inbetween those used on the 0 and 180. Find a photo of one you like and measure it. It doesn't have to be to scale, you just want the relative distances between the two. ..............
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