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Current Page: 6 of 618
Results 151 - 180 of 18521
3 months ago
Tom Kirkman
It's hard to keep the bore concentric by hand or drill. The key is to keep moving up in reamer size. You want to the reamer making contact around the entire ID of the grip bore as you push the reamer into the grip. You do not want to simply move the reamer against one side of the bore. It must make contact all the way around. Once it no longer does that, you move up to the next larger diameter re
Forum: rodboard
3 months ago
Tom Kirkman
Again, I'd charge by the task, not by the hour. Give it some thought. ............
Forum: rodboard
3 months ago
Tom Kirkman
Basing your selling price by the hour will only penalize you in the long run. As you get better and more efficient at the various tasks, you'll make less and less money. Think about charging by the task. So much for wrapping a guide. So much for installing a grip or seat. So much for finishing, etc. I don't know what you want or need to make but if you're doing it to make money I can't see mak
Forum: rodboard
3 months ago
Tom Kirkman
If I'm going to apply a 2nd, I will wait until the 1st one won't "grab" the brush. At room temp this often means I can apply a 1st in the morning and a 2nd that evening. .........
Forum: rodboard
3 months ago
Tom Kirkman
Robert, The article I did was an adjustable reel seat that allowed you move the reel fore or aft to achieve whatever balance you wanted. It used two threaded seat hoods as I described above. It would have been in a very early issue. ..........
Forum: rodboard
3 months ago
Tom Kirkman
Agreed and it is the fact that few of us ever cast on the same plane - fishing situations themselves often require that you don't - which makes the idea of any axis producing more accurate casts, mute. I have never seen anyone state that building on the straightest axis results in more accurate casting. Only that casting is no better nor worse than if you built on any other axis. Many have st
Forum: rodboard
3 months ago
Tom Kirkman
While it has been well proved that the stiffest/straightest axis delivers the most deadlift power and that the lever arm effect of the guides trumps the spine effect, without some sort of mechanized device to deliver identical casts there is little ability to state with any certainly that building on one axis or another delivers better casting accuracy. Until such a device exists, casting accurac
Forum: rodboard
3 months ago
Tom Kirkman
Ernie, No problem - those are good questions. They are thoroughly covered in the article I often link to. Note in particular the side bar at the end of the article under the photo of a blank cross-section. I think it will answer your questions. ............
Forum: rodboard
3 months ago
Tom Kirkman
The reverse pilot bit leaves a nice smooth cut. Using the proper RPM on the drill makes all the difference in the world. .........
Forum: rodboard
3 months ago
Tom Kirkman
As of January 17: Exhibitors All Around Fishing American Tackle Anglers Resource Batson Enterprises Bill Ballou's Custom Fish Grips Carolina Cast Pro CORK4US CTS Fishing New Zealand Custom Colored Guides Dale Clemens Rod Collection Decal Connection Decorative Studio DreamWeaver Rods EP's Rod & Reel Foundation Outdoor Group Hatteras Jack HF
Forum: rodboard
3 months ago
Tom Kirkman
That method works fine as well, but you have to add that ring to your grip and then shape it a bit. If you're not willing to do that work then the reverse spade bit allows you to obtain the same thing without having to any grip or ring shaping. ...........
Forum: rodboard
3 months ago
Tom Kirkman
You may another option but it'll cost you two reel seats. Cut the barrel from each seat, mount them end to end and you will have your single long barrel and 2 hoods. .............
Forum: rodboard
3 months ago
Tom Kirkman
Today I viewed the Dale Clemens custom rod and sample collection owned by his family. In addition to about a dozen rods there were also some hand-sewn bags by Dale's wife that housed all the wrap samples he did for his Custom Thread Art book. Very interesting history. The entire collection will be exhibited at the upcoming Expo in a few weeks. ...........
Forum: rodboard
3 months ago
Tom Kirkman
This might deserve a new topic of its own but I'm going to add it here so those newer to the craft can gain some insight as to where the stuff about rod "spine" came from and why it was wrong from the outset. You will be hard pressed to find any mention of rod “spine” prior to 1974 when Dale Clemens wrote about it in his first book. At the time he used the term “spline” (a holdover
Forum: rodboard
3 months ago
Tom Kirkman
I never said that you said that. In fact, such a statement wouldn't make any sense. The blank weighs what it weighs regardless of how you orient it. Most likely a typo somewhere. .......
Forum: rodboard
3 months ago
Tom Kirkman
Jeffrey, The quote you list above - "spinning guides get placed on your back and casting guides get placed on your belly" is not mine. But it does indicate the age old false idea that you can create a stable rod by where you orient the spine. The fact is, spine has nothing to do with rod stability. Any rod with the guides placed along the top will attempt to twist under load. Any rod
Forum: rodboard
3 months ago
Tom Kirkman
You don't need all those different guide sizes. If you know you'll be starting with a 20 and ending with a 4, then get on down to it. Try 20 - 12 - 4's. It'll give you a straighter line path and less weight. ...............
Forum: rodboard
3 months ago
Tom Kirkman
So now we’re back to what can actually be proven with either build orientation - On the stiffest axis we know that you have the maximum deadlift capacity in play when fighting a fish. We know that you have a bit quicker response (rod speed). It appears, from what anyone can tell in absense of any practical test, that casting is just as accurate as if the rod was built on any other orientation
Forum: rodboard
3 months ago
Tom Kirkman
The spine, if we're referring to the softest axis, is rarely if ever going to be on the natural curve which is the straightest axis. And if you build with the curve "up" that certainly isn't going to be the softest axis - it's going to be the stiffest axis. Now if he is building on the softest axis, then it's time for data and practical tests to indicate why that's the better orient
Forum: rodboard
3 months ago
Tom Kirkman
Mike left something out that is worth mentioning. In fact the upcoming magazine issue has a short article on using the reverse spade bit for inletting cork grips. Remember you will be running the bit shank through the grip and pulling the rear of the cutting bit into the rear of the grip. Since the rear of a spade bit is tapered from the widest portion to the bit shank you will have to bore deepe
Forum: rodboard
3 months ago
Tom Kirkman
The spine is commonly known as the softest axis. It is the inside of the stressed curve at rest. This is what all spine finders will automatically find - the softest axis. It is what Clemens and the RodCrafter Association taught. It is the basis of thinking that you can prevent rod twist by building on it. One thing it is not, is the straightest axis. Gary is referring to the stiffest axis wh
Forum: rodboard
3 months ago
Tom Kirkman
What Gary is calling the spine is the stiffest axis and what Clemens and the RodCrafter Associates and others referred to as the spine is the softest axis. So there is a contradiction in terms going on. The softest axis falls somewhere between 90 and 170 degrees from the stiffest axis and 95%+ of the time the stiffest axis falls on the straight axis. It appears that Gary likes to build on the sti
Forum: rodboard
3 months ago
Tom Kirkman
Mike Ballard Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > When I watched the video of Gary Loomis it seems > to me that what calls the spine is actually the > stiffest axis, not the weakest which is what > Clemens and other noted rod building authors > considered the spine for decades. So Loomis is > actually talking about the stiffest axis which is &
Forum: rodboard
3 months ago
Tom Kirkman
John Wright Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > So, > The bottom line, for me, is that it's not > important to place the guides along any particular > axis of the rod. Pick the "best looking" or use > some other criteria for placement, but don't worry > about the spine. > > Yes, old ideas do die a lingering death, but I &
Forum: rodboard
3 months ago
Tom Kirkman
Spine orientation plays no role in casting distance or accuracy. The guides serve as lever arms. Any load on the rod and guides will attempt to twist the rod towards the load. Therefore you can't stop rod twist or torque by spine orientation. Guide orientation always trumps any spine effect. Do a search here on the rod spine and you'll find hundreds of topics related to it. Myths die hard.
Forum: rodboard
3 months ago
Tom Kirkman
The weakest axis is the spine. So pressure it and it will roll onto an axis that it does not want to come out of. That inside of that pressured curve is the spine. The strongest/stiffest axis is usually found along the blank's straightest axis. It will only rarely be 180 degrees from the spine. Here is something worth considering - ..............
Forum: rodboard
3 months ago
Tom Kirkman
Action is where the blank INITIALLY flexes. The graph does not depict that. As far as a standard test for action, just push the tip up against the ceiling a little bit and look at it. Where is most of the flex? If it's in the upper 3rd, it's a fast action blank. If it's in the upper 1/2, it's a medium action blank. ...........
Forum: rodboard
3 months ago
Tom Kirkman
There will be about 10,000 blanks for sale at the Expo. .......
Forum: rodboard
3 months ago
Tom Kirkman
Backlash Tools used to make some slip-on devices for this purpose but I don't believe they are available any longer. In the interim simply glueing on a tiptop with hot melt easily suffices. Do it properly and you're not likely to have the top come off under direct load. ...........
Forum: rodboard
3 months ago
Tom Kirkman
CTS will be at the Expo. I suspect they would be happy to bring any particular model blank with them for those who want to handle a specific blank. ...........
Forum: rodboard
Current Page: 6 of 618

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