Bill, from having repaired a bunch of them i am thinking its one of those cure via a light source type epoxies. Like we use for making lures and dentists use for gluing in crowns etc. By the time i get to them it looks like they never stopped curing: perhaps exposure to lots of sunlight? But that stuff has gone rock hard.
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I love those rods. Constant source of rod repair business for me.:)
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You also need to state how this will be used to get any meaningful answers: as part of a spider rigging setup? Around stumps in spring? Livebait or jiggling lure in their face? Then where is also important as that leads to size of targetted fish and by catch. Down South on sardis Enid Grenada etc you have very big crappies, jiggle a lure around some lakes and you may get into a massive gator gar
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Don, apart from the double foot, does this differ in hight from the current 30/8 castaway one?
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John, i mean if gripping closer to the reel seat works for you or your client: You have to identify why he is holding it closer to the tip and adjust for that. Possibilities are: change reel seat to where its screw down not up, or add two inches to last piece or blank, or change grip style/shape so that handle lets the caster have a more comfortable grip closer to the reel. His hands cou
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Personal observation on the BVK if you already own one: try casting it by moving your hand a few inches closer to the reel than you usually would and see if it does not cast better. If it does, change out your build accordingly. I have guys who swear the BVK needs to changed like that and that when done like that are excellent..
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Karen at Bingham(sponsor at left) has a 6 wt 9ft 2 piece fly blank in her SHX range. I have made up a few for the same purpose( good beginner rod with low cost) and at around $35 retail its a bargain.
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Look at the Flexcoat 'how we do it' videos. They use an electric drill to drive the 'lathe'. With some planning you can make that as short or long as you want. You could make it with extensions in 2 or 4 ft sections. Several plusses: it inexpensive, allows you to ream, wrap long underwraps and shape.
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There is a seperate drier motor and you have to move the belt from the 'lathe' or wrapper motor to the drier motor. In other words, you do not just throw the switch to drier mode, you have to put the belt from the headstock onto the little motor off to the side. It very silent and you may not even hear it running when you engage that mode. Well on my model anyway.
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Bill, there are places that those around you will get extremely annoyed if you fish with braid. Most folks on most Piers. Many party boats flat out ban it. Many guided single engine boats that go into the gulf. Get that stuff around your prop shaft and those few miles off shore become a nightamre or someone is swimming with bullsharks and a knife trying to cut line out of the prop.
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read this:
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Spray something like 3M contact adhesive on area to be covered before shrinking. There are other brands that work but that one works well enough for me that i have not gone looking for another.
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I ran these durability/yellowing tests on blanks i covered in thread, various finishes and then put in my backyard Memphis TN. Some have been out there 5 years now. If you use enough CP permagloss stays the most clear but your thread will be very faded even with CP. I even used non rod building finishes like Delft water based. Of the epoxies what worked best for me was Threadmaster Lite.
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If it is pretty wood: Epiphanes, else paint as above suggestions.
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With Karen/Bingham you are dealing with one of the best. No hesitation recommending her to anyone.
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Yes and i love it I also like the metalic trim they have. Hit it with CP and then permagloss and my 14 month old wraps look like day i did it in bright blue and silver.
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makoi is my first choice. vibrant color, no fuzzies, and even their metalic trim after 1 year of fishing looks like theh day i wrapped it( Ok i use CP and permagloss so no yellowing).
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I will agree on the RFLE blanks from swampland.
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Placed order. Nice looking bark you have there. I got some from a vendor that was paper thin: Even reamed to 16 mm and foam cored the extra glue required made it so heavy that it was useless for all but trim ring use. This should work out lighter than cork when foam cored.
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Also look at the 'how we do it' flexcoat videos on youtube. They turn grips using a drill as power source.
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Or powder coat plain ones like you would a lure. Go up 1/2 mm in size if a snug fit before powder coating. Powder coating you can match aluminum butt cap and some reel seat components too. Minima 4 guides(keep rings clean of powder). Cheap 'TV' oven in garage works great for this. Go lower temps and longer time, lowest your brand of powder allows.
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Built a few sage VXP rods for eastern Arkansas stream use and all customers have been happy with them. 4 piece and 8ft 6 long. They have been replaced by new models but still a few blanks around if that is the kind of price you are willing to run to.
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Mark, for a lure rating, you can take the fly rod weight( for what that is worth) and out it over 16 and that would be close to the ounce lure weight that would work well with most of them. So a 4 wt would for 4/16 or 1/4 ounce. Sometimes, if the seller did not make up what the wt is for marketing purposes. Now line rating is even scetchier. Because you are assuming the line number has a rat
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If you cannot get spring steel the top of an old light action Ugly Stick works well as a tensioner/line feeder. a 2 to 6# one works for me. . Tie one end of a large REC double footed fly guide on the tip and its easy to thread too. The big plus with this and spring steel layouts compared to what they have on every power wrapper i have seen is the ability to go in reverese while keeping ten
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Alps seats have some models similar to that shown. They also have some with laser engraving.
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John, i speak from experience too!
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Cameron, the reel will to a large extent determine the guide size. Bigger reel = bigger stripper guide. Then the kind of knots being passed, you need to know that. Wind on leader or braid to uni + floro or? Genuine surf or from a pier or mixed? What line does he use? All season and some mono gets hard in winter, you will be wanting to flatten out those loops. How does he use it? L
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x2 on the race point blank.
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I like the tape one also uses on tennis raquet handles. Cheap, comes in lots of colors, good grip even when wet.
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I have an 8 wt with REC guides and makoi grey wraps. No cp so the wrap sort of fade into that blue which i am not liking much having lived with it some months now. Looks are OK at the sea but in tailwaters for schoolie stripers kind of too bling. But personal taste varies. Performance:Fished it hard on the Laguna Madre this last Christmas/ new years few weeks. Used it some below Pickwick e
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