Be careful not to call those Tiger Eye blanks a good "value"... you know where that leads! Seriously, the Rainshadow line should be able to accommodate you. Your problem is going to be finding the exact color you need. Why not select based on performance and price and then use your thread wraps to achieve the desired color effect.
Forum: rodboard

If I had made a wager on which of those rods would have consistently cast the furtherest, my money would have been on any that came in between an ERN of 5.5 and 7.0. Any less power and the rod would have been overloaded. Much more power than 7.0 and I do not think any length of a 5 wt. line would have been capable of fully loading it. This seems to have been borne out in their testing. I realize
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One of the things that rod builders look for in a dealer is experience and trust. Companies should take the time to do the testing required to ensure that the products they sell are compatible for the listed uses. A rod building supply company that sells epoxy bottle inserts that disintegrate in the very product that they are intended to be used with is a company lacking in rod building experienc
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You may find that a simple hacksaw or triangular file is safer and just as effective as the dremel tool! The latter can get you into the blank in a second!
Forum: rodboard

You can prove any of this to yourself with the CCS frequency measurement. While it is not "resonant frequency" per se, it is a relative means of judging if one blank has a higher or lower frequency than another, which is what I believe the average builder interested in making routine comparisons will want to know. Not all rod builders can purchase expensive electrical equipment so the C
Forum: rodboard

Mr. McNamara specifically stated that Mudhole was the MANUFACTURER of the MHX blanks. Having a product built to your specs makes it your product but does not make you the manufacturer. Until I learn otherwise I will take his word that Mudhole is actually making these blanks themselves on their own machinery and by their own employees.
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I like Eugene's analogy. It really tests each person's personal opinion expressed here. If tomorrow morning you were offered the opportunity to obtain a FREE rod blank of your choice, would you pick a Mudhole MHX or a Sage? A Batson overseas made Rainshadow or a St. Croix SCV? Which WOULD you choose if it were free?
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It got you clean and sober.............but has driven others to drink!
Forum: rodboard

The old unidirectional blanks were heavy.......but TOUGH!
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Make a few wraps and then stick the end of the guide foot under the standing wraps. The guys are correct............it works WELL!
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"At Mud Hole we are the manufacture of the MHX line of blanks â?? more on that below. " Interesting. I had assumed, wrongly I suppose, that Mudhole was sourcing these from an oriental manufacturer. I had no idea that Mudhole had their own blank making equipment and produced them in their own facility.
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Gary, If you really think a Mudhole MHX blank is equivalent to a top of the line St. Croix, Sage, Loomis, etc., then I have some beachfront property in Arizona to sell you. Not saying they are not good, but at the manufacturer's ends the $45 blank costs about $10 to produce. How much quality and performance do you really think you are getting for that amount? Do you even know who builds them a
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I look at this a bit differently. There is a reason why so many overseas blank makers have spent the last twenty years COPYING Loomis and others. Any time somebody tells me that their blank is just as good as a Loomis or whatever, I tend to think I should get the blank that everyone is comparing to. After fooling around with some of the imports I would say they are pretty good, but the failure r
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You are asking for a lot of information in a simple message board post. All those systems. along with photos and specifics were fully covered in Rodmaker a few years ago. If you can find that back issue then you will have everything you need in a single place. It had them all in one very nice article. All the systems do the same thing, allowing the line to go where it wants to go, under the
Forum: rodboard

I agree with everything you said. The way the vendors and companies all compete and yet work with each other was great! I only ran across one that wanted to downplay or denigrate other companies products and it was an easy matter for me to just walk about and make sure I do not give them any of my future business. The wood turning guy was just amazing! All the seminars were great. Even then I
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....or just do it the easy way.
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When Columbus landed in the Americas, he thought he had discovered a new land. But it was only new to him. The Native American Indians already knew it was here. My guess is that the blank makers learn about any new resin system or possible fiber as soon as it hits the market and in many cases we may already be fishing with blanks which utilize the 3M resin system.
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I would opt for the permanent fix by trimming. I have done a few this way and its easy and fixes the problem permanently.
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www.tackleworks.org maybe?
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Maybe not the sort of thing you want to spread around. Could give somebody the wrong idea, if you know what I mean.
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If you have the copy, read page 38 of Rodmaker magazine volume 12 issue 1 titled Inscriptions. It defines clearly why a hand written inscription is worth so very much.
Forum: rodboard

I too like them, but am not convinced that they will not groove fairly quickly. These are hard chrome rings and we know from past experience that hard chrome can and will indeed groove over time.
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Do not move your choke guide to accommodate rod length as neither the reel nor the line have any idea nor do they care how long the rod is. It is the distance between the reel and the choker guide that is important, not the length of the rod. It sounds to me as if you have squarely done this thing perfectly. Some go about it backwards, forcing the choke guide back towards the reel for no other re
Forum: rodboard

One final note, I did appreciate his use of carbon fiber tubes for his handles, but wonder if he is aware that many here are making their own shaped carbon fly rod handles over rigid brick foam. These would seem to be a better fit for fly rods and certainly more pleasing to the eye.
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He had no reason to be upset with you, Tom. You were the one here that defended his honor. If I in any way contributed to his unsavory comments towards you I apologize. Still, I will stand by my earlier statements purely from a scientific viewpoint. If this fellow's positions were capable of being true, then the known truths of mathematics and physics would have to be completely rewritten.
Forum: rodboard

I did not mean to give him a hard time about it, but did use his own words to contradict him. Sorry. Thinking this offset bit through a little, it occurs to me that offsetting a guide does nothing. We only call it offset because we can see the relationship of the guide frame to the rod. It appears offset but in reality, nothing has changed. The small circle that is a guide ring simply moves ov
Forum: rodboard

Good call Peter!! Here are two quotes from the website that I believe will help you separate the chafe from the wheat! "I found that right and left handed rods cast further and the fly line lasts longer because of the reduction in friction due to the offset butt guides." "Guide friction does not significantly reduce casting distance." Certainly no harm intended but t
Forum: rodboard

Mr. Bill, Whatever your rod will do with the heavier line, it will do even better with the lighter line. You are at no disadvantage. The line size diameter difference between those two is so slight as to be negligible but as I stated at the outset, if it is good with the heavier braid, it will be even better with the lighter braid.
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I would not use a chart. Set your butt guide where you determine it needs to be and on the 0 axis. Then move up 4" and set a guide at 60 degrees. 4" more and set one at 120 degrees. Then 4" more and set that one at 180 degrees. Then do a static distribution test to set seven more between that first 180 degree guide and the tip, along the bottom of the rod. You will have a total of
Forum: rodboard

You cannot have two "bumper" guides on a spiral wrapped rod. Most likely, you have a more traditional spiral type rod with two "transition" guides. There is a difference between a bumper guide and a transition guide. If this is what you are doing, I would look at regular Revolver Rod type spiral configuration and space the guides as you normally would. Due to the light weig
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