Nevermind, I kinda did have a brain fart but... Mudhole and a few other places do in fact show the BLVAG series as being a "Y" frame. I thought I was losing it there for a minute. Thanks Steve
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I very well might be having a brain fart but at Mudhole they seem to have the exact same description and picture. I too would think that the BLVSG are a "V" frame and BYAG are a "Y" frame, Just want to make sure.
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What's the difference between BYAG and BLVAG? I'm used to the BYAG and they look the same, both alconite "Y" frame, there's a few cents difference. I went to re-stock the other night and saw the BLVAG, not sure what exactly they are. Thanks Steve
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Thanks everyone. I thought I would have seen them by now if they existed. How heavy would those red agate guides be in a full set on a 6'6" med bass casting rod? I'll have to check to see if they even make them small enough but I have a feeling they'll be too heavy for a full set. Steve
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The reasons I say the Mudhole red guides are not ideal are: 1)They are not recommended for saltwater, which this rod will be used in exclusively 2)Color scheme will be black/red/silver, customer agreed gold doesn't fit too well in that mix 3)They are not available in the sizes/types that I need. I was down at the warehouse a little while back and saw them first hand and they are very sharp loo
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Hello again. Does anyone make a guide (preferrably black frame) with a red zirconia or other red material ring? This is my third customer that has wanted them and I've still never seen them anywhere. The closest I've found were the red frame guids from Mudhole but they would not be ideal for this situation. Thanks, Steve
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Brad, I'm not much for power wrappers myself, especially for guides. If you are just starting with a power wrapper that might be causing some of your trouble. If you have not done any wrapping by hand then I would recommend trying that to better learn the correct tension and thread angles that Tom mentioned. Take into consideration that many experienced hand wrappers have trouble switch
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I don't have anything high speed. I do my wraps by hand and my drying setup runs about 5-6 RPM. I do however have Jack Daniels... and Sir Iaasic would have been correct ;)
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I've been resting my wrist in a spare "v" support but that way looks like it might be more comfortable. Good stuff, Thanks Mike Steve
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Good one! I DON'T have a steady hand so anything besides a brush sounds good me (thread finish used to be my least favorite part). I'll have to try the flossers. Thanks, Steve
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Just thought I would share... I had a plain old pointy flexcoat thread pick laying around, dabbed a micro drop of epoxy on the tip & let it ride the edge of the thread where it meets the blank for about 2 turns. This is the best and fastest method I've found and used it on the last 5 or 6 rods. Better than any tape I've tried & less messy. Hope it helps someone, I'm open to other methods
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Alex, I'm glad to hear you bring up other builders helping with the business side of things, It's not talked about often. Tom Kirkman's article on the excise tax is very informative too. I'm also contemplating much of the "business" side of this craft, seems like It can be very demanding if you go "all out". Most work I do is based on if I'm comfortable doing it, what they are
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OK then, I'm gonna do some guide shopping and play around. I'm funny about trying new things sometimes. This thread is getting long so if I have any other questions during shopping or set-up I'll start a new one. Thanks again all, Steve
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So..... I wonder if anyone is working on defining a "system" using micros? (I'm using the word micro to describe guides smaller than size 5 right now). Would it even require a new system? I think I'm going to get a handfull to play with, If I don't use them now I'm sure I will eventually. Am I to assume the setup with say... size 3.5 choke & running guides would still follow the
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Thanks Jim, that's what I was looking for. That could be a pretty useful tool. Tom, I am aware that the 27x method is just a part of the whole guide setup. Hope I didn't cause any confusion.
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Wow... That's getting into it now. My brain is starting to work it's way outside of the proverbial "box", which is what I wanted. I guess I never really thought about how the term "micro" was taken by different people when referring to guide size. I automatically associate micro as being smaller than 5 or 6 mm and it seems that most every time someone else uses the term that's
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Penn 5500ss, Blank to reel centerline = 3.5", Spool diameter = 2.135". Hope this helps, Steve
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I agree about the test set Tom. I keep pretty much all sizes of alconites on hand for just that purpose. Can anyone rate the cost vs. performance of titanuim guides? Myself and most people I know are usually not willing to pay that kind of price and would rather put the money towards better cork, blank, reels, etc. How about the weight difference of say, a steel frame 3.0mm guide and a 6.0mm tita
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BTW, myself and most people I build for use braid in the 10-15# range for 90% of the fishing we do. Jim, I'm going to unhide my email right now. Another note I should add is that I'm wanting to try some new stuff but without investing in a bunch of guides that aren't likely to get used just so I can play around with them. If that makes any sense.
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Whoa!....... Sorry about that Tom. I think I was misunderstood when I talked about guide sizes and your article. I said I go "along the lines" of what you described, the guide sizes I wrote are usually what gives me a good line path so that's what I start with most of the time for that type of rod. I don't predetermine guide sizes unless someone hands me a rod and says "I want anot
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Hello all. I think this is my first post here. I build rods for a fairly limited number of friends, family & other customers. I continue to learn on a seemingly daily basis from this site and would like to thank you all. Now, I finally have some time to do some work for myself. I have a Lamiglass IMP904 7'6" blank I got on sale at Mudhole a while back (I absolutely LOVE it) and am co
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