I thank you for this. The grip is on the rod, and the only lathe I have is the wrapping lathe (the American Tackle power wrapper). At some point in the near future I will remedy that: I can see more and more applications for a good lathe. To paraphrase someone on another board, my biggest fear is that when I die, my wife will sell my fishing and rod building equipment for what I told her I p
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Thank you all. I now have new tools in the arsenal (drywall screen, a callous remover and 1500 grit paper), and will be sourcing some floor-stripping screens tomorrow. First thing in the morning the handle will be lovingly shaped with a vengeance...and a week from now, well, I wouldn't want to be a resident of the Gulf Stream off east central Florida.
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Just my 2 cents worth...I started by making very simple rod supports (3 of them) out of scrap 1X6 material. That took all of 10 minutes. I recommend you purchase the @#$%& thread tension device (Mudhole carries it)...it works beautifully. That's really all you need to get started. A drying motor to turn the rod when you apply the finish is nice to have as well, but not an absolute necessity
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Can I assume drywall screen is NOT the same thing as the fiberglass drywall tape I use to build up the blank under a reel seat? Heading to the local big box home improvement store to buy some. Thanks!
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I have done very little work with eva grips. Most of my builds (saltwater included) have been made with cork rings (I bought 10,000 rings on a very special deal in the 1970s and still have a lot left). I love working with cork: after gluing up a grip, I just shape it on my combination belt/disc sander. It shapes easily but doesn't cut too quickly, and the results are always good. A few days a
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Be aware that there are two basic types of epoxy finish for coating your wraps: high build and regular build (or lite build). For a fly rod in particular, you might want to use the lite build formula. It's personal preference, of course, but most of my clients prefer the light build for their fly rods.
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Many years ago, I learned the basics of the rod building craft from an old gentleman in Connecticut. All his builds were on Lami or Fenwick honey glass blanks. They have certainly stood the test of time: I am still using rods be built for me in 1972. The boat rods he built for me used chrome over brass reel seats, and they were installed with the locking nuts against the rear grip. Recently,
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I just sent you some pics of a Florida Gators rod I made for a client.
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On double-footed guides, I use the snake skin between the feet (under the ring) where it can be seen. I wrap up to the skin from both ends with thread, providing a cushion for the guide feet. I suppose you could do a complete underwrap in snake skin, but you will be covering it with the guide feet and the thread to hold the guides in place, so why waste expensive skin? Guide wrap color woul
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CP is Color Preserver. Pay particular attention to the edges of the skin. You want them completely saturated with CP. and firmly tacked down to the blank. When positioning the skin, remember that is stretches very little lengthwise, but a great deal sideways. You don't want to stretch it too much or you will distort the pattern.
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GWPR842S and 43S. And GWMR843S. Those three, particularly the GWMR843S.
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I would hope that silicone would not be used in food-grade plastics, but given that most of these plastics are sourced from China, it certainly isn't out of the realm of possibility. My wife is a nurse, and some years ago I thought I'd use medical syringes to measure finish. Big mistake. Fish eyes are pretty on fish. They ruin an otherwise great rod finish. Same goes for medicine cups from t
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I have fished with the G. Loomis Greenwater rods, and I love them. They are wonderful for big redfish on the flats. Loomis does not sell these blanks. Additionally, I have heard a rumor that Loomis won't be selling any blanks after this year. (Not sure if that is the case or not.) Does anyone know of any blanks that are very similar to the Greenwater blanks?
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If you have any flexible plastic lids (the kind from coffee cans, oatmeal packages, etc), these work well for something to pour the finish onto from the mixing cup. The finish will not stick to this plastic, so once it sets, just peel the finish off and re-use again and again. As for shelf life, I got a letter response from Flex Coat a number of years ago telling me that the finish had a shel
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Let me second that Mudhole has some great pink blanks. For spinning and casting, they are graphite. They also have some e-glass blanks in pink for making boat rods. You might want to take a look at their rod-building kits for the spinning rods. They provide the blank, cork handle, holographic guides, holographic reel seat...and the last I knew, they were including a free spinning reel with
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I have had this happen over the years to differing degrees. Tacky finish, or a finish that "pulls" at your finger just a bit as you run it over the wraps. It doesn't happen often, and there seems to be no rhyme or reason to it. A few things have helped minimize the problem: Careful measuring and thorough mixing: these are the no brainers. I wish that was all there was to guar
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I have been following the threads about the use of this holographic media, and I have a follow-up question. Can I assume that the inkjet inks do not run when pro finish is brushed on them? (I use a Canon Pixma 600 printer)
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Just reading this to my lady, and she said, "What about doing this with snake skins? Or gator skins?" I have been buying snake skins (python, cobra, etc) from an online @#$%& site as well as from our friends at Mudhole and using them in place of diamond wraps and in handle inlays over graphite tubing, but the skins are expensive. This could be a viable alternative. Has anyone trie
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The flats guide was specific...6" long for 10 weight line. He said 6'2" would be the maximum length. It is most definitely an experimental build. I'm hampered by the fact that I don't fly fish myself, so I truly appreciate the ideas being posted here. Many thanks.
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I have a flats guide client who has requested a 6' fly rod for 10 wt. line. He wants it for making short casts to docks and pilings for big snook (over 20 lbs). I have thought about using a 3 piece, 9' blank, using just the tip and mid section, and then stiffening the mid section (now the butt section) with a light graphite blank slid inside the first 2' of the section. I have done this to sti
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