I agree with Roger. A few basic colors will go a long way. Black and the metallic threads will end up looking about like they do when first put on. For other colors you have to use color presevative or NCP thread to mantain the color. Double edged sword there as CP can be quirky and NCP isn't as pretty. Don't be afraid to visit the sewing dept at walmart either (try to get uncoated thread).
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Walt, is it a baitcaster...or what? True temper made a variety of stuff but nothing I'd call "unibutt" which I asscoiate with aftco and salt water rods. Of course I sure haven't seen all they made and some of the old square steel ones may have been offered in a heavy class. If it is more of a fresh water bait caster try searching for "speedlock". They are long since out of
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My basic training mirrors yours Gary. The reasons given by my dad were the same as yours. Back in those days salt water rods were built on rugged blanks but underwraps were still deemed necessary. Can't say I remember a rat tail file in sight though. Guides do seem better finished today also. All of this makes me question my basic training (only safe now that dad has passed you see). I have
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By any chance does the article touch on things one might do (as a builder) to make a rod more rugged? I have never broke any but I have never had high end ones. Daughter will be done with college before too long so that may change. I'd hate to break a big dollar fly rod blank because the fly's hook nicked the blank when something as simple as a coat of permagloss would have prevented such an
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Bill (and/or others) please correct me if I am wrong. The permagloss won't yellow but it contains no UV protectors so the thread under it may fade with time. The 840 would dry very quickly and could be recoated with epoxy afterwards...right?
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The traditional setup was dacron backing with monel wire. If that is what you are using the normal connections were loop to loop or albright. The loop on the monel is a haywire and in the dacron, a back splice. I would not count on the leader being outside the guides. In fact I'd count on the guides needing to be large enough to pass a ball bearing swivel. My knowledge is dated and things
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Wow! Thanks Scott. You too Billy (pink shoes, really? You are a brave man or a very bad dude...LOL). This place rocks. I'll have to get some C/D thread. I only ordered A. White has been on backorder from mudhole for a couple of weeks already. A sensible man would take that as a sign from above. But you see, I have this desire to try a tartan wrap and master CP. Must be a masochist trait.
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Mitch, I'm in the Miami area and I reckon it gets about as hot here as anywhere one would fish salt water. Maybe I had something twist before but I'll blame the fish (or me when I put it on). It is adequate and makes replacment a breeze. Sure can't recall anyone using epoxy 30-40 years ago. I suspect those with failures neglect to put some cement inside the tip. I often fish long leaders a
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I measure roughly 2.43" for Saros 3000F.
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I got by with a phillips screwdriver chucked in variable speed drill. Just find one with the right sized handle. Watch for the sand paper getting warm in your hand.
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Time to get Billy's book then. I didn't know it went into the mundane details I was asking about. His work is so extraordinarily exquisite I didn’t feel I was ready for it. I do appreciate that rod building is an art and the things I inquired about have no right answer. I also understand that I may have been close to encroaching on personal trade secrets. I value the help that has been
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Okay Fred, wading the flats is way different than fishing the bridges. I just picked up a blank that I'm going to mate with a penn 525 mag. Perhaps the next one up in that series will do if you can settle for a 1 pc. 8 footer? Look at the rainshadow rclb80L. I have the rclb80XL and while it is rated for 10-25, and I plan to fish 17#, many use it for 25# and one well know gent has reported boa
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Fred, you sound like you know what you are doing and I'm not implying otherwise. Have you found that you can keep tarpon in that size range out of the pilings with 30# mono and 60# leader? Way back when, we didn't didn't consider a 113H too much reel. With the current around those bridges casting wasn't too important as we usually fished the live bait on top. If you are in a boat and can ma
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I also judge it by the sheen. Older mono will look dull and won't feel as slick on the surface. Considering the cost of the entire fishing trip leader material is too small a percentage for me to take risks. One year in a dark closet is fine, two and it gets iffy. And then you have to factor in the doubt angle. If you feel you can't totally trust your gear is it going to be a problem? Would
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I’ll be wrapping rods with double foot guides. I’ll have an under wrap with trim bands at each end and one in the middle. I have a few questions for you guys. 1) When laying out your wraps how do you mark the blank? A grease pencil is too wide, a regular pencil won’t show on graphite blanks, and I’m leery of making scratches on graphite blanks. If you don’t mark the blank are y
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The only thing I can think to suggest...and I doubt it will work....is a trick we use long ago when we had to install a grip from the wrong end. Can you get a hold of an air compressor? An inflating needle for a football/basketball might come on handy too. Basically you are looking to inject air under the grip and force it to expand while you attempt to make a seal at the butt end of the grip
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Am I the only one that would like to see dead lift ratings? The line test ratings on some rods/blanks (trevally for example) are a joke. In particular I'd like to know what a lot of the fresh water stuff can do.
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I'd suggest installing the tip top after you glue the grips and reel seat. Then you can load the rod and determine the best place(s) to put the guides.
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You talked me into it Tom. I'll go with standard 40 and 25. I do have a new reel that could fish anything from 6# mono to 15# braid. That should make for a better 27X fit and give me two chances to get it right. Besides, I need to move on. I have not even started the two rods that were to be my first projects and I'm still mired in things like "best rod wrapper RPM range". I did
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I have BSVLG guides on there now and the butt guide is a 40. The blank had been clear coated after it was originally wrapped with double foot guides. I was taking the easy route and planned to put all wraps back in the original location. I did that but I need the practice and if I can make the rod fish better why not. I can always sand and re-permagloss if I am a glutton for punishment. Al
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Thank you gentlemen. I will be fishing 15# mono as many of the boats here don't allow braid. Tom the 40HH sounds about right. Care to make a guess on the rest? Not too sure how many need to be high frame. Also not sure if one would ever go from 40HH to regular 40 or always step down to a 30 (high frame or not). I have 65" from face of reel to tip top and centerline of reel is about 4&q
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Okay guys, I just got home and gave that approach a quick try. For it to work I'm going to need some very high frame and/or large guides. Can someone tell me the height of a BHVLG40HH? The way it stands I'd need a BSVLG16 12" from the tip. I guess my old(er) reel sits much higher off the blank. If casting performance is not a primary concern should I even be considering this approach?
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Well Tom, I don't consider it that big of a reel, shimano baitcaster 4500, nor the rod that short at 7'. So if my tip top is my choker do I just take a straight line from centerline of reel to tip top and set the other guides so their outside edge just touches this line? I'm just not understanding how I approach things when the tip top is the choker given that I'd like to have seven guides be
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As practice I am re-wrapping a 7' spinning rod. Why I'm at it I might as well try the 27X method. The spool diameter is about 2.5" and this puts me off the end of the rod (long butt grip). Should I treat the tip top as my first choker guide and set the guides so a line from centerline of reel to tip just touches the outside frame of the guides? Originally the rod had six guides and I
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Tom, which ones would you look at first for an offshore boat rod? Say a 4/0, 30# class trolling outfit.
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Doors, trunks, and ceiling fans have been my biggest cause of "defective blanks"...rofl! Tom, I do hope you included those tests. Sad times when so many consider it a God given right to be protected from the consquences of their own actions.
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John, epoxy is a very good glue. Like any glue, it sticks best to a surface that is clean. Epoxy can also "lock" into a joint. Think about the difference between a simple hole with a dowel glued in it and the same dowel glued in an "L" shaped hole. With normal wood glues the extra part of the "L" wouldn't matter because the glue has no structual strength. But wi
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Say I try a new brand of thread and am using CP. Between the thread, CP, finish, drying times, and technique there are a lot of places for something to mess up. In general, is the problem obvious?....how do you know which product/step is the problem? A test wrap is fine. Not knowing what to do with the results is depressing!
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When I make test wraps, to evaluate different finish and such, can I wrap on a wooden dowel or do I need to wrap on the same material as the rod blank? I read the importance of test casting. When doing so are the guides held on by masking tape alone? Is this strong enough for an 8' rod with 20# test and 4 ounces of lead? What about knots from a shock leader? Oh, couple more questions. I
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Tom touched on a few. Epoxy, in general, doesn't like UV rays so it needs to be coated. West does offer one formula designed to be clear but even that one is intended to be top coated for UV protection. As far as I know, they don't offer a casting type resin. MAS might and I think their product is more up to date. Sterling is another good name. Fasco is local to me, prices are good, and I h
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