Andy's DVD suggests using a coarse file for initial shaping rather than sandpaper, however a Stanley sureform tool would work as well. It's good to have a solid tool that you can place against the tool rest to true up the grip. You can also square up the ends and put in shoulder features with a regular bastard metal file. Other than these two tools, it is sandpaper for me as well. 80 grit
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It would look cool. However, from a fishing standpoint, not the most practical. From experience, I can tell you that use most of the upper 2/3 of the fore grip when fighting and landing a fish and I think that a split grip could hinder that. Split grips in the rear are less apt to be in the way. Actually, a small split on the rear grip of a spey rod could be both functional and attracti
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Fred, Jamie and Randy got it right. The winter months bring low humidity, and with heating cold outside air and forcing it around the house generates lots of static electricity. This really doesn't have much to do with the grounding in your house as the static is generated by the air movement in combination with the low humidity. You can ionize the air to neutralize the static charge arou
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Hi Doug, Remember, the butt cap on a spey rod is functional first and appearance second. You need a substantial end to grab during the cast. The rubber mushroom caps are the easiest, but least attractive. Check out Bob Meiser's renditions of formed cork butts. American Tackle's wood/cork combos could make a nice butt cap section for a spey rod as well. Available at Mud Hole and
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Steve, I agree, get yourself an inexpensive dial or digital caliper for around $20 and you don't have to mess with any conversion charts, just read it out directly. You should have any problems with blank-through trigger seats, just make sure to fit them tight. You can shim the top of the blank if they are loose, but tight with no spacers is best for these. If you are building a spinnin
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If you are not set up with your favorite system to grind guide feet, I may have a new toy for you. Just purchased a 3 1/2" bench grinder from Harbor Freight. It comes with a pink (Al. Oxide?) wheel and the fiber unified wheel for finishing as well as a 30" flexible hand held tip extension. All for $40 This is a very nice compact system and sits nicely at the end of my workspace
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All, Looking for a rod support to use with my PSI Turncrafter Pro. There are times when I would like to turn a completed handle assembly in the lathe, and not use my wrapper for this. I know I've seen pictures of those that have done this. Any clues on how I can make or buy these? Thanks, Terry
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I don't know the process that Alps uses. However I do know a little about dye sub printing. Dye sublimation printers work by heating ink on an ink roll. The ink on the sheet is converted to a gas form, then forced on the paper surface. The ink rolls are in sections of 3 or 4 primary color panels, cyan, magenta, yellow and black if it is a 4-color roll. Dye sub printers achieve photo qu
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They are pretty good. I'm lucky enough to live within driving distance so I can send them an email on Wednesday and pick up my order on Saturday. They do a decent job of having the items in their catalog in stock, and will order items they don't have for you. They are one of the better suppliers on our side of the country. Terry
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I built this model for a customer and he thinks it's outstanding. Definitely moderate action, a good small-stream rod. I finished this with dk blue thread, white trim which was a nice match to the blank which is dark blue. I think this is a great choice for a blank in the 3/4 wt range. Terry
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I had a great time as well. It was good to see folks that I have traded emails with and also see all the great info both from the product reps and from the presenters. Even though I've been building for some time, you can always pick up new ideas and meet new friends, and even pass on a few tips yourself. I do want to thank Todd and all the others at Lamiglas for hosting the event. The sup
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All, I've traded some email with the above company since Tom said they were legit. They do offer common size grips and cork rings in smaller quantities. Standard shaped fly grips in quantities of 20 and up, cork rings in quantities of 100 and up. Price breaks for larger quantities of grips and the same price for cork rings, any quantity. They will make custom shapes but charge a set-up
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I just watched this chapter on Andy's DVD again. He clearly tightens the chuck first, then snugs the tail stock. I'll be interested to see where this discussion goes. The Turncrafter Pro does allow for sliding the mandrel through the head, but the chuck I have (std 3-jaw from PSI) is solid at the face. I'm positive Andy would sell me shorter mandrels. If I get into reel seats, this wil
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Now, this is good stuff. I just got Andy's DVD and i didn't notice any suggestion about not tightening the chuck until the tailstock is snug. I will remember this. I have 17" mandrels from Andy and noticed that the thinner ones (1/4 and 3/16) will flex in the middle. I try to use the thicker ones to prevent any off-center results. If I do use the smaller sizes I mount the grip near
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I'm another transplanted Idahoan, but now living in Oregon. Grew up in Kellogg and fished the Coeur d' Alene River and a ton on the St. Joe and a number of streams in Western Montana. Still make a trip back every couple of years for HS reunions or to visit friends. My college roomy lives in Boise and we get to the S. Fork of the Boise river when we can. I'll be in Woodland (about 30 min
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Care to elaborate, Tom? Anything we can do to help? Terry
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Anglers workshop does custom sizes in aluminum tubes. Also, they are not a sponsor but Alpine Cases make very classy cordura-covered pvc tubes in custom sizes as well. www.alpinecases.com Terry
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There are several grades of double-sided tape from scotch as well. Make sure that you get the "permanent" type if you are going to use this. There are others that are less sticky and have also given me trouble. Also, do add new layers of tape as you fill it up. It's much easier than fighting to find a spot to stick the tag end to. I'm now excited to find double stick duct t
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Using Mono solves the color transfer problem. I use flo. green Micron fly line backing. No issue with losing color on the wraps and is pretty easy to see. Mono is stiffer and retains an open loop better than the backing material. Terry
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Chuck, Certainly a doable job. If you don't want a foregrip, and do want a longer rear grip, there is a good chance you can rebuild from the back of the rod without stripping all the guides and starting over. However, the best bet is to strip the blank and redo. Another option is to extend the butt section on the design that you currently have. If the rod seems "tip heavy"
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I've used these a number of times. Any of the above methods work well. I use a dremel tool with the green grinding wheel to shape, then finish with a unified wheel for final polishing. No different than stainless frames. Good luck. It's still one of my least favorite tasks but pretty important to achieve a good result. Terry
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Hi Steve, I presume from your note that you will not be using spey casts with this rod, only overhead casting? I'm now curious why you would build an 11' rod for overhead use. My arm gets tired thinking of casting an 11' rod all day with one hand. Foregrips on most 2-handed rods are around 14". This is less critical as you can put your non-dominant hand anywhere on the foregrip that
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Michaels or any other craft store would have the standard silver and gold metallic inks. White should be there as well. I use a caligrapher's pen for most of my inscriptions and find that the silver ink is the best stuff. Writes on both glossy and matte surfaces with no problem. The gold is less forgiving on glossy surfaces but can be used. The metallic particles, whatever they are, seem
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It works fine, however I would highly recommend rod bond than the more liquid epoxies. It's a lot less messy and goes faster. I use the 3" width, wrap dry for the thickness measurement, then split and make one arbor on each end of the reel seat. Fill the ends with rod bond. For speed, nothing beats the flexcoat arbors though. About .75 compared to pennies for the glass tape. Terr
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Mandrels, hands down on any decent lathe. The work spins truer with no worries about damaging the blank. I can also separate the area where I turn grips from where I wrap and finish. This works best for me. I also found a new clamp system for cork on mandrels. I use one of the bar style woodworking clamp and drilled holes in the clamp faces (plastic). Insert the glued up rings on the
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As I said above, I just finished the 7/8 spey. It cast well, felt great, although I haven't really fished it. However, I just ordered 3 more. I plan to build one for myself and have orders for 2 others from the banquet @#$%& I mentioned earlier. They are very, very nice and the prices are really tough to beat. Looks like another win for the Batson team. Terry
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Hey Brendan, Just finished one of these for a Trout Unlimited @#$%& Fundraiser. Yes, all 4 pieces are the same length (mine was the 7/8 12'6" model). The blank is a midnight blue color. Very attractive. I also used a size 20 double foot guide for the first stripper and a #16 for the second. I then stepped down to SF ceramic fly guides in the following sizes: 2 X BZFT 10 2 X
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Hi Jon, Your first stop should be with a CPA if you aren't sure of the accounting methods. It will help you with your record keeping and tracking, along with quick books or other small business software you may be using. For any accounting period your COGS is basically beginning inventory + purchases - ending inventory + expenses. Subtract this number from sales to get gross profit for th
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Burnishing is a good way to smooth it out, if you don't cut it close like Tim suggested. I always use the pointed end of my burnishing tool to tuck any end piece back under the wraps, then burnish. No issue with the bumpy end. If you cut before pulling it through, you must start the tie-off loop sooner, or you still end up with the tag end sticking out. You'll get it. Terry
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Hi Emory, If you don't know where Orofino is, you can't be that familiar with Idaho. :-) It's about an hour up the Clearwater from Lewiston, give or take a curve or two. If you go over Lolo Pass into Montana, you drive right by. Spent my formative years in Kellogg, farther up the panhandle from Orofino. The state mental hospital used to be there and the local high school name was the
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