Try the smallest size zip ties. They work well on Fuji micro's.
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And don't for get to contact the IRS to get their valued input as well!!
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Duane - I finished a spinning rod today with the aero seat. I "hid" the threads the same way as all my casting rods. I put the reel on the seat and locked it down, made a china mark, and with a dremel cut the threads about 1/4" to 3/8". The rod is finished and I can lock the reel down without seeing threads. Also, the lockring does not come off the threads when removin
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I can't remember the vendor's name at last year's ICRBE, but he had an oven that would instantly cure any thread finish. Seemed to work great, but a little pricey. Maybe Tom can help, he was the vendor with the high quality cork from South America.
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Jay - I've struggles in the past with decals. I have tried several methods including some of the above. You will need to practice on a spare piece of rod blank to find what works best for you. Here's what has worked for me, but remember there are several other good methods as well. 1 Apply a thin layer of epoxy on the blank where you are going to apply your decal at the same time you a
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Lee - I spiral all rods fished with the tip up (worms, jigs, shaky heads). Rods for fishing moving baits I wrap all guides on top (crank bait, spinnerbait, rattle trap). I got this idea from an old, grumpy rodbuilder. Works very well for me - and I greatly appreciate his help and advice! Todd
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Call Lance back at Swampland. He has the Fuji K series guides. I've built 2 of the 842's as a spinning rod for shaky heads and used micro's on both. Pretty cool looking rod and fishes great. Todd
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I'm very surprised at the number of posts. I appreciate all the input. This is exactly what I wanted to see. I don't doubt that trout strike very gently. But when I'm out on the lake and the bite gets tough I have all these questions running through my head. Since I'm an engineer I want to be able to quantify how to build the lightest, most durable, and finally most sensitive rod I can, what
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I'm like the other guys. MB845, BB1, and BB2 (and a pool cue I'm working on!) all have Fuji K 4's. I agree with Steve about the 6mm tip. A 1oz worm weight can fold a micro tip over if your not careful. I spiral all my worm and jig rods. I start with a 5.5mm double foot, then 5mm single, then all 4's. I had to remove a couple guides due to the wraps getting contaminated recently. I'm still
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I have built 6-8 Castaway HG40 7' rods for shakey heads built as a casting rod. They are great for weightless senkos, and 5/16-3/8oz jig heads. If you want to fish 1/4oz and less I have switched over to spinning reels with 6-8# fluorocarbon line. I agree with you that I don't like spinning gear, but for light shakey heads it's worth the effort.
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Last week I was fishing one of the Tennessee river lakes in North MS. The water temp was 47F and the air temp was 40F. Since I'm pretty slow to figure out patterns it took most of the day to figure out the fish were holding on steep points in 25-35'. (Caught 1 small "spot" in about 38') My buddy and I had been fishing jerkbaits, carolina rigged worms, and 3/4oz football jigs most of
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John - In the past I really struggled with decals. I haven't made the step to printing my own. I use the peel n stick from Decal Connection. They are inexpensive in my opinion, easy to apply, and ship very quick. Great thing about the peel n stick is you don't get finger prints anymore. Of course the water slide will give you the same results. The part I struggled with was the finish.
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Justin - You said you've made a few fly rods. Why did you want to buy a custom rod? I agree with all the above comments. I would add some encouragement to do it yourself. That's what this board is all about. I feel confident in my finished rod now after 2-1/2 years. My first few rods sure could use some asthetics, but they still fish great and I'm still proud to catch fish on my own rod
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Lorenzo - Epoxy is very cheap when you compare using 2cc's, 3cc's or even 6cc's each. Don't get carried away with how much or how little epoxy you mix. Remember how much time and effort you put into wrapping the guides. Don't get a crappy finish by trying to hurry the epoxy. I'm not suggesting you apply finish slowly. Make sure you have plently available. Don't be penny wise and pound f
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I have had perfect finish on the wraps and a day later the mixing cup is still sticky. Don't worry about the mixing cup. Give the wraps a couple days and stick your finger to check. If it's still a bit tacky and you get fingerprints just add another thin coat. I've had sags dry, a fly in my finish, etc. Just cut it out or sand it down and add another coat. Another thin coat fixes many mista
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Again, Mike is right on the money. Don't get stuck on 2.5" between the split. Make sure you pay attention to what you want the overall handle length to be and the front and rear grip. Then, the split will take care of itself. Depending on the rod I build my split can be 3" to 6". Again, the overall length is what's important, not just the split. I'm going to have to start f
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Mike's right. I see it on a lot of my buddys' rods. None of them want to spend the time to tie on a CRig, so they leave the heavy weight tied on. You can always see how long the leader is by looking close at the blank. The weight can damage the blank severely. I think this is an overlooked subject. When you store the rod in the locker and trailer your boat the weight ends up beating your bl
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Call Lance at Swampland on the left. I've used all sizes he sells.
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I use Fuji aluminum trim rings pretty often. I use two diferent methods to bond them. I use FC 5 minute epoxy to glue my split grips and reel seats. As I'm placing the split grip I can slide the grip just slightly in the direction of the trim ring, just enough epoxy to bond the trim ring. Or, I leave it loose until I finish wrapping all my guides. Then I wrap a small trim band in front of th
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If you order from Lance at Swampland you may get some hot sauce!! How can you beat that?? Seriously though, Lance has great customer service also.
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I'm having trouble also. I can log into the forum and when I log into the photo area I use the same username and password, but get an error message. Do you have to register in the photo area with a different username and password? Todd
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I build only casting rods. I got the following information from a couple builders much more experienced than me. I've used AmTak Ringlocks, but have changed to all Fuji. On any rod that is fished with the rod tip high I spiral wrap. If you reference the top of the rod as 0degrees, I put a double foot 5.5mm on top, at 60degrees I put a 5mm single foot, at 120degrees I put a 4mm, then 4mm to th
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I need a little more information. When you swing a golf club - the shaft will rotate/torque on the backswing plane and flex at the top. Then on the downswing it changes its rotation, or torque and proceeds down the plane to impact. The last 90degrees the club squares up very quickly which torques the shaft hard. After contact the club finishes its flex, the club continues into the backswing
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Ron - If you are only getting 3-5 minute pot life something is awry. My first suggestion is to try a different brand and a lite version. I'm currently using a medium build epoxy and it works very well for me. I used another brand that was high build. I had trouble with footballs and the finish thickening towards the end. I still think that vendor makes great finish, but I just happen to
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I've seen that vendor come up a lot lately. Hmmmm, they must not pay their bills on time.....
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I'll only add that dremel makes a bunch of other parts like small sanding discs, wire brushes, and polishing bits to get a smooth edge. The cut off is easy. The clean up is the key.
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Lorenzo - If you go to the top of the page you can click on "Search". Type the topic, then change the "Date" to All. The great thing about this forum is the vast amount of information from top rodbuilders. There is literally years of posts to look through. You should check into the information on micro guides. Search for "M&M". This is a very good subje
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Tip #12: For the rod builder who likes an extra thin coating on rod wraps, there are three ways to get a thin finish. Use a stiff brush which will spread the Flex Coat evenly and thinly over the wrap. Heating will also thin the finish. Thinning with a solvent such as acetone or epoxy thinner also works. Between 1 and 4 drops of solvent per 6cc mix of epoxy is recommended. This is directly o
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I'm still not using braid, yet! But, For 17# - 20# mono or fluoro I'm using 3mm and 4mm AmTak and 3.5mm Fuji's with not a single problem. If fact, I'm throwing an 8' crankbait rod this weekend with 17# fluoro with all 3.5mm Fuji's on top and not a single problem.
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Lou - I have a buddy that fishes the exact rod and lures you're talking about. He throws 7/8oz and 1oz jerkbaits on a GLoomis Med Light 6'10" and swears by it. I've been with him when he is catching 8lb+ fish on this set up. Of course I'm bundled up like the Pillsbury Doughboy in late January! Those BPS boys are a little slow to listen to reason. Todd
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