Oh thanks Ray, between free patterns and Doc's loom how do you expect me to get any sleep????
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Uh Oh..watch out, there a ton of guys that would never sand a wrap, they don't have to. And so far, I'm not sure that anything "is impossible" in rod building.
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Finish is a pretty amazing stuff. It fills all kinds of scratches. If I have to sand a wrap, it will seldom be with anything finer than 400 and most of the time with a coarser grit. The block is the most important part, using it you can tell just by the dust on the wrap if the high spots are gone. I've never been worried about the sanding scratches if another coat of finish is going on, but I don
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Either way is your best bet. I use 4 oz. spools from the back of my CPW on a home made stand and regular spools from the front on the thread carriage. The thread from the big spools runs under the blank and up so I'm still wrapping and turning the the same direction.
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Any of them will work, use the one you are familar with. I use U-40 and it might turn Maderia just a bit darker than some of the others, but with all their colors I just lighten up a shade or two. If in doubt with the CP, do some tests.
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I knew a Spell Checker once, made some neat rods. Welcome spell checker. Oh, wait it's Bob!!! Please make sure a few errors get through Bob, we will still need something to harass you for!
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The paper towel idea is a good one. Just make sure that you tape it down far enough into the reel seat so it won't pull back up with the thread tension. If you worry about cutting into your grip when removing the tape, place a popsicle stick, a piece of wooden skewer or a wooden match stick on the towel and tape over it, it gives you something to cut against or along when the wrap is finished.
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A quick check with Todd at Lamiglas will get you a schedule. Friday is BYOB, Saturday seminars.
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Hey, that's Bob your talking to!!! He meant twice the diameter, he just didn't spell it right!!!!!!
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You may be stuck with getting a bigger diameter EVA. Are you trying to fit it dry? Try some sort of liquid soap and see if you can start it. If so, clean the soap off, goop it up with RodBond and push. Once you start it, don't stop until it's where you want it. EVA will stretch a lot more than you'd think.
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Welcome to the club!!! Great product and great people to deal with. They fish pretty well too...the people and the blanks!!
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I got up late this morning. Can you put the photo on the photo page Tim????
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Leather????? I was trying to figure out how you spin it in the "lather". Let's see, my Palmolive is thick enough to spin in and my cheeks are really smooth afterwards, it might work!!
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That Bob knows how to hit a nail on the head. There should be no reason to clean anything with alcohol except glue residue. Alcohol has all kinds of icky stuff that can contaminate a wrap. It's an extra step that you don't need. Just wrap, CP (or not) and finish. I think we sometimes place far too much emphasis on trying to keep each step clean . Try and keep the dust off an unfinished wrap an
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My Color Lock 2 calls for 8 hours. That's a day cycle.....or a night cycle. Two more months Mike and it won't matter to me either!!
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I can't let the washing machine trick go. My daughter just got a space saving laundry set, tall and narrow, but I still can't get the 7 foot halibut rod in there. I'll hvae to stick with soap and water for now.
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Heck, I've got hardloys on halibut rods that are 10 years old and use braided line and they are still in excellent shape. SIC's are nice....nice and expensive. They are an option, not a necessity. I put them on if a customer wants them, not because it makes a better rod.
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Much as I'd like to have a set of Andy's mandrels, a dowel works just fine for me.
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Owen, I don't know squat about batteries, buy all my components from the sponsors and like Mike's answers ( maybe that's because he seems so happy to be retired!!!) but your set up doesnt seem bad to me. Tape on those guides and go try it!! The only thing that you might change is to drop a 10 and use another 8. I love simple spiral questions, it's so simple that it must have deeper meanings, it'
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You'll like that blank. The offset is not needed if you do the simple spiral, or bumper spiral, wrap. If the you use a three or more guide transition, you may want to offset your butt guide, depends on the reel. Mike's right, the simple spiral is foolproof.
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Jet is a brand name for a lathe. It's used for turning grips and shaping wood or other materials. A power wrapper is also called a lathe at times as it can serve the same purpose as long as the demands are light. By all means start with a kit. Sponsors (on the left) can help you put something together and many have pre-packaged kits available with everything you'll need to start and finish your
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Just start first. You don't need a power wrapper, some use them, a lot don't. You don't need a power dryer. It's nice to have but not necessary. Some turn by hand, a lot don't. And that's "Doc" Ski, sometimes know by his real name, James Labanowski, a legend without a swelled head. There is a ton of info on wrappers and dryers here. You'd be helping yourself if you used the search fea
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Mine don't go out the door without a butt wrap. It's in the price of the rod. Unless the customer asks for a specific pattern, it gets what I want to put on it. The customer picks colors and if I think those colors stink, I'll wrap a sample and let them decide if it's what they really want.
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Rainshadow HS9000 at 7'6" is designed for plugs. Longer than you say you want but a sweet blank. I have two that are spiral wrapped and use them for tossing spinners for steelhead as well as plugs.
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I'm starting to feel old. Everybody used 8' - 8 1/2' blanks for steelhead when I started. I still build mostly that size. The XST 1025 is a perfect fit for me. I was lucky enough to get one of the first available and it made a beautiful steelhead rod. The next one will be longer and just for fishing floats. As Emory mentioned, they are a great color and look super with TI guides and graphite
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Dream Reamer set.
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The new Rainshadow BP series has a couple of blanks that make a sweet downrigger rod.
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Just don't make it "Fishless".
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I don't think it's up yet Mike. You can contact Joe Douglas at Black Dog.
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Rod Bond, Color Lock, Ferrule Lube, Permagloss, Supreme, Cork Seal and brush cleaner all from the same place, U-40. That's a nice little package for the shipping charges.
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