I have found that one of the best tools for shaping cork is an old horseshoeing rasp.
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Use a citrus stripper to take the old varnish off, you can get it at Lowes or Home Depot. Use 3 coats of Tru Oil to refish it(very thin rubbed on coats). Then rewrap and coat the wraps with either varnish or Permagloss.
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Just do it! It doesn't matter if your blank is cheap or expensive, the end result will be the same. However, keep that first rod and look back on it when you have more builds under your belt. You will learn more on each rod but the only way to get better is to just do it. This is one of those things that you never learn completely and you will keep on learning and improving evey time you do one.
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If you want it stabilized try info@stabilizedwood.com they can do the job right.
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I have been using one of these for 25 yrs. I didn't have a chuck so I made one from the PVC cap from a 2 inch water pipe. I have a 3 inch square piece of steel stock that mates to my motor, I simply bored out the cap to fit it and epoxyed it in place. I lined it with water pipe insulating foam and added 4 screws around the outside. I use rubber band on the heads of the screws to hold a rod handle
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Steve, let it set up 5-6 hrs and put 2nd coat on, should be ok.
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I do lots of yellow black or gold black rods, This is Hawkeye country.
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I've done several of them with metal ferrules, one female on each end of the handle to match up with the male on the butt end of the blank. Also did one with 2 handles and built in ferrule. To go this route you need to find an old blank that will match up to your ferrule and then build your 2nd handle on it. The one I did I used the original blank for the fly rod and made a short section for the
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If you have these thread end bumps after finishing, a pair of fingernail clippers will trim them and then put on another coat of finish.
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A tip of what I do, use a fingernail clipper to trim any nubs then add a second coat of finish
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You can buy citrus strip at Lowes or Home Depot. I follow directions and wipe it off after one hour with a paper towel and follow up with the green scrub pad. If neccessary go back again with another treatment, In doing it this way I have never had to scrape any except a few stubborn areas. However I will caution you when you are scubbing the blank be careful of splinters. Bamboo splinters can pe
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Check with reelseatsblanks on your left, I always try to use our sponsers first.
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Just wipe on a little bit of Tru oil or a couple of coats of Perma gloss
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I have been following this closely and even though I am not an engineer I have been building rods for the past 35 years. I have also folowed the growth of the CCS system and believe I understand the principles. In this months issue of American Angler magazine there is an article on fly rod actions bemoaning the fact that thre is no universal measuring system. Several engineers from the big rod bu
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Tru-oil will look fine for a while but after a few weeks it will alligator, that is it gets wrinkled and cracked. I have used it and had it happen. I still use it on the blak but use spar varnish or perma-gloss on the wraps. Perma-gloss is very thin and 2 or 3 coats gives you that classic cane rod look with nice transluscent thread if you do not use CP.
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I use 10 min epoxy, keep the rod level, turn on 4-8 rpm dryer while drying. Sand after 24 hrs if neccesary. If I want a longer ramp I build up with masking tape and color it afterwards with a sharpie. I have seen Steve do his method and it came out good, I'm going to try it next time.
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Wait until the epoxy is starting to set up in order that it doesn;t flow back, then use a piece of thread as flossing your teeth. Floss it up under the rod to eye area.
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I assume he wants a crappie jigging rod, I build mine on 8-9 ft steel head blanks and put single foot fly eyes on. This rig is used with aan automatic fly reel loaded with 10- 20 lb line.
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Tru-Oil is what you are needing, 3 or more coats. Gives a beautiful gloss and great protection, no mixing required just rub it on and let dry, lightly sand and put on next coat. I have used it for gun stocks for many years and on my rods for almost as long. If you get adventuresome then try Perma-gloss. It has a learning curve but I apply mine as the handle turns, it takes at least 3 coats.
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If tru-oil is used as a thread finish it will alligator up after a time, that is it will look like scales. this has been proven in using it on wraps for bamboo rods.
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Take a look at Netcraft and their own brand of IM-6 rods. Look at the 296-209, I've built on as a 3-4 wt fly rod, very fast nice little rod.
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Thanks Mark, good to know but I think I have decided to go with the #16 that I have and add one more #6 to the set up. Seems I can find the gold rings in the smaller size.
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I am in need of a #20 single foot spinning guide in a holographic frame and with a gold or holographic insert ring. I'm one short on a special project rod. Feel free to e-mail me and I'll make arrangements for it. Thanks in advance. I've tried most of the sponsers here and haven't been able to come up with one.
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Daniel, Permaglos will not take nuking well, you have this confused with epoxy. Permagloss is not an epoxy, it sets by exposure to air. Read how to make a cap for it so it is not exposed each time you open it. You also could do as I do, I keep it in the refrigerator and only open it enough to pour out the amount I want to use and the cap is immediately put back on and returned to the refrigerato
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This brings up a question that has bugged me for a while. There is a cap with a small hole only a few inches off the spool on any closed face reel and it doesn't interfere with the line spooling off the reel, so why do we use a large eye as a butt guide on an open face reel?
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My tool for forming cork is the flat side of an old horseshoeing rasp, then go to sandpaper for finishing. Do not use the tooth side of the rasp or you'll have no cork left.
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I do wish they were a sponser here, I always try to use our sponsers first. That said, there is a Cabelas across the river from me and shipping being a big cost factor, I can order on the net and pick it up in person and pay no shipping costs at all.
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White foam works fine if you use tru-oil as a finish, about 3 coats will do the trick.
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Picked up one of the Batsons that Jim described in High Point and just finished up a spin cast for a guy who fishes smallmouth, may be a little light for that application but it's probably what you wanted. The guy who ordered this rod wants to throw 1/8 oz wts. with it.
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I have used perma gloss over krylon clear with no problem but I think a coating of CP and then finish with perma gloss would give you the hardest finish. I use permagloss on my ood handles all the time and the finish is really tough.
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