Try Permagloss, very had and durable.
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Tom, this is vey interesting to me, as you know I have my own substitute in arbor vitae wood. I'm sorry this wood is not available for commercial distribution as I have wieghed it in comparison to cork and it is slightly heavier. The good news for me is I have a large supply of it due to the trees growing on my place. I look forward to this new development. Most of my grips are now wood but I'm n
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I have purchased several bamboo blanks from Anglers Roost and can report the price and quality is good. They are constantly trying to upgrade their quality. I do not hesitate to advise anyone who doesn't make their own blanks to use them.
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I hand wrapped all rods for 25 yrs. before getting a power wrapper. All the power wrapper does is turn the rod so you don't have to do it by hand. It will not make you a better wrapper and all other basics are still the same. I use both methods and still wrap all bamboo rods by hand as they do not work to my satisfaction using the power option. However I use the power for most applications and do
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I have built dozens of the cut down banty rods from old bamboo rods. I save enough of the bottom section to build my handle on and ferrule the next section into it to make a detachable handle, This gives me a little more length on the finished rod. Most of mine are from 6.5 ft to 7 ft in length and throw a 3-4 wt line. Stress testing for the guide set up usually give about 7 guides and a tip. If
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Thank you Lance, that has always been my opinion also. Anyone can put a tip on a rod but the custom and professional look is the tip wrap. I will only leave it naked if the customer insists on it,
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Be careful in using tite bond and glueing up your rings on a steel mandrel. Tite bond is very corosive to steel, this is why I use Rod Bond on my rings.
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Wade, your e mail is hidden so unlock it or shoot me an e mail. I can help you and I live outside of Lansing IA. Get in touch with me.
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Try rattan, try carbon and try wood or even wood and cork combinations, try different spacers such as poker chips or gasket materials. You are only limited by your imagination.
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First show since Charlotte, wow what a change!! Winning the Batson wrapper was the icing on the cake, I was very surprised and very proud of our rodbuilding fraternity. Thanks again Bill Batson and thanks again for a great show Tom. We were on the road for a week before the show and my wife suffers from multiple sclerosis, she never missed a seminar or any booth in the show and also was at my sid
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Haven't attended the show since it left Charlotte and we are looking forward to being there. Should be in tomorrow, driving from S.C. at my son's house. We've been on the road from Iowa since last Thurs. Sorry we will not be seeing you Michael but are looking forward to many old friends and meeting new ones.
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Have not used Chromaseal but I can't see why there would be any problem. Metallics do not need CP because metal does not soak it up, I often fasten my thead ends down with super glue when using metallics and have also used clear finger nail polish to keep threads from moving in cross wraps. After putting on the rod finish you cannot tell it. That's why I can't see any more of a problem with Chrom
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I use metalic thread on the majority of my rods, however there is a learning curve. The fraying is only one problem stretching and packing are others. No CP is one other advantage. I even do cross wraps in metalic.
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Take a look at some of the salmon blanks and settle on one in the 10-11 ft range with a stiff butt and a limber tip.
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Keep your bottle of Permagloss in the refridgerator and it will not set up.
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Google up hexagraph rods and see their blanks, closest thing to bamboo and also looks like it. Very good blanks, I have built on 2 of them.
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Bill is a real expert on this stuff as I know he's done a lot with it. All I can add is I've used it for about any application including wood grips and inserts. I get my best results by turning as it dries, as for bubbles I let the hardness as it sets up be my guide. I've only had one problem with bubbles and it happened when I lived in Mississippi, not exactly a dry climate. Anyway I think I got
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Sounds like they may have used 2 part fiberglass resin to coat the guides, this was a common practice 35 yrs ago before the new rod finishe were available. As for the spine , sounds like that is what the builder wanted, however as Tom says I don;t see any relevance in spine any more and build on the straight axis. This is what almost all commercial rod makers do.
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Chris, yes you're on the right track, I've built dozens of them. As jim said I can use the whole mid and tip. Most of the rods throw a 3 or 4 wt. line and are between 61/2 and 7 ft in a finished length. You can make any type of handle you desire. If the butt ferrule on the original is good you can use it and go right to building your handle and use it as a winding check. If the ferrule is bad rep
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I wrap all tips as I think it looks like something is incomplete without it matching my guide wraps. I also do matching trim wraps on the tips. I aint real easy but with a little patience and practice it can be done. I start and finish my wraps a little below the tip and gently pack it up against the tip when it is complete. The same is done with the trim band.
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Jason, open up your e-mail as it is hidden or e-mail me and get in contact with me.
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I have used Perma gloss on many wood grips and there is a learning curve but it's still fairly simple. On carbon I would prepare a break free surface and apply it while turning at about 4 rpm. Apply gently in long strokes to avoid bubbles. Leave turning until dry, on wood it usually takes 3 thin coats to give a glass like finish.
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Net Craft carries it, look on your left.
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Take a look at the Dan Craft FT-904 or FT-846, I,ve built on the 904 and would put it up against any of the other premium blanks both in value for your money and performance. Just my opinion.
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Alex, sounds like you need to talk to some of the builders that do muskie rods. They have similar experiences in all their rods and they are used in similar ways just heavier lures and reels.
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For the past 2 weeks I have had a glitch that blocked my server from this site, thought it was my computer but found out anyone using my server was blocked. My son is the computer guru so I don't understand yet exactly what happened and how it was cured. I know this much Tom and his webmaster went out of their way to cure my frustration and I owe them both a large thank you.
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Do yourself a favor and call Bill or Lance at Swampland and choose the exact pieces and thread for your rod . They are willing to talk you through the whole set up.
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Order several of those from Net Craft, they are cheap and you could use some spares. The cost of shipping one guide will make up for it, so while you're at it you might as well make a bigger order.
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Gary, I've done lots of my wood grips with caps like that. Stand your grip up straight before you start and tape around the edge and fill with epoxy to the depth you desire. Take the tape off when it is set up and wait overnight and trim any areas or sand. When you turn on the dryer on your final finish you can paint a light coat of epoxy over the sanded/trimmed areas and if it is light enough it
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I glue them in stacks and then use a hole saw to get round sections, drill bit in center of hole saw will give you a center, you can glue the sections up on a mandrel and turn them down.
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