I am building a bait caster with a fuji reel seat rather than a Castaway. The Castaway's do not have an opening on the forward end of the seat. What do you do with the opening at the front of a Fuji seat? I am not using a forend cork. Thanks
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Well it's time to upgrade - In need some help here - Looking at RodSmith Tubular Power Wrapper RW-XL, and the ever so expensive Renzetti complete. Big difference in $$ - Pro's/Cons? I know if I go w/ the Renzetti - it will hopefully be the last wrapper/Lathe I will hopefully ever have to buy. I have hand wrapped for a while and have owned other rodsmith (power wrapper) and Flex-coat wrappers an
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Recently I put a picture in the photo section and posted about some arbor vitae wood I had come across, it seemed awful lightweight. After the photo of the grips made with it a friend aske me to weigh it compared to cork. I did a crude test using 1 inch by 11/4 inch plugs of wood and a couple of 1/2 x 11/4 inch cork rings I also threw in walnut and composition cork. Here are the results in grains
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Has anyone used the wood handles available at Mudhole. If so what were your experiences with them and how are they for durability?
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I am a newbie at these handles and at rodbuilding in general. How slick/slippery do these handles come out? Is there a way to make them more "grippy" or "tacky"? Do you think if I added strips of "X-flock" to the handle that it would cut down on the sensitivity? Thanks, TONY
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Several new articles have been added to the online library here in the past week. The current listing is as follows: Interview with Dale Clemens (PDF Format) NEW Grip and Handle Clamps (PDF Format) NEW Extending Rod Blanks (PDF Format) NEW Narrow Trim Bands and Thread Inlays (PDF Format) NEW Improving your Epoxy Finish (PDF Format) NEW The RodMaker Cork Grade Scale (PDF Form
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I am getting ready to turn a full wells grip for a 4wt flyrod. I plan on using some redwood burl for the reel seat and would like to use it for the ends of the grip. I plan on finishing the redwood with tru-oil or CA, not sure yet. My question is how do you guys go about getting the finish on the wood without getting finish on the cork next to it? Would the use of U40 cork sealer on the cork keep
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This is a question for those of you who are making your own wooden butt caps. When you turn them other than doing an epoxy encapsulation how are you covering the hole in the end?
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Good Evening All, I just finished turning a fly rod grip from a piece of maple burl and discovered several somewhat large incursions. While these incursions do not affect the strength of the the grip or the general appearance, I would like to fill and seal them before applying Tru-Oil. I am writing for assistance with this problem. I thought I might try a Cyano-Acrylate glue for this purpose.
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Question #2 Stabilized woods..... Does anyone out there use NON-STABLIZED woods in their handles and if so, are you getting good results? If you are getting good results, in other words, the wood is not swelling, cracking, and changing the handles, what are you doing to the wood to achieve your results? I have some really nice un-stablized wood and I want to make some handles and actual
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I just got my first issue of RM and man, am I glad I got this one! What an outstanding publication. Just finished reading the two article set by Andy and Tom about the new grips. Simply INCREDIBLE! The sky is the limit with that one. I fish and build mostly light fly rods and light spinning gear, so this application is perfect for me and my rods. I agree with everything said. It is light, stro
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Look at the link then suggest any remedies, to prevent the creeping. I have tried tape but it left a ridge. I'm going from wood to foam back to wood, with thread wrap on the wood. I have tried making the handles on a mandrel, but the foam compresses to much and bulges on the ends, my best luck has been building the handles on the blank where the foam is glued on solid to the blank, every thing
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I have tried several methods for long spey grips: 1) Making the grip on a madrel then boring it out. Usually have probelms centering the bore and its difficult to hand ream. Have tried power reaming, broke the a small Batson dream reamer. Do OK with sand glued to old blanks. Usually have to shim with tape to get it centered on the blank. 2) Gluing the rings and real seat on and then turning
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE OF OUR NEWSLETTER: GRAPHITE USA CLOSEOUT BLANKS --- SAVE 25%! Now is the time to pick up a GUSA blank at Mud Hole! We've decided to closeout several of our GUSA rod blank models and rod builders reap the benefits! These are current models that we are no longer going to carry in stock - so get them while they're hot! Unlike some other sales out there, these are all G
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I have been commissioned to build a steelhead rod on a 2C106MLMF2 blank. The customer wants a 12"-14" rear grip and an 8" foregrip made from Dymondwood. Add in the reel seat and I'm looking at 24"-26" of very rigid material. Am I going to be creating a shear point at the end of the foregrip using a material this rigid? Should I wait to get the blank (rod) to see how f
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I have been looking at a few of the rod expos and conclaves around and they seem to be a bit different than other trade shows I am used to. Most rod shows seem to be manufacturers selling to rod builders . Are there any trade shows where you guys get together and sell and promote your rods to collectors? Most of the custom knife shows, custom gun shows, engraving shows, pipe shows, etc.
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Hello I am building my first ever handle and reel seat in something other than cork. I’m working on a birch bark handle and matching reel seat to be placed on an 8’6” 4wt 2pc fly rod. As of last night (at about 3:30am!), I have my first handle complete except for the final finish. Now that it is complete I’ve noticed that the handle is quite a bit heavier than cork. It seems to me l
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What do you recomend for a hard finish on wood Good Wraps Bob
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I'm building a four-piece fly rod for a charity raffle-any ideas how best to display it without just laying it on a table? Thanks for any thoughts.
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Hey Everyone, Quick question. I'm putting together a light saltwater rod for a friend. He wanted an all EVA butt grip, exposed blank reel seat and EVA foregrip. I have everything bored out to the proper sizes and am ready to glue it all into place. But it appears that after I'm done putting on the EVA butt cap then sliding the EVA butt grip up against it, I will require a little bit of san
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I see what most of you mean when you say that this hobby is very addictive. I havent even built my first rod yet and I find myself in this forum and a few others daily. I also find myself shopping online placing an order two to three times a week. All my equipment should be here tomorrow cant wait to get started. I enjoy reading all of your responses to alot of the questions. I hope I can put wh
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I've always used u-40 on my cork handles in the past. this winter I used truoil on several wood turnings with interesting results. I'm wondering if the truoil will give the handle too slick a finish? any comments would be appreciated. thanks jim
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Hi all I am looking for a small lathe. I did the searches & searches and learned a lot. But still need to ask your opinions. What low cost lath to get I saw the grizzly which looks like a possibility. Give me some more suggestions. I'm pretty good at making things but want to keep it pretty simple and defiantly low cost. Thanks for all your help
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I've read about how some of you guys are able to get a nice high gloss finish with Tru-Oil. In the past, I've applied it by hand, 1-3 coats or so, just wiping it onto the grip and that was about it. Gives a nice satin finish, but I'd like to know how you guys are getting a high gloss with it. Can someone give me a quick rundown? I'm assuming it's applied on the lathe, maybe some wetsanding o
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OK, so after about 5 years of building rods now when I'm not underway, I still find myself making the stupidist mistakes sometimes, last couple days have been kicking my butt. I flocked a few preshaped cork grips to try to get back into flocking. I hadn't touched the stuff since I messed up my last project. Everything turned out great, except I should have re-read the articles I had been sent tha
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Hello all I was given an old 2 piece boat rod with the wood handle, it was going to end up in the garbage. I will be stripping the wood handle a redoing it, guides will go of course and be replaced with new ones. I was wondering on the blank, its a white fiberglass blank, is permagloss the best thing to apply to it once I strip off the old finish on it, and should I replace the ferrules or ju
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Fairly new to rodbuilding most of what I've made are spinning rods using only wood handles. I used up the last of a 2+ year old supply of Flex Coat and just started a new batch a few weeks ago. In an effort to improve the finish I built an enclosed box around the rotating dryer and use a light bulb to heat the enclosure to around 80 degrees to improve flow and drying. That was the last in a se
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Hey everyone, I am new as a member but have been lurking a while, this place is a great resource!! I build rods and Game calls, and I have been trying to use rod epoxy for some calls, as well as doing exotic wood handles and such.. I am currently using classic coat, and thinning it out a bit with Is Alcohol, I am not looking for a thick coat, just a smooth finish, one issue I am having is eye
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I have been knocking around the idea of building a new powered rod wrapper. I have a few ideas that I was wondering if anyone has maybe already tried, or maybe might see a problem with. I came across several sets of high end inline skate wheels that are about 1/2" wide and made of a clear urethane type compound. They have dual preloaded precision sealed bearings. Are there any disadvan
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I have been doing rod and reel repairs now along with the occasional custom rod for about 20 years now. Lately I have been seeing a rash of custom rods brought to me for repair that are coated with what looks like urethane or some sort of epoxy that apparently had no UV resistance what so ever. I had one here today, the entire blank and all guides were coated with this stuff. I had to replac
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