Cheap Lesson

[Gary_l]

I personnaly order my blanks,cork, reel seats, some guides and thread(large selection)from mudhole. I also get some supplies from Throne Bros. (though the selection on thread is limited) both places have been great.

[caddude]

jmeyers- since you took Garys RB class, contact Gary at home he sells all the things you'll need out of his shop. Nice prices too.

[Jmeyers]

jmeyers- since you took Garys RB class, contact Gary at home he sells all the things you'll need out of his shop. Nice prices too.

That's exactly what I plan to do..He is cheap, local, has everything I'll need. So I think I'll be going through him for a while...Thing is he mentioned 100 times that he isn't to "computer smart" so I'm not to sure how often he checks his email. I'll just have to give him a call.

[pureinsanity]

I typically buy from Midwest Rod and Reel. I also order blanks at Mudhole and bring them with me to midwest rod and reel to get the components. It is nice being able to get the blank you want and then bring it with you to fit all your components.

Now Midwest is by appointment only so I might just do the online thing.

[Mike Wallace]

Jmeyers,

Gary's blanks are great, especially his muskie blanks. I have built on them several times.

I will usually order from Mudhole (in fact I did last night). Great customer service. I received email confirming my order and saw I left out a guide. Emailed them and they added it to my order that was shipping out today - no problems.

[Brad B]

How did the class go guys???

You'll get the hang of it no problem. It just takes time and patience and when you are a beginner, redoing a few wraps here and there!

Spiral wraps are neat! I built a couple and love them! Pretty easy to do! But that is the best part about custom building the rods. You can move eyes to where you feel they work best for you!

it was good. there was a few things I would of like to seen done differently but for what it costed it was a nice intro and a way to try it. the rod doesn't look that fancy but it is funtional. the hardest thing for me was getting the width of the wraps the same. I noticed I had a few longer then the rest of them. I think on future builds I will take the time to lay out exactly where I want to start and end. A lot of this stuff was not done in the class do to time but if I had the time I would of marked it out. the spiral turned out okay but the thing about that is I was eye balling the placement instead of having it mark out. I was going to go with a revolver spiral but ended up go with the 45 degree spiral(he said it was better to do a gradual spiral). the part that confuses me thou is I hear some of you guys saying to build on the straightest axis but he said to build on or 180 degrees to the spine depnding if you're doing a spinning or casting rod. One other thing I found interesting is because you have to go to his place to do the epoxy on the wraps(do to the time involved with drying) he would lock everything in place with a little thin ca glue. my question on this is would you still need color preserver or would the ca lock the color in. I found it interesting he did this. All that I need to do now is get the wraps epoxied and then I want to round the edges of the foregrip and the butt cap. I think I will be buying most of my supplies through him because he is a wholesaler of rod building components. the blank for the rod I built was made by Fenwick to his specs. I already have plans for 2 more long rods and then I want to do a few ice rods(he offers a nice ice rod kit (this is what Jmeyer built)). I am definitly hooked on building and am planning to clear out all my mass produce store bought rods and go strictly customs from now on. I hope to have a nice channel cat rod done before I hit the red river next June.

It's nothing fancy ,but it's funtional. here are a few pics of the rod. I put the reel on for now just to see how it feels and looks.

John (Jmeyer) if you do build a spiral wrapped rod sometime you don't have to go to the left like I did. I did this because I use left hand retrieve reels and if I used right hand ones then I would of went to the right. By the way it was nice meeting you also.

[Brad B]

Jmeyers,

Gary's blanks are great, especially his muskie blanks. I have built on them several times.

I will usually order from Mudhole (in fact I did last night). Great customer service. I received email confirming my order and saw I left out a guide. Emailed them and they added it to my order that was shipping out today - no problems.

I agree his muskie blanks are nice. the one I built on was his 7'6" blank that he has made by Fenwick. His blanks must be good because he told us that his 8'6" muskie blank is what thorne brothers use to build their rods on.

I plan to get stuff from him but I also will be buying from mudhole. I got stuff picked out already for my next two builds. I plan to see if he has any of the items I want to get and if he does then I will get it from him if he doesn't have it then I will go to mudhole.

[pureinsanity]

A gradual spiral just looks more appealing in my opinion.

I have a sharp spiral wrapped rod and a gradual. They both function flawlessly. The main thing is to make sure the line never touches your blank.

As far as spine or straightest axis. It is entirely up to you. I myself build on the spine of the blank or 180 degrees of the spine depending spinning vs casting.

I know other people go straightest axis. It is one of those things where people believe what they believe. Do what you want to.

Someone once told me they look at the spine of a rod like the our spines. They are meant to bend forward and backwards, not so much side to side. It made sense to me so I build inline with the spine of the blank.

But again its all personal preference.

[Jmeyers]

I do plan on making a some spiral wraps in the future so thanks for the heads up Brad, do you plan on going to Gary's to apply epoxy? or are you going to attempt it on your own?

When it comes to the color preserver if it's not to expensive I will more than likely buy it. If I'm going to spend the money on the rest of the equipment I would be dissapointed to ruin my rod with something as silly as that.

[Brad B]

I do plan on making a some spiral wraps in the future so thanks for the heads up Brad, do you plan on going to Gary's to apply epoxy? or are you going to attempt it on your own?

When it comes to the color preserver if it's not to expensive I will more than likely buy it. If I'm going to spend the money on the rest of the equipment I would be dissapointed to ruin my rod with something as silly as that.

I might set up a time with him or I may wait and do it my self once I have my own equipment. I don't need to finish it until next summer anyways. hope to have other rods done by then. I will use color preserver on future builds but because of the CA glue he used I don't think the preserver will soak in the thread like it was designed to. so on this rod I will just epoxy it. with black thread with the metal flake strip I don't think it would be a big deal not to use it. I am planning a red colored theme rod and will put preserver on that one. have you epoxied you ice rod yet. once it is done post a pic or two.

[Jmeyers]

I have yet to epoxy mine yet as well, I think I'm going to wait until I get my own equipment and then look up tips on youtube. I'm going to buy the color preserver as well.

[upnorth]

Ya only need color preserver for colors, black or other really dark colors are OK. The big worry is with out the color preserver the color of the blank will bleed through and it is not always uniform. Best practice with epoxy is to use syringes and measure exact matching amounts of the 2 parts. You don't really need a dryer as you can turn it by hand until it starts to setup. Good rule of thumb is 1/2 turn every 2 minutes for about 15 to 20 minutes and increase the time between turns as it sets up. Turning by hand will actually give you a nicer flatter finish on the threads without that football affect.

Also when you mix the epoxy, slowly mix as to not introduce too many bubbles to the finish. pour the mixed epoxy from the mixing cup onto a flat piece of tin foil to allow it to spread out and get rid of some of the bubbles. Go fairly slow on putting the epoxy on the threads, you don't want so much as to brush it on as to kind of gob it on and smooth it out with the brush. You want the temp 70 degrees plus to allow the epoxy to self level and it will setup and cure better when it is rather warms. One tip is I put my bottles of epoxy in warm water for few minutes to thin it out and allow for easier mixing.

[Jmeyers]

Thanks for all the tips Upnorth, what is the football effect that the dryer gives the epoxy? I was thinking about investing in one...this isnt bad for the rod right? just the shape the epoxy takes when drying i take it..

[pureinsanity]

Football effect is just having too much epoxy or it spinning to fast and it takes on the appearance of a football.

[upnorth]

Football effect is just having too much epoxy or it spinning to fast and it takes on the appearance of a football.

Like PI said spinning it can give it a football effect. Basically a rounded/bowed looking finish on the guide wraps.

I use a dryer, but I hand turn the rods for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours til they setup then up it in the dryer.

[Brad B]

what is the reason for such a bid difference in the rpms of different dryers. I am looking at one that is listed as a 4rpm dryer and then I have seen them as high as 18rpm's. would a 4 rpm unit cause the football effect.

[upnorth]

That is a good question. If you put on a thin coat, maybe not. I have an 18 rpm model, so couldn't tell you for sure what a 4 rpm model would do.

[pureinsanity]

I use a grill rotisserie motor. I guess you could say it goes from 3-6 RPM's not sure if its accurate. But I have gotten the football effect before. I have caught it and scrapped the extra epoxy off. Apply a little heat and it was good to go again.

The main thing will be too much epoxy. If your motor is to slow, it can all pile up in the middle and start dripping. You just have to play with it.

Practice makes perfect!

[upnorth]

That is why I hand turn it for a while.

[rushing]

Higher RPM can make application easier but lower RPM makes for a more even finish. I'd like one of those Neptune variable speed dryers not sure if dude even sells them anymore but I bought one of his homemade dryer chucks last summer and its been the best thing I have used so far for securing heavier rods in the rod dryer.

[upnorth]

The way I look at the hand turning for a bit is I normally have close to 10 hours into a rod before the finish, a couple hours of web surfing and turning around every now and then to rotate the rod is not that bad.

[Smoker]

I have used 4, 9 and 18 rpm dryers and the finish all looked the same. I always thin out my epoxy with acetone so I can put on thinner coats. I may need to put a extra coat on but I have never had any problems so I stay with what works for me. I got a used power finishing machine from a friend and it spins at 200rpm to put the finish on. I seen them use them at St. Croix and that is when I found out he had an extra one to sell. It is fun to hear how other people do things. Everyone is differant but they all work.

[Jmeyers]

What do you guys use to spread on your epoxy? or do you just squezze it out onto the wraps? I could find this on youtube I just haven't had time to look yet

[upnorth]

OK here is how I do it. Let's start with thread coverings are normally a 2 part mixture, the base and the hardener. Mixed together most the time you have about 1/2 hour working time. I take a small artist brush(cheapos from Wally World work fine) and scoop up a small amount and then dab it in the small gap where the guide/blank/thread meet. After I fill that I scoop more and start to spread(not brush) the epoxy over the thread. I also make sure there is about a 1/16 inch extension of the epoxy past then end of the thread on each end. I prefer to smooth the epoxy over the thread lengthwise instead of turning the blank as for me I get a smoother flatter finish. I then move to then next guide and repeat.

[pureinsanity]

I put it on with a cheapo paintbrush too. I prefer the cheap watercolor brushes kids use. I do not like the fine artist brushes that seem to have real or artificial hair. They seem to loose bristles and they can get in the finish. So CHEAP Nylon brushes.