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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2016 17:27:31 GMT -6
just wondering what type of thread finish any of you that build your own rods use?
i have made myself quite a few ice rods but have been considering building a fly rod with all my new downtime due to a dislocated elbow.
favourite brand? high vs light build? where is the best place to order or purchase it?
thanks
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Post by brucerap on Mar 4, 2016 6:06:47 GMT -6
I've only built a handful of rods, and used flex kote high build on all of them. Can't say its my favourite since I haven't compared anything else, but it works fine for my needs. Got it from J Stockard, but they seem to be out of the rod-building business now.
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Post by kilgortrout on Mar 4, 2016 23:51:20 GMT -6
I have used lots of Flex Coat Lite, for not real brand loyality, it works for me and I have a bunch of it. I like the Lite as I am not a big fan of footbals on the thread wraps, enough to coat the thread evenly is my preference, keeping things as light and minimal as possible is a good thing. I like to use thread perserver so the thread colors show through the epoxy, thread perserver has it's own set of problems and I find it less consistant from brand to brand relative to epoxy. Mixing the stuff without bubbles takes some practice,( ball bering in a plastic medicin cup works for me) I apply it with a small metal spatula as the rod turns. I built a rod turner out of a Princess Auto microwave plate turner motor. I like to put on as light in weight guides as I care to aford for the build, but I like to put on more guides than traditional, seems to shoot line like a bullet with more guides. Two big strippers close together, 4-6" also helps to shoot line. I focus on very light guides near the tip where the extra weight is most damaging to the performance of the rod. Course you probabaly don't have to cast to far ice fishing I guess. So the lite epoxy is easier to mix and apply, brand wise they are much the same as they are all epoxy, after a few rods you will get the hang of the brand you are uesing. Cheers Ron
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Post by brucerap on Mar 5, 2016 6:56:35 GMT -6
Hey Ron - great info, thanks. Do you use flex coat on your bamboo builds too, or something more traditional?
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Post by kilgortrout on Mar 10, 2016 9:21:58 GMT -6
Bruce: The finish depends on the end user. The original finishes were stuff like spat varnish. So you wrap the rod and then dip it in Spar Varnish wraps guides and all, as an example. This penetrates the thread and darkens it. Dip tanks are a pain. I also use Tru Oil Gunstock finish. Mostly I use a turkey baster to run spar varnish down each flat of the bamboo blank and let it hang to dry. I then wrap it with very thin epoxy and then put another spar coat over top of the whole rod. This gives the traditional look but a little more durable. The original Bamboo builders used the best products they could for their time and still make a rod that people could afford. newer better products are now available to us and they can be incorporated and still retain the original look at a first glance. Gunstock finish and epoxy is by far more durable. As a side not thinning epoxy is not recommended by the suppler, but a little does not SEEM to harm the finish. Also the original products are much more time consuming to use and have short shelf life ( including the glue), producing a less durable rod. Cheers Ron.
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Post by kilgortrout on Mar 11, 2016 17:14:57 GMT -6
A few shots of guide wraps and a fish scales pattern, right click on the littl box, view image , I think it works Cheers Ron
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Post by brucerap on Mar 12, 2016 7:01:41 GMT -6
Beautiful work, Ron.
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Post by FLY TYR on Mar 12, 2016 16:02:11 GMT -6
I use Flex Coat Light as well.
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Post by zugbug on Dec 17, 2016 0:57:10 GMT -6
I just took a rod building course. We used Gene Bullards Epoxy mixed equal parts volume. Mixed it slowly in a small plastic cup for 5 mins, then poured it into aluminum foil cup. Not too bad with bubbles. Used a lighter (gently) underneath the aluminum and it helped get rid of bubbles. Put on initial coat on thread wraps and let it soak in for 10-15 mins. Then we brushed off excess to expose threads. A few days later did second coat with drying unit. This gave the nice smooth shiny finish. Was easy to work with. Did darken thread but I was ok with it.
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