jeepcreep Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 well you can guess what i want....NEW REEL SEAT! can't decide if i want to slide it up a couple of inches though. Next time out i'm going to clamp it right on the factory weave, and see if it suits me better or not. I wonder if i could drill out some rings, and stack a foregrip for it? I think the cork would look sweet over that blue blank. The fish are someplace else, unless your somplace else; in which case they are somplace elser. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeepcreep Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 You could drop it off on...say...a wednesday it's allergy season you know.. ..how you feeling lately? you should take a wednesday off, and see the doctor. I worry about you, you know that. The fish are someplace else, unless your somplace else; in which case they are somplace elser. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoBow Posted April 19, 2009 Report Share Posted April 19, 2009 Well, the shrink wrap for my handle hasn't arrived yet, so decided to go ahead and start building the top half first. Got my guides thinned, prepped and painted. The frame metal is stainless steel, so filing the chrome finish off to thin the foot shouldn't be a factor as far as rust is concerned. I painted them anyways; ought to help hide that shiney chrome foot under the black thread that I'll be wrapping with. Ain't they pretty... Fuji Alconites CMNAGs 30, 25, 20, 20, 16, 16, 16, 16, and a 16 tip. Here's the tip. Gray underwrap, with a Charcoal and Silver metallic trim band. I'm very pleased with how the colors look together so far. Very subtle and stealthy. Don't know if the tip should be installed first or last. I did it first so that I'd have a "front sight" to help align the other guides. Underwraps and trim bands. We're at the other end of the rod here; This will be the #30 stripper guide. That guide will be reversed so that the two angled legs are facing forward. Supposed to help prevent line from becoming wrapped around the first guide and causing snap offs. I think that's more for spinning rods than conventional rods, but what the heck... The green strings are to pull the tag ends of the wraps under the wrap to finish the ends. You can see the Charcoal and Silver trim threads stretching off to the right. They'll be wrapped by hand after the Gray is finished off. One side done. I'm planning to wrap each foot separately, with the blank exposed between the front and rear feet. I'm using alot of guides on the rod, so this will help reduce the weight and hopefully not change the 1502's easy loading action too much. Two shorter wraps ought to be more flexible than one long wrap. Both sides done. I left the tags ends long so I'd have something to pull on to snug up the wrap as needed. You can see the tag ends under the wrap on the left side. Not real happy with how this looks . I think I've left them a bit too long. Also, there's a fuzzy thread on the left wrap that I think I've trimmed a bit to close. That could be bad... . Here's the top side of the wrap showing the two wraps. I screwed up laying out the wraps and made the right side wider than the left. It would look weird once the guide was wrapped on. Soooo... It got cut it off after this pic and re-wrapped. An update... Re-wrapped the right side, got it the correct size, and trimmed much nicer. Thought I could trim that fuzzy thread on the left side... Started trimming it, got down to one last bit of bit of fuzzy to trim... Cut the dang thread all the way through... Now I'll have to re-wrap the left side... Didn't Poppy say something about leaving the rod building to someone who has lots of patience? Starting to wonder... An 8 oz sinker and a bunker head will only fly so far... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warden Posted April 19, 2009 Report Share Posted April 19, 2009 That is a GREAT looking color scheme! Ya know ya got a biggun when folks think the pic is a photoshop job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJS Posted April 19, 2009 Report Share Posted April 19, 2009 Did you use the dowel to help line up the guides?? Wonder if that would work. CJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoBow Posted April 20, 2009 Report Share Posted April 20, 2009 Two steps forward and three steps back. I've cut off and re-wrapped the same two sets of underwraps at least four times today . Maybe more... Nothing suited me. Tried several different things to get the tag ends neater. Finally think I've getting the hang of it. Hope to post some pics later on... CJS - Haven't used a dowel to line up the guides, maybe someone else has. I've just sighted down the rod so far to line them up. Since the guides get smaller (or larger) from one end to the other, you get a bullseye type pattern when they're lined up. Each guide looks like it's nested inside the next guide. An 8 oz sinker and a bunker head will only fly so far... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Springer Posted April 20, 2009 Report Share Posted April 20, 2009 I like split underwraps . Your layout has to be set up perfectly but it looks sharp as far as I am concerned. Tried several different things to get the tag ends neater. There is a method to achieve clean tag ends that is well written up in the rod building forum. When you make your loop to pull under your tag end only pull it through a little bit. Then when it is only partially under your wrap cut the tag end where it is going under the wrap and then finish pulling through with your thread loop. If you do this correctly your tag end never comes out the other side and you get clean ends every time. I hope explained that well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warden Posted April 20, 2009 Report Share Posted April 20, 2009 On the tag ends, you're pulling all three tags into the same spot on the wrap. That's gotta make for a "lumpy" area on your wrap. It's doable and the wrap does look good as is but you may want to wrap the underwrap and the trim wraps separately. That would space out the tag ends more. Also, you may want to cut your tag ends shorter. Instead of pulling the end all the way through and out of the wrap where it's then trimmed off, try just pulling the end under the wrap a couple of threads worth and then cut it off. Now finish pulling it through and the tag end will automatically be buried under the wrap with no trimming necessary. It'll also be much shorter so there's less of a lump and you don't have to deal with the fuzzies and spikes you can get when trimming the thread in the normal manner. That's going to be one good looking rod! Looks like Springer's up early too.....he beat me to it! Ya know ya got a biggun when folks think the pic is a photoshop job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoBow Posted April 22, 2009 Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 Okay, Starting to get the tag ends under control... Thanks Springer & Warden! Looking for a bit of advice regarding the reel seat. Anybody favor uplocking for a conventional rod? Always bugs the heck out of me that most conventional rods have downlocking reel seats. Your left hand gets wrapped around the reel seat threads while you're reeling in. Ouch! On an uplocking reel seat, the only thing under your hand is the fore grip. Also, on an uplocking reel seat, the forward reel foot is under the solid reel seat hood. Just seems to me that is a more desireable condition. How about your thoughts? Thanks! An 8 oz sinker and a bunker head will only fly so far... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJS Posted April 22, 2009 Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 What about a plate type reel seat? That way you eliminate the seat threads all together. If you use a clamp on your rods, plate-type is the way to go in my opinion. If you decide on a traditional reel seat then build it how you think you will be most comfortable. Personally, I tend to grip the rod a little higher and the threads on a down locking seat don't bother me. CJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warden Posted April 22, 2009 Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 I build all mine uplocking. Mostly because I find it more comfortable but there is another reason. When I'm at the beach, my rods pretty much live in my surf rack. With an uplocking reel seat, the locking lug is down inside the rod tube when the rod is in the rack. So, when I lock my rods into the surf rack to prevent theft, the seat lugs are down inside the tube so a thief can't just unscrew the reel and defeat my cable lock. Tried to add a pic to explain what I'm talking about but it's not working for me this morning...........OK, got it working.. Ya know ya got a biggun when folks think the pic is a photoshop job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KOSS Posted April 22, 2009 Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 IMO, I think plate-type seats are OK for spinning gear but I really hate em for conventional casting. I just can't seem to get the plate seat to lock the reel in tight enough to prevent wobble on the retrieve. I have one rod that has an up-locking seat...the problem I have with the up-locking position is that I tend to loosten the reel when I make a cast because my fingers wrap around the nut. It doesn't really make a difference, it's just irritating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7nBait Posted April 22, 2009 Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 I have one rod that has an up-locking seat...the problem I have with the up-locking position is that I tend to loosten the reel when I make a cast because my fingers wrap around the nut. Same here... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoBow Posted May 4, 2009 Report Share Posted May 4, 2009 Well finally finished my Lami 1502... Still have a long long way to go in the rod building department, but I doubt I'll ever buy a complete rod again... Way too much satisfaction in building them yourself. Here's the specs, Lami GSB1502, Fuji Alconites, and Fuji reel seat (32" to center of the spool). Decided on down locking. I built this rod with the thought that it's only gonna wear one reel. In this case it's a brand new 7500 CT Big Game. Doing what it was made to do... As much as I'd like to report that it caught a large on it's first cast.... I can't say that. It has seen the water twice though. It does load very easily. Have thrown 8 and heads both times out. Still learning the rod, but this one feels like you'll be able to throw it all week without beating yourself to death. I'll get it out on the field one of these days; but right now, it's almost fishing season... Thanks to Poppy for his recommendation of the blank and to Warden, Springer, and all the others who've offered tips and encouragement! An 8 oz sinker and a bunker head will only fly so far... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charkbait Posted May 5, 2009 Report Share Posted May 5, 2009 sweet job go bow a quick story for the builders on here. This weekend I wrapped one of my demo blanks and as it was drying overnight my motor crapped out on me...sure was a mess in the morning damn near ruined everything. It stopped with the guides down so all the epoxy ran down the guides...ugh. Glad it was just a demo, shaved off what I could, touched it up, and will test it out just like it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to register here in order to participate.
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now