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I ordered the blank, grips, and guides from the rod room. A very nice lady named Kathy was very helpful. I cant wait to try it out..
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Nice job & congrats on another first in your life.
Time to go get bent! :fishing:
I like your DIY rod winding stand.
Winding the guides made me go cross eyed. I'm sure that it would have been comical to have watched me a little brother during the process. :o
Looks good man.One little bit of advice if you don't have a drying motor,put the finish on sort of thick so the finish will fill the tunnels of the guide feet and saturate the threads then wipe off as much as you can.Yes it looks a little rough but it beats having a lumpy uneven finish.Later on you can have somebody with a motor put the final coat on for you or you can stop by and I can show you how to do it.
I'm working on a DYI drying motor. I will post a pic when I finnish it. If DRH liked my winding stand he will love my drying motor. If I run into any snags I will take you up on your offer Thanks. One question though, is the RPM of the rod drying motor critical? From what I found on the net 6-9 RPM, and around 4 or 5 hours to dry.
I think I recall reading about somebody using a drying motor somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 RPM. The actual speed isn't that critical as long as it isn't too fast IMO. I think 4-5 hours may be long enough to let the finish set, but definitely not enough to allow it to dry. I always leave mine on until it's dry, it doesn't cost much extra for the piece of mind it gives me. Another thing I do when drying a rod is to, baby sit it. I use a consumer grade American Tackle drying setup and gremlins always seem to cause my chuck to back off or the rollers to bind up. I have learned from John G to use a rubber band to keep the rod butt chucked up so that problem is resolved, but I sit baby sit my rod. Old habits die hard and besides it offers me some down time to read and the sound of the drying motor is soothing to me.
Do yourself a big favor if it is at all convenient, visit J&M and have John show you how he does it. You will certainly pick up on some tips and tricks which you won't find written down anywhere. Even if you were to have him try to explain the process over the phone or written here, there are things which he has down as habit that he may not mention. He has the process down to both an art and a science and you can learn a lot. You will more than likely get some good ideas on how to construct your drying motor.
Im in Tuscaloosa, a little to far to just stop by, but if he wouldn't mind I will stop by on my next trip. Im sure this want be my last rod to build. My father is a big crappie fisherman, a custom rod would make all his friends green with envy..
I am a little closer than John to you if you feel like making a trip down to Montgomery.
I appreciate the offer, but me and little brother are going to struggle through the first one. I'm sure it will be like most of our projects, it will have some character. Or what some call flaws. :fishing:
[quote author=hossfly link=topic=1710.msg16272#msg16272 date=1343726477]
I appreciate the offer, but me and little brother are going to struggle through the first one. I'm sure it will be like most of our projects, it will have some character. Or what some call flaws. :fishing:
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Sounds like "LoveBug" lamination in the works ;) :D
Gotta luv it, and it'll catch fish just as well as them "purdy rods"! :headbang:
Finnished the rod dryer. Next pic will be finnished rod, wish me luck.. :banana:
[img width=480 height=640]http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/s447/hossfly030/roddryer.jpg[/img]
Chuck looks a tad over complicated but if it works for you use it.
[quote author=hossfly link=topic=1710.msg16221#msg16221 date=1343671992]
If DRH liked my winding stand he will love my drying motor. [/quote]
You sure called that one right.
[quote author=the original pier pest link=topic=1710.msg16312#msg16312 date=1343780142]
Chuck looks a tad over complicated but if it works for you use it.
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Yeah, I'm having a time trying to figure it out myself. I think that I have got it figured out though and agree if it works use it.
[quote author=hossfly link=topic=1710.msg16307#msg16307 date=1343777470]
Finnished the rod dryer. Next pic will be finnished rod, wish me luck.
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No, please take some pictures of your rod as you are drying the finish. I'd like to see this thing in action. Good luck.
I personally think the drying chucks John uses are some of the best, for the simple fact you can stop the rod and the chuck keeps spinning. It really comes in handy when working finish around the guides.
Do you use the same type chuck as John uses, Pest?
Yes. My drying racks are designed off of John's. He has been probably the most influential person in my rod building progression over the past few years.
It will be a few days or a couple of weeks before I can finish the rod I'm on Midnights this week and go to seconds next. But I will post some pics good, bad or UGLY when I can. J&M might want to place some orders :yay:
[quote author=hossfly link=topic=1710.msg16221#msg16221 date=1343671992]
I'm working on a DYI drying motor. I will post a pic when I finnish it. If DRH liked my winding stand he will love my drying motor. If I run into any snags I will take you up on your offer Thanks. One question though, is the RPM of the rod drying motor critical? From what I found on the net 6-9 RPM, and around 4 or 5 hours to dry.
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You can get an already made DIY drying motor off E-bay for cheap...worked great for me for the first year.
I will probably buy some real equipment before I do anouther one. I just enjoy seeing what I can make for myself. Sometimes it works out and sometimes its just a learning experience.
[img width=480 height=640]http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/s447/hossfly030/photo-4.jpg[/img]
Here is a pick of the rod dryer in action. Seems to work ok, runs about 10 RPM. Should have some finished rod pics tomorrow. I think I'm going to name it Googan Stix. :fishing:
Have you thought about putting a DC powersupply on it rather than a battery?
Two batteries was $6:00. If I build anouther one I will buy something. As of now I have $6 invested in all my equipment.
If John taught me one main thing is don't go cheap on your drying motors and chucks. It can truly come back to bite you in the butt.
Oh trust me everything on my drying rack is DIY excluding the motor. Can't skimp on motors when you do production.
[img width=480 height=640]http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/s447/hossfly030/photo-5.jpg[/img]
Drying...The Flex Coat didn't go on as smooth as I thought it would. We will definitely take John or Pest up on some schooling.. I think it will work just fine, and am very proud of it, but it could be better. We are going to try it out on the kids in the yard, I would hate for the guides to pop off on the pier. :yay:
Googan Stix...too funny.
It looks better as it dries, ordering another blank tomorrow. Any one have advice on painting a raw rod blank? Im looking at a Gater blank,that comes unpainted, I have a buddy that paints cars, would it work on a blank?
I take it you want a different color? The way I did it is I have a 20 rpm motor setup on a special stand that has the rod hanging vertically, tip facing down. What you do is have the motor turning and slowly dust the blank as it spins. This helps to evenly coat the entire blank while not building up to much paint in any area.
Great job man.Thats a heck of a lot better job than most have done on their first,second or third attempt..
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Looks like it will be the first of October before I can use it. :angry: