Hello
That's some interesting looking material for sure.
Thanks for sharing the details of this new material with us,always nice to get the hands on knowledge.
I'm Liking the rugged look of the materiel,looks like it would stand up to abuse.
Your reel seat is a great choice as well for rugged use.
Thanks Again For Sharing,Your Work Is Always Exceptional !
Tight Lines And Rugged Use Loops
Andy M

Vlad - always love your stuff - always different, sometimes steam punk.....

Thanks for sharing!

Well done ! KISS methods enable a lot of good builds to be done in small quarters where there is no room or even desire to have a specialized workspace. In case you haven't seen it, here's a "dust free" tip. But unless you have indoor cats, you can close a door gently and leave the place for a few hours without much of a dustup like would occur afterwards if the cat were left in charge. viewtopic.php?f=6&t=64928&p=340265&hilit=dust+shower#p340265

Rod looks good, especially for a first attempt. Looks like a good match with that reel and hope to see some on the water shots in the future.

Culvert Special! I like that! Nice job on the build!

I like the green too. Great job!

More Green! Slowly working on a W&M All American. Decided to just re-build the rod using all the original guides and spacing rather than modernize it. New coats of MOW spar on the blank, original wraps appeared to be wrapped with Granger Green thread so I stayed with that color. Almost done, just need to varnish the wraps and fill a few holes in the grip.

Thanks Eastslope,

I used Al's Color Rite on these wraps. I tried using clear Lacquer at first on a couple of test wraps but didnt like the result so I used Al's. Just applied a thinned coat of spar on just the stripper wraps and had some bleed through Have to re-wrap again! Sometimes I just hate Color Preserver!

I like your trout/spey too. That would fish great on my home river the Deschutes!

Hello
Re; GREAT TO SEE NEW CONTRIBUTORS !!!
What a difference a day makes let alone a weekend,Welcome to all you new comers to Fiberglass Fly Rodders,It's Great To See You Found Your Way Here.
The Weekends Belong To My Better Half, However I Occasionally Drop In But Have No Time To Linger.

Getting back to where we left off with Vlad.
Yes the Syncork web site I found was very informative,it included a great clip on how to bond and shape the materiel,also had a store where you can purchase the materiel for any of us whom might want to give Syncork a try on our next war horse rods.Vlad you should add a link to Syncork to our list of materiel suppliers at the top of the Rod Tinkers Forum.

Had to look up "Steam Punk", I'll have to Design A Rod Suitable For "Maximilian Meen" & "Professor Fate" My Favorite Steam Punks !!

Hello Ben.
Nice job all around on your "Culvert Special".
I'm very pleased that information you gleaned here contributed to helping you put together such a nice rod.
My Son lives and works on one of the islands,occasionally I either meet the boat or take the boat to visit with him.every-time I drive by the cranberry bog's the same question comes to mind.Wonder What Fish Are In There ??
Be sure and let us know if or when you find out !!

Our first rods that we craft are our roots that we grow from,your first looks amazing ! based on those roots I see truly outstanding creations in you future.If you contact me by PM I'm be happy to send a rod makers gift your way.
Keep up the good work. A Tip "A Clean Shower" or "Bathtub" is the most dust free place in the house.
It was the place I always recommended to my students concerned with dogs and cats with dusty messy spaces.

Hey Whirly Good Advice !!

I use an old Glass Faced Gun Cabinet converted into a drying cabinet,if the rods wont fit I hang them from the rafters to dry.
Minor imperfections after the varnish is fully set will rub right out with some thumb friction.
On a sunny warm day the sunlight bakes the finish outside especially good when painting blanks.
Avoid Micro Managing Fishing Rods !!


A Belated Welcome To FFR ! I Couldn't Agree More With Your Comments About Ben's Covert Special.
Looking forward to hearing and seeing more from you here.!!


Hey Nice Bit Of Work You Have Going On Your Bench !,Welcome To FFR ! Glad To See You Sharing Here, I Quoted your comments so I could read them as I recognized and responded to them,It's A Good Habit To Get Into To Take The Time And Recognize The Previous Posters Contributions Before We Share Our Own.
This Curtsy Keeps The Topic Flowing And Everyone Interacting In Kind.

Hope you don't mind,Please understand I only edited out the mention of our current unmentionable situation per board rules.

I'm always busy with at least one Bamboo rod project on my benches as well,you mention quite a few your working on,is there one that your fixed on finishing currently or are you jumping from one rod to another ?
Some of these rods look like projects that you have recently finished rather than current projects or am I confused ?

The work looks and sounds to be well executed,thread matching can lead to madness,however matching threads is an addiction of mine,you can wonder through boxes and draws of thread for hours,full days can be spent color matching tinting finishes and staining threads.

My Comment above about avoiding micro managing is no jest.

Green yes Green is a Good Color one of my favorites as well,funny I just purchased a bunch of green thread last week off the auction site for a mini rod series I'm planning.
Wanted to make sure I had thread enough to do 20 rods.

Thanks again for sharing what you have going on your bench I truly enjoyed the process and pictures we love pictures,I'll get back to you again it seems before I'm caught up with everyone's post since my last.

Driftless
Good To See Your Aboard !!

paramount51
Welcome To You As Well ! Seems the thread and color preserver has been gone over,your Thread Work Looks Flawless !,I Really Love The Weave Of That Early Fiberglass.
Those original guides look like new,the rod was in good well used condition when you found it I presume ?

Never heard of Al's color preserver I've seen and tried more color preservers than people would believe.
The trick is to be patient,letting the color fixative material fully set/dry/cure before you add your top coats especially when using the dip or dribble methods.



I'm rather diverse when it comes to finishes,the type of rod I'm working on or making often dictates the finish chosen.
The Depth Of The Rod Makers Here May Surprise You,You May Pick Up A Few Tips As Well.

Okay I'd say That about brings us up to date,last Friday finished stripping the blank on the H.I. 8'6" 3/2 Impregnated Cascade bamboo rod.
My goal last Friday was to get the H.I. Cascade blank sections stripped and shellacked and ready for a new grip and reel seat.
Between phone calls and my wife asking me to take care of a few things it didn't happen.

I'll get the blank in primary finish before I call it a day today.

Decided to go with a R.L. Cap and Ring reel seat from Ray,The Insert has a green emerald look and the grip choice will surprise you as well.
I'm going to wait until the work starts to share more.Think Green !
Yes as with the 9' Cascade Green will be the base color.

Managed to get the 8' 3/1 Old Yankee Blank wrap ready on Friday ,did the new guide selections sizing and spacing as well, that was a fun process,The rods ready to wrap just need to hand work my guide feet tonight,early start tomorrow,hope to have the rod in finish by Wednesday morning if nay sooner.
The 8' 3/1 4/5 Weight Graphite.



My #3 this week is a run over from last week,I'm having trouble deciding what I want to do with this rod.
Part of me wants to do a full on Restoration,The other side of my brain wants to strip the blank,and do A Complete Remake with some re tapering,add some double walled reinforcements in some key areas,dump the ferrules and make some plastic unions,yes unions .


A restoration will need new badging so I'll need some help with those decals,the rods not all that amazing with the original 5 guides on a 6'6" rod.
I Could Do A Rebuild and re space and size the guides to get the best from the blank.
One things clear I need to put this one aside and pull another from my multiple wrap ready projects to fill the # 3 spot this week.

Here's a shout out Anybody that's got a good decal program that's willing to help me please contact me in the PM I've got really good stuff to trade for good decals.
If I can source the decals that will help me make the Restoration Commitment.

It's funny as I was just hammering away my wife called down to me letting me know the postman brought a package today !!
It's from my friend it's a fishing rod he recently purchased from the auction site,it's a bamboo fly rod with a loose ferrule.
I agreed to LOOK AT IT. Famous Last Words
I've Gotta Go Look At It Now, This Might Move Into the #3 Spot this week as a favor for a dear friend.

Thanks Again Everyone For Sharing,Welcome Again.
It's Really Great To See The Number Of Contributors Sharing Whats On Your Benches
Please Everyone Stay Safe ,Be Well And Be Kind !!!

Tight Lines And Having A Look Loops
Andy Man

Andy, to clarify, these rods are all projects I am working on simultaneously. As you know working with bamboo and spar varnish requires a bit of drying time and that means shoehorning-in work as need be. The 10' trout spey has the wraps completed but I'm debating whether to finish the cane with varnish or not - the rod is impregnated so varnish isn't completely necessary. The repair work on the Grangers is almost complete, just need to polish out the new wraps once varnish has cured. The 8'6" Penta is a new build that I just completed the grip and reel seat on and will start wrapping soon once I decide on a wrap color. My priority project is this Epic 686 posted above as it is my first non-cane build and I am anxious to try this one out this spring.


Yes I agree 100% with you on this. I am perhaps guilty of being a bit too picky with thread matching and this undoubtedly takes me longer than it should to complete some of the repairs.


20 rods sound extremely ambitious-I look forward to seeing these projects posted as you work through them. Are these all glass rods?


Al's Color Rite or Silk Rite is quite widely used by the cane rod crowd (at least those not scared of doing color-preserved wraps ). It is an alcohol-based CP that dries quite quickly allowing for multiple coats in a short period of time. I don't think it is any better than other alternatives - just different. Al's does not alter the thread color as much as water-based urethane or shellac can.
here is an old comparison I did with green silk



Yes I think that is the way to approach this work. I use a variety of color preservers (de-waxed shellac, Al's color rite, water-based polyurethane, oil-based urethane, varnish etc) to modify the wrap appearance, but coming from cane rod background I have only used spar over the wraps. Now I'm looking at spar urethanes and venturing into epoxy with more planned fiberglass build in my future. I will be sure to draw on the expertise of this forum for information on using these products.


Do you shellac finish all of your cane rods? Is that a final finish or a base finish? I really like the idea of replacing the old plastic (tenite etc.) reel seats with wood inserts that captures some the characteristics of the original. I replaced a damaged original green tenite seat on an HI Tonka Queen with a Struble seat with green tinted vera-wood seat filler. Okay I also changed the wrap color to add some green.

Still fish that rod on occasion.
Cheers,
Ron

That's nice Jalthoff, always like the Blk/Or jasper thread. Have fun with that project.

Bruce

Jalthoff +2 on the orange/black jasper!

Looks like you have your black trim bands nice and tight. In my one attempt at trim bands (3 turn) I had trouble keeping them tight. I was passing the beginning thread and end of thread through the 3 wraps, if that makes sense.

Andy, love that wood insert on the 8' graphite, what kind is it?

Rob, I actually cut the tag end just prior to color preserving in this case. With the thicker threads such as this 2/0 and larger I will trim beforehand. With 3/0 and Pearsall's Gossamer I may wait until I apply the first coat of CP or finish and trim the left over nub if need be.

Jalthoff +3 on the use of orange and black Jasper on the Monty. I've only used it on cane restorations (e.g. Granger Victory and South Bend 290), but I've been thinking it is underused outside of the cane world. I think it would really work well on fiberglass rods with many of the blank colors available today.

Hello
Glad to see more contributions.
Thanks for your kindness Bruce I'm always happy to help when I can.
That W&M All American is going to be one fish ready Classic when your finished.

I'm pressed for time today want to get a good jump on my own projects today,I'm going to make this as quick as possible.

Yes these days "Since My Retirement" I only have 3 projects going at the same time,I move "Jump" from project to project as time and circumstances Permit/Demand,

Your building your first Fiberglass Fly Rod from a CTS blank,that's outstanding be sure to take us through the process as your project unfolds.

When I was a younger man 20 rods was nothing for me,I averaged 4-5 rods finished per day,Now 20 rods is about 5-6 weeks worth of work provided I have no interruptions,Fortunately the18 hour days are behind me now that I'm retired.My Nurse only allows a certain number of hours at the bench before she turns out the lights and puts me to bed.

Anyhow Recently Acquired A Large Stash Of Diamondback Boron and Graphite Blanks.
When I'm Closer To Kicking My Mini Series Project Off,I Will Of Course Introduce The Details Here.
I'm still in the process of making and gathering the hardware etc.
In The Old Days My Yearly Limited Edition Signature Series Were 50 Rods.

I Use Gudebrod Color Preserver,I'm not afraid to use light colored silks have been doing so for many years and it's not a problem for me.Like I said as long as you are patient and allow the color fixative to full y set between coats,apply enough coats,make sure you get the color fixative down the rabbit holes as my mentor called the voids created at the guide feet,you will never have a problem.
The Same Goes for Tom Dick And Harry's Color Fixative from the sounds of it.
You Should Backcast to Page 72 the silk is over 70 years old and a challenge to work with let alone get the results I'm seeking.

No worries we can help I was happy to teach Steve Jenkins step by step how to use Epoxy thread finishes,Steve Mastered the process/concept rather well/quickly.
I'd say after the learning curve Steve's finishes looked better than mine.It's about controlling a drip not thinning the material.
Wish Steve would come back around again I miss his Work & Company .

No I Don't Shellac All My Bamboo Rods,I Use Marine Spar Varnishes Mostly,Danish Oils,Tung Oils,I Do Allot Of Hand Rubbed Finishes,All Sorts Of Different Materials As The Project Merits.
We found many years ago that the Finish H.I. used as a seal coat on the impregnated rods was a Shellac.
Seems the Shellac wont bead up on an impregnated finished blank.

When went to my can of shellac last night found it to be dried up in the can,seems left the top loose 2 weeks ago when I gave the last Cascade a touch up coat of the material.
Not bad the can had lasted about me 15 years since we shellacked the floor in the Den.
Instead applied a dribbled on coat of Danish Oil last night.
I'll need to wait 72 hours now for the D.O. to fully set before I can apply a spar base coat of varnish.

The blank cleaned up nice this cascade is going to be a full remake from stem to stern.


Montague Rebuilds
Gotta say that Montague has made some amazing bamboo fly rods.Montague was one of the first bamboo rod manufactures to embrace fiberglass.
I've had Montague rods cross my bench that would put H.L. Leonard & The Edwards folks to shame.

Nothing wrong with a Hardware Store Model Monty,when your finished you will have a nice rod you don't need to worry too much about.
Keep up the good work it looks great please keep us up dated as your project un folds.
Yes Bruce I Fully Agree The Jaspers Thread Looks Smashing !
I'd never give up prepping my own guide feet it's part of the process of making a rod that's a makers touch.

Vdub thanks for checking in looking forward to seeing what you have going on your bench.

Hey Drifter Thanks for noticing I stuck those pictures in last night,it's maple clear maple I turned from a table leg,think it's red maple ??
The blank is one of my own I'm down to the last few only a couple of the 8' 3/1 4/5 weights and about a 1/2 dozen of the 7'6" 2/1 3/4 weights.
Spent about 4 weeks the winter of 2018 making all the ferrule support rings and getting all the remaining blanks of my final batch of my blanks wrap ready, Reel Seats And Grips Turned & Mounted.
Used mostly up lock reel seats this is one of the few that is down lock.

My Grandsons spent last summer working on a few of these blanks and made some nice rods with them.
The blanks were imported and offered to me by a broker back around 1990 IM6 Very Slow For Graphite.

Had to purchase a good number,it was a great adventure and many many people really love the rods.
The blanks also were used in my rod making classes,Gave countless rods made with these blanks to the various fishing clubs for drawings etc.

Used to keep about 6 in my car and give them to kids along the river banks.
It's funny
When I was at the HFFA Expo In Early March This year, 2 fellows approached me to let me know the rods they had both won at club events were still favorites,nothing like hearing rods you crafted nearly 20 years ago are still fishing.

Wow am I ever getting long winded just responding to everyone's contributions.
I'm going to skip or jump to the thread color question,Either Gold Or Something That Also Sparkles Would Be My Choice.
Looks Like You Did A Fine Job Adding A Spigot Ferrule,Be Sure To Double Wrap The Blank To Support The Hoop Strength At The Ferrule Now Or Your Blank Could Split.

Finally I'm not going to share anything from my bench today as I already surpassed my time at the keyboard, the bench is suffering as a result.

Maybe I'll add some pictures of my project progress here later if I can find the time.

Tight Lines And Down The Rabbit Hole Loops
Andy Man