Soon to embark on a new project
With winter still hanging on here in SE Pa. , I have been rather inactive building or making grips. The willies and cabin fever got the best of me, and I slid into the dark side ordering a cane blank for my next project. I received the finished blank yesterday and now am in the process of gathering components to finish it out. This may take some time , as I want this to be a gem when finished. In the mean time I figured I'd post this pic for those who never seen a cane rod in the ruffed out stage of production. My rod is 4th from the left. Its a 71/2 ft 3pc.
http://i321.photobucket.com/albums/n...ods/ruffin.jpg
Reel Seat dilema over with.......sheeeezh
Well I finally made a decision on a reel seat and went with a Struble U17 uplocking screwlock with black hardware and walnut insert spacer. I about wore myself out making this decision and just couldnt bring myself to purcashing a slideband reel seat as nice as they are. I think my choice will match the rest of the hardware going on this rod real good ,and I sure wont have any fear of a reel coming loose when it gets fished............Ed
http://www.strublemfg.com/product/13/
PS........glad that's over....now I can get on with building when all the components arrive.
FINI Ready for Trout Season
http://i321.photobucket.com/albums/n...s/100_0559.jpg
http://i321.photobucket.com/albums/n...s/IMG_0368.jpg
http://i321.photobucket.com/albums/n...s/100_0547.jpg
http://i321.photobucket.com/albums/n...s/IMG_0367.jpg
Blank by splitcaneblanks/ grip by me, buiilt up by me. 7' 6" 3pc. 2 tip 4/5 wt. flamed
The WC taper stands for Wayne Cattanach. Wraps are classic orange and black twist with a few black trim bands. Blued ferrules/ black furniture/ Struble U17 uplocking walnut/black reel seat. It was an interesting project and for the cost involved , I have a damn nice "new" cane rod.
The wraps have 4 coats of permagloss on them, and I'm not impressed. They are "ok" but I think they could be better (smoother wise).....If I get energetic, I may stick it on the rod turner and overcoat with a very thin coat of flexcoat lite (have to be careful not to lose the hex shape) . Other than that, I'm pretty satisfied with the way this rod turned out. I did take it out back and cast it (only have plastic line) and I found it was no problem to cast at all. The action is a tad slower than what I'm used to, but after a couple casts I was laying out some pretty decent line and accuratley!
Soon it will need a trout on it........then the build will be complete in my eyes...................Ed