Okay, my kit from H&H has arrived...now come the questions.

[atomic_dog]

I arrived home from work yesterday to find a couple of packages for me. Of course I immediately open everything up and start fondling my new goodies.

It looks like all the guide feet have been prepped already. That's good, one less thing for me to mess up on my first rod.

I test fit the reel seat components on the blank just to see what it will look like. When I slide the handle down the blank, it will slide freely to within about 15" of the bottom of the blank. I can push it down as far as it will need to go once the reel seat is on, though it's a little snug. (I didn't push it down with excessive force, just a gentle push downward.)
My question is, how tight should the fit be between the handle and the blank? If it's too tight it wouldn't allow any epoxy between the handle and blank, would it? It would just push it all down when you slide down the handle maybe? I browsed around here on FAOL and through the book that I bought but didn't find any specific mention on how snug the fit should be.

And one more stupid question: The kit came with 2 sets of epoxy. the rod wrapping finish which came with the two bottles and two syringes, and then some rod builders' waterproof epoxy (also from flex coat.) This stuff didn't come with syringes. What is the best way to measure the mixture of this stuff? Or is it not as essential to get an exact 1:1 mix as it is with the rod wrap epoxy?

I'm sure I'll have plenty more questions once I actually get started on this thing. I'm really looking forward to the project! I'll keep posting any additional questions in this thread to keep from cluttering up the forum with my rambling.

[white43]

I was advised once by Dan Craft to reem your cork handle so it comfortably fits where it's supposed to go. Turns out on my first one I had the epoxy in place and went to squeeze the handle down and lacked five inches of getting there. He happened to be in when I called in panic and worked me through it. Best I can tell you is to take your time and not to panic. Make sure your parts fit before apply epoxy, for as soon as you think things are right they aren't . When doing the wrapping, do it with just enough tension to keep the thread in place, so when you're done you can re-align the guides. You almost have to always move one or two a hair or more for close alignment ? sighting it as you would when building a fence. Thanks, though, for your initial post. My rod came in from H & H and it looks like a beauty. As cold and windy as it is I think I'll probably just go ahead and put mine together tonight. JGW

[This message has been edited by white43 (edited 22 April 2005).]

[kbobb]

When you say handle you mean the cork grip right? if so ream the bore of the cork til it will slide into position without forcing it. you want a very thin layer of epoxy between the cork and rod blank. HOWEVER, don't make it a sloppy fit or you may end up with a loose cork grip and that can be a pain to fix. Keep the hole in the cork centered and try to taper the hole to match the rod taper if you can.
Also the epoxy with the syringe (the smaller bottles) is for the wraps and the bigger bottles for reelseat and cork. Try to get as close to 1:1 with the reelseat epoxy as you can. Disposable measuring spoons from a dollar store work OK. be warned that epoxy is very runny and will get on everything. PC 7 or PC11 from the hardware store is more solid and may work better for reelseats. .
Good luck.

[jking]

Atomic,
The rodbuilding epoxy for the reel seat and grip can be measured using the plastic mixing/measuring cups that probably came with your kit. Flex Coat has a list of tips on their site [url=http://www.flexcoat.com/prodex.html:3b780]http://www.flexcoat.com/prodex.html[/url:3b780]

I work in a small room that I warm up to about 75 degrees before using epoxy. Equal proportions and very thorough mixing are essential to good results.

One other thing-- epoxy will cure but your addiction to rodbuilding won't

John

[ET custom flyrods]

You didnt say how your making the transition from grip to rod (winding check I assume).
Make sure you do not enlarge the hole in the front of the grip so that the winding check will not cover it. The grip should slide freely but not sloppy.
Another note have a towel soaked in alcohol ready and waiting after you epoxy the grip or any other part to the rod blank. Epoxy will ooze out and you'll need to clean it up immediately.......Good luck on your project.

You've gotten good advice on this point. One thing I would like to add is that when you ream out your grip and test fit it, try to make sure that any grit from your reamer is not stuck in the bore. It will scratch your blank.

If you do ream the grip out unevenly, you can use a SMALL amount of gorilla glue instead of epoxy to glue the grip on, as the GG will expand to fill unevenness in you bore.

So what is your next rod going to be?

[This message has been edited by chascomly (edited 24 April 2005).]

[atomic_dog]

Well, I managed to get the reel seat and grip put on. Although my eyes must have been tired last night or something, because the seat is just slightly off center from the spine. I swear I checked it half a dozen times as it was drying. Not much I can do about it now. I don't know that it's off enough to make a huge difference, though. At least I hope so.

With the reel seat being off-center, would I be better off putting the guides along the spine and being slightly offset from the seat? Or should I just line them up with the seat and have them be off the spine a bit? I hope I haven't ruined my first project.

And one other question: Do you clean and reuse your brushes, or just toss them after each use? I tried cleaning up the brush after my first batch of epoxy, but it didn't work very well, the bristles still got pretty stiff. The second time around I just tossed the brush afterwards.

Don't worry about being off of the spine. Most people on the rodboard (www.rodbuilding.org) think the spine issue is overplayed. It is likely that you will never notice the difference. I would go ahead and align you guides to the seat. Relax as this will in no way ruin your rod (trust me I know the feeling of painc well).

I have reused brushes with success. When I am done applying the epoxy I soak the brush in denatured alcohol for a bit. Next I squeeze out the epoxy and solvent in a paper towel followed by washing the brush in warm soap and water. Hope this helps. You are going to love your rod! Beware, you have now entered into the hopeless addiction of rod building!

Peter

[Plain Old Jim]

You can go to amatobooks.com and order "Handcrafting a Graphite Fly Rod" by L.A. Garcdia.....for I think $19.95. I would call them, or go get it at a bookstore because what they show on their website as a video is the cover of the book I have. In other words, I recommend the book which has a red cover and shows 3 fly rod cork and seats on the left and some reel seats, a guide, and a reel seat with the words L.A. Garcia on the insert.....on the right half of the cover. I don't know why they are showing this as a "Video" but I really like the book. I have mentioned the book before, sooooo....want to add I have no connection to them or the book. I just find it a terrific book on how to build a rod....including how to mix the epoxy and whether on not to use thread color preserver, etc. uh.....it's the only book I have on rod building though....so probably lots more out there. I building my first rod now as well. Sorry for length of msg.

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Plain old Jim, I'm Plain...and I'm old.

[LadyFisher]

You have read through Al Campbell's How to Build Your Own Graphite Rod, right?

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LadyFisher, Publisher of
FAOL