Not nightmares in building the rod–it was easy and fun – just really bad dreams at night! My buddy Ralph and I finished up our rods yesterday at the local fly shop – signed them, put the final epoxy coat on, put them on the drying motors, and flamed the new epoxy. They are beautiful!
But Ralph’s nightmare was that his rod had crept laterally from the drying motor, and every one of his guide wraps had been unravelled into a rat’s nest by the hangars. MY nightmare was that during the night, the drying motor had suddenly increased from 18 RPM to 18,000 RPM, spearing the graphite bits of my rod into the ceiling.
Fortunately, a quick call down the fly shop today eased our fears. They shut off the motors this morning, and our rods are looking good! We’ll be picking them up tomorrow, and I’ll shoot some pics and post them here.
But the real question seems to be whether they had their ventilation fan running with all of the finish and alcohol burner fumes. Might cause nightmares!
I did it! My first rod! None of the nightmares came true, thanks to the experts at the local fly shop where I built it.
Scott A2 7’6" 4pc 3 wt.
I glued and carved the handle myself, burl cork at the front and back. The reel is a Hardy Flyweight.
Snow forecast for tomorrow, but I think I’ll be out in it for some casting practice!
DANBOB
I don’t know if you have looked here yet or not, but I had a reel seat built by Winslow Rods. He uses A7 and A5 hardware and will turn an insert/buttcap out of your choice of 60+ materials. It was a neat addition to my 2 weight, and the insert and buttcap including the hardware was around $25 if I remember correctly.
Hi Greg – it’s your basic Struble reel seat, and I chose their zebrawood barell – lots of choices from them on the wood, our local fly shop had a bunch of kinds.
DANBOB
