Category Archives: Rods

Ferrule Shrinking: Avoiding a Ridge

Jim is a rod builder/repairer in Australia who recently described his use of the ferrule shrinking tool. “I bought one of your tools quite some time ago and have used it often over the years to fix old rods I’ve … Continue reading

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Using the Ferrule Shrink Tool

I have started selling the ferrule shrinking tool again. If you are interested, see my blog page: Ferrule Shrinking My experience with the tool is recorded in two blog posts: Ferrule Shrinking Ferrule Tool Article Recently Chris purchased a tool … Continue reading

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Ferrule Tool Article

This article appears in the July/Aug 2015 issue of the newsletter The Planing Form. The originator of the newsletter, Ron Barch, has retired but the newsletter continues under Kirk Brumels. Ferrule Shrinking At the Grayrock 2014 gathering, I was quizzing … Continue reading

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Fitting Reel Foot to Seat

This is my presentation for Grayrock 2015, on the fit of a reel foot to a reel seat. For an earlier post on this same topic, see 28 July 2014. This presentation considers “cap and ring” seats like this, although … Continue reading

Posted in Foot, Presentations, Rods | 2 Comments

Ready for 2015 Trico Season

July is a long way off, but I am ready. Last summer, local rodmaker Bob made a 6’7″ 3wt rod that I really liked. So he and I did some bartering and I wound up with this near copy of … Continue reading

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Ferrule Set

I made this ferrule set from Duronze (c642 bronze). Duronze is perhaps the next best thing to drawn nickel silver, and probably better than machined nickel silver. It is size 11 (11/64 inch) for a 3 weight rod. These are … Continue reading

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Reel Seat

This week I have been attempting to make a reel seat of the “cap-and-ring, mortised insert” type, but only with partial success. The trim ring (cork check?), sliding ring, and cap are simple lathe parts.  I chuck a 1 inch … Continue reading

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Ferrule Shrinking

On May 7 I made a post about electroplating of nickel. This can be a protective finish for reel parts, but it can also be used to increase the diameter of a male rod ferrule that is loose. I was … Continue reading

Posted in Ferrules, Forming | 4 Comments

Line Guide Gadget

The first time I saw one of these was at a silent auction, and it took a while for me to figure out what it was. It is a visual aid for a rodmaker, to help get the butt section … Continue reading

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Rod Wrapping

To assist in putting the thread wraps on my fiberglass rod, I was able to borrow this deluxe fixture from RKP. This is my homemade rotation device for wrap finishing. It was originally made to be a fly tying tool, … Continue reading

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