In this second installment on building our fluke rod we are going to cover the following points:
- Spining the blank
- Preparing the guides
- Trimming the blank, if needed, to the correct length and action.
- Fitting, assembling and gluing up the grips and reel seat.
Spining the Blank
The spine of the blank is the blank's strong side. When the rod is stressed under the weight of a heavy fish, the rod will have a tendency to twist and turn so that strong side is on the top of the rod. It is very important that when building the rod that the spine is in it's proper position in relation to where the guides are placed. Since we are building a conventional rod, both the spine and the guides will be on the top of the rod.
To find the spine of the rod, follow these easy steps:
- Make sure that the butt end edge of the blank is perfectly smooth. Find a smooth surface like a table top.
- Take a piece of masking tape and wrap it around the blank approximately at the center of the blank.
- Lay the butt end of the blank of the smooth surface and support the tip end of the blank in the palm of your hand. Keep your palm opened.
- With your other hand gently push down on the blank at the midpoint while raising and supporting the tip in your other hand.
- Slowly roll the blank on the smooth surface and you will feel the blank jump to one side. Continue to roll the blank while putting slightly more pressure on it and it will settle into one position. This is the spine. Mark the top of the blank on the band of masking tape.
- After marking the blank, go through the same steps to recheck the spine placement.
Preparing the Guides
To insure neat guide wraps and to minimize cracking of the finish, the guide feet need to be tapered and smoothed. The easiest way to do this is using a variable power drill. a sanding disc and a fine wire wheel brush mounted in the drill. You can purchase the sanding pad, adhesive backed 150 grit sanding discs and the fine wire wheel brush at any hardware store or Home Depot.
First make sure you are wearing safety goggles or a face shield. Mount the plastic sanding pad in the drill and attach the adhesive backed sanding disc. At relatively low speed, slowly grind down and taper the leading edge of the guide foot. Do this slowly and carefully. You do not want to overheat the metal of the guide foot. Slowly roll the top of the guide foot back and forth on the sanding disc to taper it down. Do the same to the other guide foot. Repeat this process until all the guide feet on done.
Replace the sanding disc with the fine wire wheel brush. With the drill at full power, buff each of the guide feet smooth to remove any burrs or sharp edges. Make sure you buff the underside of the guide foot to remove any burrs. Repeat this for all the guides.
Having gone through this process, you have exposed bare metal that is subject to rust and corrosion. To prevent this, use a plain black magic marker to blacken the guide feet. When dry,
apply two coats of thread color sealant and let dry overnight.
Trimming the Blank to the Proper Length and Action.
For most of the blanks selected in Part 1, no trimming of the blank is necessary. However, several of the blanks may require some trimming and fine tuning to achieve the proper action and length desired. This is a matter of personal preference, so proceed slowly. We are trying to first determine the proper action of the rod relative to the sinker or lure weight you will be using. A rod with a very soft tip is both tiring to fish with and has poor hook setting ability. Also, the length of the rod should be comfortable for you to fish with.
I would recommend trimming back the tip to fit a size # 7 Fuji BULT tip on the following blanks:
- Lamiglas XC90HT and GLB901M
- Loomis L905GL2
These blanks come stock with a 6.5 tip, so trim the tip back very slowly. Use the edge of a very fine tooth triangle file to slowly cut around the blank. You can also use a fine diamond cut off wheel in a Dremel tool.
This trimming will firm up the tip to handle the heavier sinker weights when needed yet leave enough softness in the tip to absorb the dives and shakes of a doormat fluke.
Some of the blanks are 7.5 and 8 feet long. If you prefer a shorter rod, trim the butt end of the blank no more than 6 inches or you will change the action of the blank. When cutting either the tip or butt, mark the blank with a grease pencil where you want to cut and then wrap a band of masking tape around the blank on each side of the mark. This will prevent the fibers of the blank from splintering.
Fitting, Assembling and Gluing the Grips and Reel Seat:
The first step in this process is the fitting of the grips and reel seat to the blank. If you are using cork grips some reaming of the grips will probably be necessary. Using a round _ inch bastard file or tapered reamer, slowly begin to ream out the butt grip. Frequently slide the butt grip on to the blank to check the fit. Continue to slowly ream out the butt grip until the butt grip slides down the blank to within 1.5 inches from the end of the blank. Now slip on the reel seat
and foregrip. Ream the foregrip until it fits snugly against the reel seat. Mark the blank in front of the foregrip with a band of masking tape.
When using synthetic grips, you need to purchase grips with a hole size approximately _ inch smaller than the butt diameter of the blank. Make sure that you use good quality firm grips like EVA or Clemens Custom Grip II. Lay the blank on a flat surface and place the butt grip, reel
seat and foregrip alongside the butt end of the blank. Mark the blank in front of the foregrip with masking tape.
Using 600 grit sandpaper, gently sand the butt end of the blank from the band of masking tape to the end of the butt. You just want to lightly remove the finish. Then wipe down the area with alcohol and paper towels several times.
If you are using synthetic grips, first slide the butt grip onto the blank and where the grip stops, mark the blank in front of the grip with a band of masking tape. Do the same for the cork butt grip.
Using a good quality two part slow cure epoxy glue like Flexcoat or Devcon, and following the mixing directions on the package, mix a sufficient amount of glue and apply it to the blank from the band of mask tape to the butt. Then slide the butt grip down the blank slowly rotating the grip to saturate inside the hole with glue. The cork grip will easily slide into place to within
one inch of the end. For the synthetic grip, again slide it down the blank and rotate the grip to spread the glue and push down on the grip from the front edge of the grip to within one inch of the end of the blank.
To clean off the excess glue, just wipe down several times with isopropyl alcohol and paper towels until the entire blank and butt grip are clean. Let the butt grip cure overnight.
You are now ready to glue on the reel seat and foregrip. To glue on the reel seat you will first need to take up the space between the blank and the inside diameter of the seat. Slip the seat on to the blank and slide it down to the butt grip. Place a mark on the blank with a grease pencil to mark the front edge of the reel seat. Using _ inch masking tape and beginning _ inch from the
leading edge of the butt grip, begin to wrap a band of tape around the blank. Build up the band of tape until it just snugly fits the inside diameter of the seat. Repeat this process _ inch in from the mark for the leading edge of the reel seat. Again build up the band until it fits snugly inside
the seat. Now wrap two additional bands spaced approximately 3/8 inch between the bands.
The bands act to center the reel seat on the blank. Mix your epoxy glue and make sure to fill in all the spaces between the bands of masking tape with glue.
With the reel seat in place, now put on your foregrip the same way as you did your butt grip. Make sure the foregrip is firmly seated snug up against the reel seat. This part of the gluing process can be really messy. Just thoroughly clean off the glue with isopropyl alcohol and paper towels. Continue to clean several times. If any glue got into the threads on the reel seat, clean it off with an old toothbrush dipped in alcohol and wipe clean with an alcohol soaked paper towel.
Tightly wrap several wraps of masking tape around the blank in front of the foregrip to prevent the foregrip from moving. Then align the reel seat with the spine of the blank. Check around the reelseat for any missed glue spots and remove with alcohol and paper towels. Stand the blank up on its butt end to cure overnight.
The 3rd installment will cover guide spacing and wrapping. Remember, please feel free to e-mail me with any questions at rodprof@aol.com.
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