Fishing The Fly Scotland Forum

Ben Dixon

Enthused by the fact that there are now a couple of 27g floating shooting head events in the UK comps these days, I decided to build a rod specifically for the event.  Naturally, there are a few others I know that could not see me own such a thing without them having one too so rather than ordering one blank, 4 sets were ordered.  Hamish being the chancer that he is, gave me some excuse about being a hamfisted bafoon ad suggested that I could maybe build his rod up for him.  I thought about it and decided that a practice build to to make any f&*k ups on before I started building Mikes or mine was probably a benefit, despite the time it would take.

The blanks came unpainted from Orvis, handles were crafted by Kevin Muir snakes & strippers being used are Fuji titanium SIC lined guides supplied by H&H.  The aim was to take the blank we like best for throwing the ST27 and build it for throwing shooting heads rather than massive bulky saltwater fly lines.  Smaller guides that would last longer, be kinder to running line and weigh less were selected.  The Fuji T-LSG lined guides are actually lighter than the chromed snakes fitted to the factory rod by quite some margin and being single leg, there would be less thread & epoxy too not that I'm currently convinced that it will weigh enough to make a difference at this time.




Thinking about starting with freshly built Sage Method 790 just out of the turner....




Blank taped for handle




Reel seat fitted




Butt section built, thread winding check, logo and trim wraps in place ready for a coat of Flex Coat.


More later.....

Mike Barrio

Great stuff Ben :z16

Rob Brownfield

 :z16

Just a thought, if you want to paint them, standard car spray paint works wonders...perhaps you could "experiment" on Hamish's rod ;)

Ben Dixon

I asked for them unpainted Rob, I have cast a number of proto rods over the years, many of these come unpainted but with production hardware.  In every case that I can think of, the unpainted sample has felt better.  Paint is weight and when the ring sets for these things come to about £60, it would be counter productive although I did toy with the idea of using blue & yellow wraps on the Coastguard rod, I've decided just to leave some gaps in the whippings for Hamish instead.  It will save some weight and give him something to grumble about   :z4

Ben

Rob Brownfield

Still think Hamish would like a painted rod ;)

As for a Coastguard rod, a chap did one on Rodbuilding.org for the US Coastguard, very impressive with a wee logo woven in to the butt.

I think you should :)

Ben Dixon




Fuji KWSG anti tangle strippers going on, these required a good bit of grinding to get them to wrap well

Marc Fauvet

these required a good bit of grinding to get them to wrap well
funny how so many manufacturers haven't figured out yet that the vast majority of rod blanks happen to be round...  :roll

anyhow, rods are lookin' good Ben !  :z16

Mike Barrio

funny how so many manufacturers haven't figured out yet that the vast majority of rod blanks happen to be round...  :roll

 :z4

Hamish Young

It will save some weight and give him something to grumble about   :z4

Smirk  :X2

Still think Hamish would like a painted rod ;)

Negative, I second Bens' note about the unpainted prototypes of various rods nearly always feeling better than the painted production models.

Great stuff Ben :z16

Just so, looking good  :z16

Rob Brownfield

Negative, I second Bens' note about the unpainted prototypes of various rods nearly always feeling better than the painted production models.

Interesting. The only "painted" rods I have ever owned have been Orvis Zero Gravities. I have had "coloured" rods from Harrison which have a dye applied to the final coat, but I cannot say I have noticed a difference, but they have all been 9 weights so not "subtle".

I am guessing the extra weight on a lighter rod is what you refer to when "feeling different"?

It does seem that fly anglers like there coloured rods.

Ben Dixon

Rob,

The Access you have is painted too, most production fly rods I know of are painted.  Rods often feel softer, slower & less crisp once painted.  I've playted about with rods up to #7 that have been unpainted and painted, the unpainted rod has always felt "better" to me but, better is highly subjective I suppose.


Cheers

Ben

Marc Fauvet

it's to keep the carbon from rusting !  :z4

Iain Cameron

Rob,

The Access you have is painted too, most production fly rods I know of are painted... 

I quite like that raw, unpainted look. Opposite of shiny. Wonder how much a coat of paint/varnish protects the blanks from scratches?

Rob Brownfield

Rob,

The Access you have is painted too

ooops..i forgot about the Access!..and the western....infact, I only have Orvis rods that are painted..lol

Ben Dixon

Finished, will get some pics up later.

Some figures for comparison to a factory rod, F is factory, CR is Coastguard Rod

Overall weight
F                           142.3g / 5.02 oz
CR                         153.8g / 5.43 oz

Butt Section
F                          88.7g / 3.13oz
CR                        107.4g / 3.79oz

Mid Butt                
F                          32.8g / 1.16oz
CR                        29.4g / 1.04oz

Mid Tip                 
F                         14.3g / .51oz
CR                       12.2g / .43oz

Tip
F                         6.6g / .23oz
CR                       4.9g / .17oz

I expected the butt to be heavier, the Struble SW seats are chunky bits of kit and the standard seat fitted to this model by Orvis is minimal Al hardware with a carbon spacer.  Factory build uses Pac Bay #4 sized snakes on the tip and 5's & 6's lower down.  I fitted #6 T-LSG Fuli SiC lined titanium framed guides on the tip with matching tip ring, I'd love to know how much the paint weighs.
Built rod feels very stiff, seems to recover dead and seems to flex less than a factory rod using the standard shop waggle test.  Be interesting to see how it is with a line through it.

Cheers

Ben

 




Barrio Fly Lines - designed in Scotland - Cast with confidence all over the world

Barrio Fly Lines

Designed in Scotland

Manufactured in the UK

Cast with confidence all over the world

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