finished it off. three 3 stripe chevrons. simple red and black. not the best pic. after its all done i'm going to have Hannah take pics for me.
Phase III: guide layout
I previously did a rough layout and static test before the handle and decorative were put on so I could figure out where the stripper guide would go and to double check the spine of the rod (make sure it didn't twist when loaded).
here is how I have it set up. the blank is still just shimmed and placed in the furrel, no glue yet. wrapped my harness around the pillars of my balcony wall and I can easily work on setting up the guides. this makes it easy to do splices into hollow core braid as well.
Phase IV: wrapping the guides.
I started on the first underwrap and ran out of thread.
TO BE CONTINUED!
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spliced in another spool of thread and continued. here's the wraps. simple under wraps and keeping the center of them all black to give it a more stealth look. I want to keep it subdued but still no mistake its custom and its mine.
bad background, but the first guide is almost on. ill eave the front un wrapped until all guides are on then I can align them and wrap the front foot. both feet will be getting double wrapped.
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I double over wrapped the feet of the first and second guide and single wrapped (with under wraps) the last 5. first coat went on and it was diluted with whatever my Japanese mentor gave me (acetone?). that coupled with some heat from the lighter ensured a deep penetration of the epoxy finish. now I just have to wait 12 hours for the acetone to evaporate out of the finish so it can dry.
its literally like watching paint dry...
the tape on the blank is for grip. its much easier to turn it by hand while in the chuck with tape than grabbing the blank. with the tape I can easily turn it with two fingers, without it takes 3 or a full grip and can get messy.
tomorrow it will get the final coat of finish, which will set up a bit quicker then hopefully my Rod Bond gets here soon so I can glue the ferrule, put the tip on (its off so the blank can vent when gluing the ferrule on) and then I can go load it up and see if it breaks.
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the next coat went on the following day but I realized I didn't have any rod bond to glue the ferrule so I ordered some up and it arrive today! quick shipping again from Getbitoutdoors.com ! great guys to work with.
anyways. here's some rough pics of the rod in final form (minus ferrule) for uni butt attachment. the tip isn't glued in the pics, just shimmed and stuck on for looks. tip will be glued after the ferrule sets up.
the red isn't as noticeable in the pics as in real life, but I did accomplish the subdued look I was going for.
here is how I shimmed the blank for the ferrule and the diameter and thickness of the walls. I used a paint brush to apply the rod bond and got it deep into the mesh of the dry wall tape and filled the gap. I then coated the inside of the ferrule and stuck a big glob on in the bottom and brush some on the bottom of the blank and put a little inside the blank. the shrink tube also acted as a shim and I coated it with glue as well. I'm going to kick myself if I ever have to replace the grips. I'm not even done with this one and I already have orders for 2 more. I'll do those a little different. maybe even do an epoxy ramp.
