S Hovanec

Chances are he only applied the epoxy in the area where the grip sits. When this is done, by the time the grip is in final position, the adhesive has been squeegeed off the blank. The epoxy should be applied up the blank about 2x the grip length. That way you can get epoxy all the way through the grip before the squeegee action starts. I would let him know the grip is loose as he may not know this is happening.

Sounds like the epoxy was squeegeed off of the blank when the grip was installed. I believe it is an easy fix. Some epoxy needs injected between the grip and blank. Any hardware store epoxy should work. Mix it up, load it into a syringe and shoot it in where you need it.

If you're not comfortable using the sandpaper because of how aggressive it is, you can try a Magic Eraser or a grey (fine) Scotch Brite pad. They won't take as much material off per pass as the sandpaper.

Just lightly til the stain disappears. It shouldn't take more than a couple passes with light pressure.

No. You're only taking a small amount of cork off the surface.

I use XF for tubes, DS and spybait. Can't explain why, they just feel right to me.

There's a guy on FB that may be able to help. He powder coats, anodizes and paints rod parts and reels. I'm going to be sending a couple guide sets off to have them powder coated. His name is Adam Lathrop, and his company name is Mach 2 Customs.

I never messed with Matagi parts, but I threatened to once or twice. Their painted seats sure are nice.

5 will for sure be sufficient.

As said above, it must have been something on or in the cork. I'd hit the area with some 320 paper to remove the stain and recoat.

I use Bingham Enterprises for the majority of my orders. Backorders happen with everyone. Your backorder from May wouldn't happen to have been some Fuji guides, would it? I just received some that I ordered in April. They were literally on a slow boat from China.

Youtube has a lot of info on it, but there's also a lot of bad info about rodbuilding practices on there. If you stick to the Mudhole and GetBit stuff you should be just fine. Also, Tom Kirkman's book "Rod-building Guide" is a good place to get started. If you're not easily offended, step over to FaceBook and look up the NERBS group (NorthEast Rod Builders). Lots of good stuff going on there.

I'd probably use 6mm running guides, as long as my knot passes. The stripper guide size would be determined by the reel used.

I'll spend whatever it takes to get the exact gear I want. Rods, I build whatever I want that is available, so they are probably more high-end than if I were buying them off the shelf or having them built for me. The guide train on some of my rods cost as much as, or even more than what some spend on a rod or a reel. Why? Cause I wanted to try Fuji Torzites. Up until now, I haven't wanted any high-end reels. I Iave a couple Saharas, couple Stradics (FB, FI, Mg &CI4), couple older Sustains, few Chronarch SFs. The TwinPower HGS is probably the best reel I own. A Stella and Exsence are in the short term plans, but I'm working on buying a new house and shop right now, so they'll have to wait.

Someone requested one of my grips again. This is a variant of the design i did on @Lucky Craft Man's Sage ESN. It went out in the mail today.

I don't think they can afford either!

Sad to say that It is real. One of my friends took it about 3 years ago while going by on the river. It's a ramp about 6 miles from me on the Monongahela river. Look closely at the Tahoe and you'll see the broken driveshaft hanging down.

Kayak or canoe on a roof rack. Maybe a 14' Jon or V-hull on a trailer. Don't be this guy. Or this guy!

With our short season and the fact I don't get out as often as I'd like, I got 12 seasons out if my Blue Tops before one if them crapped out. Got 11 seasons out of the starting battery. I installed them in 2005 when I brought the boat home and never took them out til I changed them. Went with the big Duracells from Sam's club this time.

I have a CTS dropshot blank and a couple others I got from Andy Dear when he started importing them. Not sure what I'm gonna do with them, but they sure are nice.

The 3S76MLXF-2 may fit the bill. I built the 1pc version for myself and the 2pc for a customer. I liked the 2pc better. It seemed to have a touch more power. Another route to go is ML in an inshore series. The inshore ML's fit between freshwater ML's and M's. In St Croixs current lineup, you have the 3SW76MLF. If you can find one, the 4SW76MLF is pretty nice.

I was sitting at work when my phone goes "knock, knock, knock". I open up the message and see this beast! At that point, the rest of my day was wrecked. I knocked off at 3 to pack for the weekend. You guys are killing me this year!

Stuff like that is easy. You tell her what you like and she gets whatever she wants!

Is that one of the old Cascade Composites made Rainshadows? I have a green 841 that I use for one of my bluegill rigs. I love that rod. It was one of my very first builds, and you can tell! Lol

American Tackle Bushido SJ72/4-8 is a nice panfish blank. I've built a few of them.