.ghoti.

You put the lime in the coconut, didn't you?

Couldn't resist any longer, could you? LOL A small metal lathe is on my list. Now there will be more questions from me, that you can answer. Let me know when you get tired of all my questions.

I've looked at those; the TKTAG series, and wondered if they would be worth the price delta. A size 4 in that series is $4.99. A size 4 TLSG (titanium frame SIC) is $5.89. For the extra 90 cents, I'm thinking go with the SIC. Anybody know what the actual weights are for these. I have a chart printed listing weights for all of the Recoil guides. I've never seen one for Fuji. Do they release that data? Or do I need to buy a few and weight them myself. Yeah, I know, I'm probably splitting hairs here. But they're my hairs, so I'll split "em if i want to, LOL.

Dang it anyway. I thought I was lookin fly wit dem hubcaps!! LOL I can relate to Scott's approach. Go high end, indeed. But, sometimes a compromise is in order. I just ran a spreadsheet on my last build; Torzite vs Alconite. A Torzite guide set would have been $88 more for that stick. It could be argued that the extra $88 would be better spent on the blank than on the guides. I can see myself making that argument.

Why? It's not as if you're going to be out there drinking, gambling, chasing skirts, etc. My wife has actually been very supportive of my new habit. There are a lot worse ways to spend our spare time. Tell her that.

There you go. It's your rod; build it to suit you. The key, in my mind, is testing. Static load testing for the upper end of the rod, and test casting to place the stripper and first reduction guide. The placement of the third guide up from the reel may be a compromise between static testing and casting testing, with casting performance being more important to me. The most important thing is to keep it as light as possible. Use the smallest guides you can get away with. And then take your time testing to get them placed properly. That's my approach to it anyway. Keep in mind, I'm a rookie at this rod building thing. If Mike from DVT, or Scott Hovanec, or Mick D come along and tell you something different that what I've said; just between you and me, I'd do what they said.

If you're building it, you can use anything you want that looks good to you. Get a setup that is pleasing to the eye, if that matters to you, and then start test casting. I use static testing from the tiptop down.Then it's test casting to get the first two guides set, and maybe the third. As far as double foot guides go, I don't use them on my rods. I don't think they are necessary. If I'm building for somebody else, I do what they want.

I haven't even tried carbon skin grips. It may be something I look more into down the road. I have too many other things which are in need of improvement to start something new I can screw up.

That was my suggestion. He was not exactly open minded about it. The dude seems to be a bit more high maintenance than what I want to deal with. I think I'm gonna have to pass on this one. I'm thinking about posting labor rates in my shop. One price for labor double for customers who want to watch double again for those who want to watch and advise

Another vote for Alconites. 95% of the performance for 30% of the cost vs SIC. If I really want to shave down the weight, I'll go with Recoils. Having said that, my OCD kind of insists that I go with SIC for tiptops.

I have a guy who has asked me to make him a grip for a fly rod. He wants the best grade cork available. I priced some flor grade cork, and found it up to $2.50 per ring, for 1/4" rings. He wants an 8" grip. That's $80 just in bare cork, plus what I'll charge him to make it. He is re-considering.

That's it, for a spinning rod using MicroWave guides. I've built three rods so far using them, and they work. If you're building a spinning rod over 6'6", order a couple of extra runners. Depending on the blank, and static testing, you made need one or two more. These guides are only sold as a set. They sell the runners extra. The spacing of the stripper, reduction and first runner are critical to best casting performance. Place the rest of the runners by static testing. If you're not using MicroWave guides, there are several ways to set up your guide train. I'l just say you need a more experienced guy to help you with that. I've used the "new concept" setup and the KR setup. Both were more work and testing to get acceptable results. Since my first build with MicroWaves, I've decided that no other method is necessary for my purposes.

If you're building a spinning rod, a set of MicroWave guides will take the guess work out of the equation. Place the dual guide, reduction guide and first running guide where they tell you to. Static test to place the remainder. Done. For casting rods, I start with a size 6, and use size 4 for the rest, unless I'm spiral wrapping. Then it's one 6, a 5 for the bumper and first guide on the bottom, and 4s the rest of the way out. I start with the 6 about 20" in front of the face of the reel, and test cast to get the first three guides placed. Then static testing for the rest.

I maintain a spreadsheet listing all of my rods and reels, basically for insurance purposes. One page lists all reels and what modifications have been done for each. But, I don't track maintenance. I probably should, but I let the reel tell me when it needs service. All of them get serviced during those long, cold winter times. My most used reels will get additional service during the fishing season, as needed. This won't be a complete tear-down job, just a quick spot check and lube on the most needy parts; levelwind, spool bearings, etc.

Fishhawk gunmetal color almost disappears on raw graphite. Prowrap iron ore darkens and comes very close to blending with raw graphite. Take my comments with a grain of salt. I'm red-green color blind, so things don't look the same to me as the do to you.

Impossible, Bill. I've been on a five year long attempt to trim down my tackle collection. I have more now than when I started. It is a losing battle. I have conceded defeat, and decided to just go with the flow.

Hey Scott, do you fish anything but a drop-shot? LOL

Good riddance? Shoot man, tell us what you REALLY think.

I prefer shorter handles. More ergonomic to my hands and wrists. My most used reels have 80mm TD-Z handles. I have some 90mm and 100mm handles, and will be selling those soon so I can buy a few more 80mm handles.

Nice work again, Scott. It is inspiring. And at least that Dwight dude has reels with the handle on the correct side.

That, for me, is the problem. I have an idea, or a look I'm going for, then get something I like, and the next day it's different. Been working on scrap pieces of blank, not on any real rods so far. It seems simple; wait until the epoxy has thickened a bit and proceed. Do it too soon, and it all runs together. So, wait longer, right? Wait long enough to get some decent separation, and you get threads stringing out from the tool that go anywhere except where you want them to go. I'll keep experimenting. I've seen some that look really good. It may be a while before I get to that point.

I don't believe bass think about it much. Mosquitoes don't bother them, so they don't have to use it.

Outstanding, as usual for you. Still looking forward to seeing that handle.

I trim the threaded part of the barrel so there are almost no exposed threads when the reel is mounted. That's for comfort. I see no point to any other modification. People have been modifying reel seats to shave weight. The seat area is the one place on a rod where weight changes, either additions or subtractions, make no difference at all. Give me a comfortable rod that weighs a few grams more. I don't like the SK seats, nor do I like the Minima seats. I like ECS seats, and don't mind ACS seats. I have a personal build in progress right now with an ALPS TexTouch seat. I had to trim some threads, but otherwise I really like this one so far. It's like an ACS, only more comfortable in hand. It weighs a bit more than an ACS, but feels better.

I want absolutely nothing to do with ghost peppers. I had a run-in with habanero peppers in Mexico, and a similar encounter with scotch bonnet peppers in Jamaica. Both are too much for me. it's like eating napalm, and excreting nitric acid. No mas.