Yes, I have a new Project. To make my saltwater Ugly Stik, well, not so ugly.

Im going to re-wrap the guides, paint over the old logo then epoxy etc, put a better reel seat on, and change the grip from foam to cork, because I hate foam.

Im starting tonight and will post pics with updates!

How's your project going ?

How's that rod coming ?

I guess he got frustrated with it.

    T

Hahaha my mistake I forgot about this thread (:

Its coming along nicely but I need to order some epoxy for the guides. That and Im pressed for time. Being a kid an all, almost leaves no time for rod building  :

How'a that ugly stick project coming along ?

How's your project going ?

How's that rod coming ?

How'a that ugly stick project coming along ?

I know i shouldn't laugh at this, but it is funny

I bet you all thought I forgot about this didn't you?

Haha I have been slacking, but here are some Pics!!

How are my wraps? I think I did pretty good for a first time.

Also, since its two piece, I have to undo the first guide to re-align the reel seat to the spline, and during the process I will change the grip to Cork, not foam, and it will be split grip. Im practicing splitting the grip on the foam now though.

Enjoy the pics!

Not bad so far.

Just removed all the foam, removed the glue, and sanded down with 120 grit sand-paper, need to hit it with some uber-fine sandpaper though, then wipe with denatured alchohol. The problem I'm having is getting the reel seat off  :-/

Not bad for your first try , post pics when you get the finish on the wraps, this is what I had a problem with when I started.

T

The easiest way to get a reel seat off (and easy is a relative term, it is still a PITA) is to use a hack saw or dremel.  Start at one end and cut a spiral around the reel seat until you get to the other end, cutting through the metal rings and all.  Just be careful to only cut through the seat and not all the way down to the blank.  There should be a gap between the two where some type of arbors are used.  Try to space the cut so the spiral cuts are about 1"-1.5" apart and you go around the reel seat 3 or 4 times.  Once the reel seat is cut, you can use a big flat head screw driver to pry it away from the arbor and untwist it at the same time.  Then just scrape and sand the epoxy as you did under the foam.

So I have another sorta noobish question for rod building. I hit the logo are of the ugly stick with a heat gun and scraped the epoxy/logo off with a razor, an then sanded with 100 or so grit. Now after wiping down it still looks like its been sanded, im assuming this is just because of rougher sandpaper? I plan on putting my own logo there.

You will want to be careful when sanding.  You don't want to get down into the meat of the blank, if you get too deep you can damage the blank.  If it was just lite sanding you should be ok.  And the scuffs should cover up with epoxy.

Mike

You will want to be careful when sanding. You don't want to get down into the meat of the blank, if you get too deep you can damage the blank. If it was just lite sanding you should be ok. And the scuffs should cover up with epoxy.

Mike

I made sure to sand very lite, I think one round of hi-grit paper should do, then the epoxy should do the rest.

If not i'll just wrap it in black thread  :

Succesfully removed reel seat, string (for arboring purposes) and the nasty amount of epoxy/glue. Now I just have to play the waiting game for parts, etc.

Im thinking i'll split the grip and marble the split. That way I can cover up some scratched I did accidently, and then above the foregrip I may marble something flame esque . The marbling will be red and white which will match the guides as a nice red.

I think it may turn out pretty sick looking  8-)

For future reference, sanding a blank is an extremely easy way to ruin a blank.  I would strongly recommend not sanding, especially with coarse grit paper at that.  Use a heat gun and razor blade and back drag to remove glue or epoxy.  This is a much safer mehtod than sanding as you are less likely to remove part of the blank.  It's up to you, but I would not sand a blank that I want to fish with...

Wow, I'm impressed for you being a kid.  I have never tried anything like this but have wanted to several times.  Looks like you have a very good start with those guide wraps.  What type of guides did you put on it??  Did you make sure to replace them along the same path as they were before??  As I understand it, all rods have a spine where there is a top and bottom so to speak.  You want it to flex and bend the right way. 

Wow, I'm impressed for you being a kid. I have never tried anything like this but have wanted to several times. Looks like you have a very good start with those guide wraps. What type of guides did you put on it?? Did you make sure to replace them along the same path as they were before?? As I understand it, all rods have a spine where there is a top and bottom so to speak. You want it to flex and bend the right way.

I basically took the original guides off, and put them back on the spine(inside curve for spinning rod). I only use it for one week a year, so I didn't want to blow alot of money, just get basic cork and a new reel seat and remount the guides. All I have to do now, functionallity wise, is put the grip and reel seat on the rod, and add the first guide (Its a two piece rod, so the big guide has to wait until I get the cork, reel seat, etc on.).

After I do all that it'll be time to pretty it up with some creative wraps, colored epoxy, and everything nice. Although funds are holding me back from getting cork and a reel seat :-/

Another point for future reference and builds, the spine of a blank (some have more than one) has no effect on the functionality of a completed rod.  It is better to build on the straightest axis of the blank to insure that your guides will align properly allowing for the smoothest path for the line to follow from your reel.  Once there is a load applied to the rod (a lure or fish applying resistance) the blank will inherently bend towards that force being applied regardless of spine location.

Another point for future reference and builds, the spine of a blank (some have more than one) has no effect on the functionality of a completed rod. It is better to build on the straightest axis of the blank to insure that your guides will align properly allowing for the smoothest path for the line to follow from your reel. Once there is a load applied to the rod (a lure or fish applying resistance) the blank will inherently bend towards that force being applied regardless of spine location.

Not necessarily so.

Spine:

Or "Effective Spine" is an effect created by several manufacturing anomalies.

The result is that the rod blank will favor bending along a particular axis when load is applied.

Any custom builder worth working with (more than a hobbyist) uses the spine.

Tight Wraps!  8-)

For future reference, sanding a blank is an extremely easy way to ruin a blank. I would strongly recommend not sanding, especially with coarse grit paper at that. Use a heat gun and razor blade and back drag to remove glue or epoxy. This is a much safer mehtod than sanding as you are less likely to remove part of the blank. It's up to you, but I would not sand a blank that I want to fish with...

This is absolutely correct. I spent about 3 years building golf clubs mostly with graphite shafts. the first thing that we were taught when i went to school is how to safely remove old paint/epoxy from a graphite shaft. In the instructors words "if you decide to use sandpaper on a customers graphite shafts then you better be prepared to replace them." I can confirm this first hand when a buddy of mine decided he didn't want to listen and sand the shaft. After about 3 good whacks on the driving range the head of the golf club went sailing down the range about 10-20 yards ;D ;D ;D. Probably one of the funniest things i have seen and truly a "i told you so moment". You may be ok though cause the ugly stick is a graphite /fiberglass composite.(i think)

 

Looks great BASSclary!

I find the spine on my rods and build on it or opposite it depending on the rod I'm building (spinning, casting, fly), only because it's the way I was taught.

This topic would probably result in a split if a poll was takened.