Translucent #2wt Glass

Just a quick update on my rod building work done last week.
Clear translucent 2wt fiberglass 6'6" 2 section fly rod blank.

Down locking burled wood insert reel seat and AAA grade pre-form half wells cork grip.

To cut the long story short, I will just post the photos of the completed rod.

The cork grip was finished with a coat of U40 Cork Seal and it look slightly darker.

Testing the WHITE glass

Finally I had my change to test it out..

Effortless cast with the 3WF line out around 30 feet and it's action was as usual... CRISPY!

A final touch before I pack it up in the rod sock.

CLEAR WHITE fiberglass UL fly rod

Completed this UL fiberglass fly rod 2 weeks back but have yet to test it..

Uplocking burled wood insert with engraved band and locking nut.

Translucent clear white fiberglass fly rod blank with winding check at the cork grip.

Can't see much of the fly rod against the white color background.

Hope I would get a chance to test it in the garden over this coming weekend.

DW Fiberglass fly rod - Ultralight

What was supposedly the last rod was not the LAST eventually...
Just can't resist building up this UL crispy little fly rod on the translucent white blank.

2 sections fiberglass 2wt 6'9" after snipping a few inches at the front and back of the 7' blank.

Agate stripping and lite wire snake guides for this rod.

Cork rings for the grip

Down locking sliding back burled wood reel seat for this rod.

Mid Brown thread wrapped over Pearsall's Gossamer White silk

Single thread trimming across guides foot

All guides intact..

The silk thread after epoxy basically will turn transparent and gives it a very unique effect.

JC feather used as joint indicator. The feather is actually wrapped under the silk line.

My "chicken scratch" on the rod

The look of the handle with a reel ..

Translucent Blank UL fiberglass fly rod...completed

Non stop epoxy marathon... and it's done. A truly transparent wrapping with a single black thread trimming across the guide foot. It looks like the guides are tied down with just a thread..

I tried something different on the tip. I have seen a rod builder who did this on his and it looked cool.

** Please visit my classified section if you are interested to get one of this affordable fiberglass fly rod and other fly fishing gears**

Translucent Blank UL fiberglass fly rod

Last week someone from Facebook messaged me and asked about the white translucent blanks I have and the fiberglass fly rods I built with that blank. He asked a question that I was not able to answer him.. " How's your translucent blank compared to Kabuto's translucent blanks? "

I have never once compared the white translucent blanks I have with those made by Kabuto because it's of different standards all together. Kabuto's blanks are of high standards and I don't see any black spots or dirt in his fiberglass blanks and the ones I got are just fish-able fiberglass fly rod blanks which cost a fraction of the price of Kabuto's rod blank.

The translucent fly rod blank that I have...

A fly rod built by Matt Leiderman from Kabuto's blank

The difference is very obvious.

Anyway, enough said and I am going build another fly rod from the translucent blanks that I have.

 I shaped the cigar style cork grip during the long holiday season and I have found the matching reel seat for this rod. A chrome finish down-locking hardware with Maple wood insert fly reel seat.

 I managed to wrapped the tip top and  will be doing another transparent wraps on this blank. I just love the effect of this transparent wrapping that shows the clarity of the epoxy and it's like the snake guides are just glued on.

 The rest of the snake guides will have to wait......

** Please visit my classified section if you are interested to get one of this affordable fiberglass fly rod and other fly fishing gears**

ONE done, ANOTHER one coming

Finally, I had the wrappings epoxied with Bullard's DII epoxy and the silk thread turn out to be better than I expected it. The color doesn't darken as much as other silk thread and the translucency is great. The foot of the guides are clearly visible.
 

Here's the photo of the completed rod.

Getting back to the translucent fly rod

Taking a break from bait casting rod building to complete one of the translucent fly rod that I have put aside for a couple of weeks.

It's also time to do a trial on the Bullard threads wrapping to my translucent fly rod blank. I am doing a spiral wrap over transparent wrapping on the hook keeper and S-108 Brass Gold on the stripper guide and other snake guide.

Bullard Silk thread 3/0 is thin and almost fussiness free. This is the first time I did not break any thread when wrapping the guide at tight tension. Compared to other brands of silk threads, I can easily break a few times during the process of guide wrapping. This silk thread is consider tough.

I do not plan to apply any color preserver on the silk thread. I would like to see how the brass gold silk thread turn out to be after epoxy..





** Please visit my classified section if you are interested to get one of this affordable fiberglass fly rod and other fly fishing gears**