More Birchbark!!

I seemed to have a problem with my account and could not access my blog. All seems to be sorted out now. I have been making quite a few grips since my last post. This is another birbark grip attached to an 8' 3 WT. I really love the look of a birchbark grip. Definitely screems custom rod. If your interested in making one of these for yourself you can purchase the bark here. I have personally collected and sorted the bark. If you dont roll your own but would like one please contact me scott@solwaycustomcomponents.com

In this grip I have added Laguna Burl cork and Corian for the trim.
The seat and end cap are stabilized birch burl wood.
Please click on the photo to zoom it in.



A closer shot of the seat.

Custom ALPS Decal

I haven't been posting as much as I would like but I have been busy with customer rods and the like. I don't feel to bad spending time in the shop because the weather has been absolutely awful. Today I had time to slip in my water slide decal work. They were made on an ALPS printer using white ink. This is the stripping side with the builders name. ME!!! Click on the photos to zoom them in.



This is the other side with model, length and rating. I have to do some more experimenting with these decals. The carrier paper is extremely thin and they were not the easiest to bed down. I found the best so far is a coat of Chromaseal over the decal before it is cut to shape. This way the writing is more durable and you can give it a fair amount of pressure to squeeze the air out from under it. All in all its not to bad. I used Threadmaster over and turned by hand. Its nearly 3 3/4" long came out nice and level. I also changed the wrap a bit an put in some tan between the white bands to tie in with the grip.

A Strange Pike

No rod building today. My computer was so full of junk that I had to spend some time and clean it up.
I came across this photo that I had completely forgotten about. I think it was caught somewhere in Ontario, Canada. I have seen small slamon fry hatching like this but they usually didn't last
.Obiviously this fish was one of the very lucky ones. I figured I would pop it on here and see if other fisherman find it strange!!!!

Guide Wraps and Easy Trim Bands

Ok been picking away at this wrapping. The first thing I do is hoover(vacuum) my work area. I then take one of those magic dusters and go over the general area to minimize dust. Try to do whatever you can to keep the dust levels low to none. If its dry, which is rare here in Scotland, I will wear a nylon windbreak so there is no dust off of my shirt

I find some type of magnifier really helps to see what the thread is doing. This one has a daylight bulb in it. Overhead is 4 4" tube lights. most of my work area is painted white for maximum brightness. I also have a set of goggle magnifiers which fit to your face. I use this one the most though. Remember if your threadwork looks good magnified it will look even better when its not

I use a neptune thread tensioner. It doesn't use springs for tensioning. It is two magnets in which you put paper washers between to adjust the tension. The more washers the less tension there is. Its really smooth and especially good if wrapping with metallics. It doesnt get pinched between anything so there is no chance of fraying. The washers you see are my "guide wrap setting". I minus a few for ferrule wraps and threadwork such as chevrons, diamonds etc where you want your wrap just slightly tighter.
When a guide is wrapped you should be able to move it back and forth for alignment. If you can't its too tight

I wont bore you with a normal guide wrap procedure. But I will show you how I do all of my trim work whether it be thread or metallics.

Lay a 6" piece of your trim material over the blank. Place a darning needle(in this case), a wooden stick or your finger over the thread. Easy enough you say!!!

Now wrap your thread around your tool of choice. You will need to put one extra wrap of thread for the number of trim turns that you want. In this case I want 3 so I put 4 or its more like 3 1/2 turns and put the end throught the eye. Place your thumb on the loose wraps to they stay in the order you see. Pull the needle throgh and you will end up with a tag on each side. Now in order for it to "lock" on itself you will have to carefully remove one turn and you will see the two threads join in a sortof figure of eight in the middle. Dont pull it tight. Gently slide it up to your main wrap and pack it against the shoulder.

This is just loose before packing. Once it packed just pull each tag in the direction that they are lying (90 degrees to the blank). To lock them position one towards the tip and one towards the butt( parallel with the blank). Trim the tags, place a very small dab of CP or super glue right on the crossover point and bobs your uncle!!.
Oh one other thing. Place the knot or crossover on the side thats not seen by the angler. On a spinning and fly rod thats on the guide foot side, on a baitcasting it would be opposite the guide foot side.

Both trim wraps finished. I like doing it this way because your trim tags will never show under your main wraps especially if your not using CP.

Static Testing

Today I was getting my guide placement sorted on this rod. For the guides I've went with titanium Sic's as I'll possibly be using it in the salt for bass. Stripper is a 16mm DF, then 12 DF and 7mm single foots right out to the tip. For the life of me I could not find my wee surgical rubber bands I usually use to hold on the guides while testing so I can move them back and forth with ease. So went with masking tape after I found myself getting quite frustrated. I know they are in that shop somewhere. Tape will do in a pinch but the rubber bands are much easier to use. I was a little hot under the collar and you can see I just slapped the tape on any old way!!!

Ive got a rod holder bolted to a jig which is fixed to the side of my garage. The rod can be mounted in the holder and a weight attached to the end in order to fully flex the rod. The guides can be placed so the line path follows the arc of the blank. On a nice day like it was today its nice to do this outside. My stripper is place at 31" from the center of the reel. This is the distance I use for all of my fly rods. I can reach without stretching and my stripping hand lands about 2" short of the guide. The first guide from the tip goes at 4 1/2". Thread the line through the stripper and then slide on all the other guides between it and the guide at 4 1/2". They will just bunch up and hang on the line. Now thread it through the first guide and the tip. I just eyeball where I think the guides look good and tape them on. Now attach a weight to the line and put a bend in the rod. Adjust your guides so you get a nice path with no major "flat spots".

Just out of curiosity I compared my guide locations to a spacing chart. A few guides were close but the chart was 100mm out for a couple. This just goes to show this is the best way to find guide placement. Every blank is different so keep the spacing chart in the drawer where it belongs. :>)

Wrapping The Decal Borders

Ive started the wrapping today on this CTS. I took a break from the lathe work and cleaned up all the dust and tools that were laying around.

This is the wraps that will border my custom decal. Its Cobalt Blue regular nylon with white NCP inlay thread. I don't normally wrap with NCP as the wraps look quite "pastelish" if that's even a word!! But in this case its a dark blank and if I use white regular nylon the blue blank will bleed through even though I am going to use Chromaseal Colour Preserver.

Click on the photo and you will see no gaps, overlaps or bumps. I am happy that the thread spacing is uniform and has an overall "clean" look to it. I may tip each end with a metallic but I'm not sure at this point. I just need to cut the tags end with a razor blade and make sure everything is packed properly. The packing and burnishing is very important so that your wraps turn out a nice uniform colour once finished. If there is gaps it you will have darker shades in the wrap

You can see Rodmaker Magazine in the background. It a "how to" on an easy way to do these kind of thread inlays. The right hand page has numerous photos that show you every step. The left is written instruction. It could not be easier and I really cant stress enough how much time some of these articles can save you. There may not be something in every issue that will interest you but when there is it can be very helpful. I offer subscriptions on my site but if you need any additional info contact me scott@solwaycustomcomponents.com

Finished Grip Assembly on CTS 9' 9WT

Today I finished off installing the grip. I decided to change the fighting butt and went with all Box Elder Burl with some trim rings to match the fore grip. I also cut down on the length of the FB to balance it up a bit more. I installed the reel, taped all the guides on and ran the line through it. This gave me the perfect placement for the seat (with this reel anyway).

Over all I'm pretty pleased with it.

Please feel free to make a comment and let me know what you think?

A blue piece of Corian for a cap to match the cobalt blue blank!!!












A shot of the finished Black Ash Burl seat and REC anodized pewter aluminium hardware.





I made a white winding check out of Corian to match the trim rings. I like making my checks as opposed to just using a plain old metal shop bought one. I usually make them out of wood but took a notion and tried something different.

You can see the radius on the winding check. I Polished it down to 6000 Micro Mesh paper.

Turning The Reel Seat

I got a chance tonight to turn the seat for this project. A piece of Black Ash Burl that matches the ends of the grip. A 1"x1" square was first bored out to my mandrel size and mounted between two bushing which get squeezed lightly with a nut on the end.I measured the reel foot and want this spacer a little bit longer than the insert that came with it.This is the beauty of custom building as you can modify anything you like.

Diameters are turned to match measurements of hardware as most of the factory inserts come a bit "sloppy". Just ready to be parted off and finished. A soaking coat of Danish Oil to bring out the grain and then wipe off the excess. Once its dry I'll just buff it with a lint free cloth. Again this wood is stabilized so I don't have to worry about sealing it.

Project Is Taking Shape

Today was a crazy day for me filling and posting orders, emailing and the like so I didn't get much time in the shop.
I did however manage to get the fighting butt done for the grip I have made and illustrated in some earlier posts.
Foam core was glued in and turned on a mandrel. As you can see the foam has been parted off leaving a small diameter which fits into the back of the reel seat hardware. Butt end is counter bored and will be plugged off with a wooden cap


Here is the button on the end of the fighting butt. Photo at 1500 rpm. I then chucked on the small dia you see and put a radius on it.

The fighting butt is dry fit
Ive decided to put it on a Cobalt Blue CTS 9' 9 weight. ive already built one of these but sold it. I liked it so much I wanted another.


A close up. next is the reel seat. Ive got a nice piece of Black Ash to match the ends of the grip.
Hopefully tomorrow

Bark Grip

I got a chance today to finish the bark fore grip I've been working on. I really like working with this material. It's like a cross between cork and wood. As with the other grip all glued up, bored out this time to 16mm and a foam core inserted and glued. This takes a bit of the weight out.

You will notice the heavy amount of adhesive on the outside of the bark. The purpose of this is to give the bark some axial strength so it does not break before I glue in the foam core. Birchbark is made up of hundreds of very thin layers. Even though you glue to pieces together they can still come apart between the glue lines. Essentially it delamintes. The coat of adhesive gives it a sort of exoskeleton. Once its bored out and either glued to a rod, or in this case a foam core this problem of de-lamination is a non issue.
The grip ends are Birch Burl and Birch Burl dyed black with .040 corian trim rings in between.

True it up with a gouge slightly over the biggest O.D of the grip. Looks a bit more like a grip now than in that first photo.





This is it finished and sanded down to 600 grit. One coat of danish Oil to bring out the grain. Use one flood coat then wipe the excess. I'll coat this with a good urethane to protect it.

It looks really good in natural light but you get the idea. If I get a chance I'll put one up shortly.

Oh by the way finished weight is 1.9 oz or 54 grams. Just about the same as a standard burl cork grip.

A Very Handy Tool!!!!

I have found this tool to be one that I use very often. If you've been following the making of grip you will notice reference to a pilot bit which I used to bore out the grip in order to remove the weight. This is a smaller version. An 8mm piece of mild steel was bored out and slotted on each side to fit over the spur on the spade bit. I chucked the 8mm bar in the lathe, filled the inside of the tube with Ultimate Gel and inserted the bit. The chuck end of the spade bit was held in a drill chuck on the tailstock of the lathe to keep it straight while the glue cured. You can make any size pilot on any sized spade bit that you will need. I have several different sizes but the most often used sizes are 16mm and 19mm. This little tool makes the job VERY EASY!!

Finished Fore Grip

I took a half an hour break today from preparing this shed load of birch bark and finished turned the fore grip.

First thing to do is to make the O.D concentric with the I.D which I did with a round nose scraper. Your not looking to shape the grip just take enough off so you see no "wobble" when its spinning. If you try to sand it before truing it up your sandpaper will only follow the out of round grip and it will turn out somewhat egg shaped.

The ends were just lightly scraped with a parting tool so they are at right angles to the grip and again there is no wobble. Next shape the grip starting with 60 grit paper to rough it out and work your way down to 600 for a nice "velvety" feel.

One coat of Danish Oil on the ends to bring up the grain. No need to seal this wood as its stabilized and wont crack, split or shrink. This is why stabilized is so good for a fishing grip application.


Notice the foam core on the reel seat end. O.D is concentric. You will never see it once it is inletted for the seat hood. It did a good job of removing the weight and the grip now weighs a total of 39 grams. Not bad considering the grip is burl cork, wood and corian

More On Birchbark

If youve been following my blog you will have seen where and how I got this birchbark for making some very unique grips. This box contains approx 2000 pcs of premium bark.

I spent the better part of the preparing these for glueing. I figured I had better get at it.

Center hole drilled out with a brad point and clamped flat between some thick washers I machined. The quick grip clamp is a handy tool for keeping the squares flat. Each side is sanded flat prior to installing on the threaded rod. There is approximaetly 50 pcs which will do for a 7" grip once I add some wood and corian.

Watch this space for the finished product!!

Grip Making Part 4

The materials I used in this grip are relatively heavy compared with natural cork. So I want to lighten it up a bit. After all I want it functional as well.

The first thing I do is bore it out to 20mm with a pistol drill and a spade bit with pilot on the end end. This keeps the hole I'm going to bore concentric with the 8 mm bore that's already in the grip. I start from the reel seat end and bore up to but not through the front side.

Notice the material that been removed

Ive removed approx 30 grams and the grip is now 60 grams. Not too bad as its still rough on the OD with some material to be removed

Next I have machined a brick foam arbour to fit the 200mm bore Ive just made. You can see the pencil mark which is its finished length

Check for nice snug fit!!

Double check that's the 20mm is concentric with the OD. This photo was taken while spinning at 1000rpm. Not bad, no major run out.

I'm going to use Ultimate Gel for this part of the job. Its thicker and stays where you put it. Very easy to mix just eyeball equal part A and B on a piece of card and mix for about three mins folding like cake icing

Smear the brick foam with adhesive and insert it moving it around and back and forth so as to fully coat the inside of the grip. Insert the mandrel to keep everything straight and once again clamp with light pressure.

Next its the fun bit THE TURNING and SHAPING!!!

Glueing It All Up Part 3

Now that all my "rings" are flat and parallel its time to glue it up. These are the things you will need:

Adhesive
Cork Clamp
Mandrel
Rubber Gloves
Wooden Stick
Plastic Cup
Ruler
Newspaper
De Natured Alcohol (for cleanup)
Paper Towels

First measure out equal parts of your adhesive. Here I'm using 5ml each of Ultimate Epoxy. This adhesive gives you plenty of pot life so there is no panic or rush to get everything coated.Check out the measuring cup as you can see a colour change from the resin to the hardener.

Mix well through until the colour of the adhesive turns a uniform colour. I usually mix for 3 minutes.

Smear the glue with a wooden lolly stick on to the faces of your rings and slide up your mandrel one at a time. Use the stick to scrape the faces so the rings have just a "wet" look to them. You don't want excessive adhesive in between the rings or you will end up with visible glue lines. This is why I take my time making sure that each ring is flat and parallel. More glue doesn't make up for sloppy fitting parts.

Next clamp them all together using light pressure. There is no need to crank the nuts up. With a ruler measure the distances on each side of the clamp to make sure they are parallel. If the space on one side is greater than the other just tighten that side. I have put handles on my glue up mandrels so once the grip is clamped I can easily pull the mandrel out without disturbing the placement of the rings. These rings are bored to 8mm so I am using an 8mm mandrel. I have made several of these in different diameters. Some builders wax their mandrels so the grip can be turned and then "popped" of the mandrel. I found this to be a hassle so I like to pull the mandrel out.

Take some paper towels and wipe your clamp or anything else that has unwanted glue on it. The only thing left to do is just wait until the adhesive is cured.

Custom Grip Part 2

Ok last time I parted of some Box Elder Burl rings that will be used in my custom grip. I cut them a little thicker than 3/8". The next thing I need to do is bore them out and get the surfaces flat and parallel. I have found the easiest way is to use a little tool I made up on my metal lathe which you can see in this first photo. It has a little nub left in the centre which fits into the bore of the ring. I can easily fit my hand over the metal button to flat sand each side. I measure with a vernier to make sure the ring is parallel. You don't need to use it on these thicker rings but I find it makes it more comfortable in your hand. It really comes into its own later on with the thin trim rings I am going to make.

I want to add some blue and white trim rings. The material I like to use for my trim rings is Corian. Ive got 1/2" thick sheets which I cut into squares with a slitting disc on a 4" grinder. I can chuck the squares in a 4 jaw chuck and centre bore them to fit my mandrel. Ive just shown the white rings here. The ring on the right has been put on the mandrel and turned round.

I can then take a 1/16"parting tool and cut the ring into several thinner rings.

Now back to my little tool again. As I want these rings to end up at .040" it would be very difficult to put even pressure on it or even to hold it for that matter. I can place the tool on the parted ring and sand in a circular motion on a pc of 120 grit paper. I use a vernier to measure the thickness as I go.

A finished ring at .040"

I have added the blue and white corian rings on either side of the Box Elder Burl. The front portion of the grip is Black Ash Burl, the middle is 1/2" Laguna Exotic Burl Cork. After parting and facing all the rings I put the unglued grip on my mandrel and rough turn the OD. The nut on the end of the mandrel squeezes the grip so it doesn't spin while turning.I always do this so I can get an idea if I like the colour scheme and layout. I find it hard to see when everything is rough looking. Its still plenty big and quite a bit of material still has to come off before I get to finished size. For this grip final OD will be approximately 1 3/16"

This is the fighting butt.

Notice the trim rings are nice and parallel and all the same thickness. I find taking care of the fine details is what really sets a grip off.

This is the grip before glue up. I have roughed turned a nice piece of Black Ash Burl which is going to be used for the reel seat. Here i get a final look to make sure I like everything before its glued.

Next job is to glue it up and bore it out to take the weight out of it. That's for another day. Come back and see how I do it.