Jeff Shafer

Couldn't resist the temptation to do a simple feather inlay on a fly rod.

In response to a Rodbuilding.org post about applying epoxy I offered to upload an image of some low supports I assembled. I made them so that as I apply epoxy I can have the heel of both of my hands resting on my work surface. My turning hand and brush hand are both more steady as a result. Not my invention, just something I learned along the way.

Build on Mike Barkley's hand clamp idea, Top View with mandrel removed.

Building on Mike Barkley's idea of using a hand clamp to bond his cork rings, I purchased a similar clamp and bored a hole through the end of the clamp. This allowed me to use one of Andy Dear's mandrel's to align and bond my cork rings. Once light pressure has been applied by the clamp, I pull the mandrel out of the cork handle. The next step is a little risky, but I add pressure with the hand clamp, being careful not to cause the rings to slide laterally and cause the holes to get out of alignment. The mandrel cleans up with a little alcohol. When the Rod Bond has hardened, I slide the mandrel back into the handle and shape in the normal manner.

I initially used a wingnut to provide tension against my thread spools, but soon changed to a spring clip which installs quickly and easily, and is easy to adjust. The plastic thread spool turns against the large washer between the spool and clip.

I'm experimenting with this wrap to hide scuff marks caused by snake guide removal. Technique hides inner and outer scuff marks without adding significant weight.

I use a glue gun stick to turn the tip section because the hot glue stick flexes and doesn't cause the tip section to wobble.

A pipe end cap with a section of pipe insulation inserted holds the reel seat, and a hot glue stick tapered to a point gets inserted into the female ferrule of tip over butt rod section.

A few simple components including roller blade wheel hubs, all thread, etc.