Good morning Ohana (at least it's morning in Florida)
I have slowly been working on a Sabre Stroker SM80 blank.
No need for this rod in the Tampa Bay, but honestly, how many of y'all buy/build/repair things just because you're addicted?
I'm going full AFTCO roller on this build, and i've always wanted to use abalone for decorative purposes. This first product I bought was a cheap sticker of what looked like a color photocopy of a sheet of abalone. I gave it a try, and covered it in epoxy. Turned out exactly like a photocopy of abalone covered in epoxy. Go figure.
The second attempt was with genuine abalone. It is brittle but beautiful. Using a heat gun makes it wrap around the blank without cracking/separating/etc. it is stunningly beautiful.
Thought I would share my little project.
Very nice work! I bet you have a pretty blue reel like a Californian that will match that perfectly...Tip: especially on guides with heavier guage frames, dress ends with a file so you get a tapered ramp to wind on. Having a step on the big roller guides is maddening to wind on and throws off the lay, as you no doubt found. If you choose to do that, make sure the guide is underwrapped AND make sure to dress the underside to remove any burs that might get in that nice blank. I use emory cloth after filing. Also will help reducing a sag point in the epoxy. My 0.02.
I did that on cheaper guides, but felt weird about doing that to these. I did under wraps, but now that you pointed it out, I probably will unwrap and file the feet. It is maddening getting the guide to climb without messing up. I taped it down as tight as I could. Even then had a 3-thread width portion of the guide showing, so I pushed it down to cover. Made the rest of the winds more labor intensive since the thread wasn't straight anymore.... amazing how laziness breeds more work
I use a disk sander in a drill with 100 grit disks to taper the feet,crude but effective. Also make sure the feet are flat and straight,might have to bend them a little.
Nice work nick - I luv abalone. I have added some to several rods I built/re-built.
This was applied to the split butt of an Andros rod:
(http://alantani.com/gallery/25/9780_09_11_18_6_56_01_25867577.jpeg)
I got the materials from Kevin Knox at Anglers Envy - nice guy :)
oh yeah, forgot you have a dremel, as Swami pointed out, drum sander in dremel is a lot faster.
Beautiful job Nick...love it!
(https://i.imgur.com/rnoNXNF.jpg)
Sal
The best tool that I found for prep work on guide feet is the Stay Sharp mini belt sander. Works great.
Dwight
I also use the stay sharp, and the best I have found so far.................Joe
I am a fan of the abalone too.
Thank you all for the encouragement and the examples of what can be done with abalone.
My youngest daughter (5) wants me to put a mermaid decal on this rod because it is now "her" mermaid rod
Quote from: ReelFishingProblems on November 09, 2018, 09:04:46 PM
My youngest daughter (5) wants me to put a mermaid decal on this rod because it is now "her" mermaid rod
Be sure to tell her she'll need to go Snipe hunting for bait because thats all mermaids bite on... Jeff
Quote from: ReelFishingProblems on November 09, 2018, 09:04:46 PM
Thank you all for the encouragement and the examples of what can be done with abalone.
My youngest daughter (5) wants me to put a mermaid decal on this rod because it is now "her" mermaid rod
wait till she wants to put hearts, stars, magic glitter, etc on "her" rod... you better build her a rod and let her add what she wants..
been there already
http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=20515.15
I have to let the wife take the girls snipe hunting. She has many stories of her uncles sending her after the elusive species!
My 7 year old has an electric guitar covered in butterflies, hearts, and stars.
I will gladly put almost anything on a rod or guitar to keep their interest in it. But I think it is mostly good experiences, other than that, I'm happy raising gear heads
So cool, Nick, great work!