Home Made Fiberglass and Graphite Rod Blanks

[oc1]

I think you might come to a point where the lack of equipment will limit your development of blanks.

Development of blanks?  I'm just trying to make something to fish with and have a little fun along the way.
-steve

[steelfish]

High modulus is stiff and brittle.  Low modulus is flexible and stretches.  When you bundle them together and then bend the bundle, the brittle pieces break first.
-steve

I know nothing about any technical stuff on "rod blank constructions" but that makes a lot of sense, since I have read many times guys saying that new really high modulus blanks like im8 and higher are brittle, super light but you have to handle the rod with "care" while the same rod make with all graphite and lowe modulus blanks like im6 are more flexible much less brittle while still really light and made 100% graphite.

[sdlehr]

Steve, Garrison and Carmichael's book on building fly rods goes through the calculations necessary to determine the amount of material needed at each section of rod based on the moments of inertia calculated at various intervals along the rod. As you have said, you have to have enough material so the tip doesn't break under load - but not so much that the weight affects the action - these calculations are intended for makers of split-bamboo rods - but the physics is the same - you just have a different material with a different density and modulus of elasticity. I can scan the pages for you if you wish, PM me. You will need to know some more information about your materials - density was one - I studied the calculations about a year ago and no longer remember all the details - but it was fun to learn. As I understand it, it is modification of a standard engineering problem, the math involved has applications to cantilevers and construction.

[oc1]

Hi Sid,

That sounds like the deflection calculations engineers use.  At each point along the rod the amount of deflection is determined using the modulus and amount of material.  When the integration is plotted it creates the hyperbolic curve of the rod.  I've played around with it to come up with the interval at which an additional strand is added.  My problem is that after impregnating the fibers and binding them the surface is not smooth and must be sanded before another layer can be added.  Most of what is sanded off is the binding material but it is imprecise and does not remove all the binding material but removes some of the longitudinal fiber.  I've recently started weighing the rod before and after sanding to get an idea of how much material is removed and then making a guess at how much of that is binding and how much is longitudinal fiber.  Another wild guess is needed for the proportion of resin and fiber.  50% resin is considered good if it is well squeegeed, 37% resin for professional work, probably 60% for me. You can get some idea of the resin:fiber ratio by looking at the sanding dust.  Light color resin dust and gray color carbon dust.

I'm of two minds about whether I should continue to bind the fiber bundles with more of the same fiber or bind it with plastic tape that can is removed after curing.  Tape leaves a slightly smoother surface but it's really difficult to use and still has to be sanded.  Mostly, I worry about the lack of hoop strength when binding with tape and have seen splintering at a break.  Rods made by rolling with prepreg seem to have woven longitudinal and axial (probably predominately longitudinal) fibers with the axial fibers providing the hoop strength.

-steve

[oc1]

OK.  This is the last one.  I couldn't stand that Shimano Gold Demi reel or the graphite rod it was on.  The latest rod has somewhat less low modulus (T700) fiber and more intermediate modulus (IM7) fiber.  It also got a skim coat of resin with thickener and green pigment.  The rod was then block sanded to remove all the skim coat except where it had filled in a depression or divot  The skim coat was followed up with a UV resistant clear coat (Aluzine).  9'7", 2.2 mm tip, 4.5 ounces before the wrapping, counterweight and final coats of resin.  It's a nice stick; the best of the lot.

The Langley Target reel with CT conversion and magnets was removed from another rod where it had been well-abused.  The more I use these reels the more I like them.  They cast really well and it's the right reel for the situation.  With no drag, no antireverse, no eccentric, ramp, yolk or springs, no ball bearings, no levelwind, there is not much left to go wrong.  It can be splashed and put up wet day after day or just left outside in the elements for weeks.  Squirt some low viscosity oil in the ports and it runs like new again.  Seemingly bullet proof.  I worry about the aluminum corroding but it hasn't been too bad.  There is some corrosion on the exposed part of the spool but the arbor is clean.  I have spares but should not need them for a few years.



Time for another project.
-steve

[mhc]

Amazing work Steve, I can't see the latest photo but I don't need to - this whole project is beyond what I thought was possible.

Mike

[oc1]

Thanks Mike.  The link should be fixed now.
-steve

[xjchad]

Wow! 

I love it Steve!  Amazing work, beautiful rod!

Can't wait to see it in action!

[sdlehr]

Dang, STeve, that's incredible! I don't know how it feels, or how well it functions, but it looks dang good!

Time for another project.
-steve

But you've barely been doing this for a month!

[Tiddlerbasher]

  oh my

[oc1]

But you've barely been doing this for a month!

Way more than a month.  The family is beginning to whisper behind my back.  It's fun, but I only needed two good rods.
-steve

[oldmanjoe]

But you've barely been doing this for a month!

Way more than a month.  The family is beginning to whisper behind my back.  It's fun, but I only needed two good rods.
-steve

   LOL   Glade  I am not the only one ,   They just don`t under stand sometimes the importance of it. 

[Fishy247]

Any way you look at it, it's a beautiful blank! it also looks like you have it perfectly balanced. Are you holding it with just a single finger under the reel?

[Dominick]

 The family is beginning to whisper behind my back.  -steve

Steve, have you considered whether those voices you hear are real or...?     Dominick

[oc1]

 The family is beginning to whisper behind my back.  -steve

Steve, have you considered whether those voices you hear are real or...?     Dominick

Real.... imagined.... divined through supernatural insight.... it's all the same to me.
-steve