Some will have seen my activity on the fly tying side of this forum... I've never ventured here before SO be gentle with me...

For those that know me in the fly tying side of the forum you'll know I designed & developed a UV acrylic called Bug-Bond... OK so what has this got to do with fishing rods... well a hell of a lot. I've developed my Tack-Free material to such an extent that I've been testing it on rod blanks here in the UK (for 12 months now)... and I now have some results that I'd like to share with you guys...

Now apart from playing around with it I have never built a rod in my life before... and I decided to build up a Harrison Advanced Rods Lohric blank 9' 9#. Using only Bug-Bond and a UV light I built up the rod in less than two hours (excluding handle - still have to epoxy that!!) and took it fishing an hour later... I had to have my lunch!!

So build time apart what is notable about this build?

Well... Hopefully the images speak for themselves... suffice to say with minimal tools and no turner this is what I achieved... I've caught fish on it to prove it can be done (16lb pike)... So in future a rod ring repair in say 5 minutes including prep and cure and ready to fish again... no long curing times!!

Very cute with no wraps and this stuff cures from 3.5 seconds... this isn't a mock up and can be substantiated by Steve Harrison...

So what do you boys think...?

No thread wraps, now THAT is a new one on me.

fae

__________________
"The problems we face today are there because the people who work for a
living are now outnumbered by those who vote for a living." -- Anonymous

in fairness, Mick Bell posted a photo earlier this year of a threadless rod BUT reading his posts on another forum he was using different materials for the encapsulation process.

This is using 100% UV cured resin that cures tack-free... and no one has appeared to document the capture of a fish on a threadless fly rod... or am I wrong?

D

Sounds good to me......the rod will have to be thrash tested to see if you can rely on the epoxy/adhesive alone. Another problem I foresee is that snake rings aren't always perfectly engineered and the feet won't sit flat on the blank without pressure from the whipping thread to manipulate them. Sorry to be pessamistic but I've thought of another problem. After whipping all the rings on a rod you have time to eye them through in a line and tweak them. This takes a bit time and I find it better to put the rod down and go back to it and check again as you can stare at it too long. This is where the fast drying adhesive falls short. I reckon It sounds good as a fast cure whipping epoxy...

OK... dead easy... This is the first rod I have built... I have tested doing individual rod rings and whippings over the last 12 months... then I said to Steve Harrison that I wanted a blank to build a complete rod... lining up the eyes was a test I agree... however this can be done by putting a micro dot of fluid on the foot and curing it... if you are not happy take it off and start again... it is really that simple and I did cock an eye or two and had to start over...

However... this was built this way to prove a point... it can be done and you can catch fish with it... ultimately a rod repair when you are away is simple and can be done in 5 minutes (without thread).

Yes, as a quicker finish to standard whipping is probably what most would do.

There may be value in the method. The customer will have the final say. Will he be happy to pay the price for a premium quality fly rod build that has taken only a few minutes to assemble. Assembly that requires little skill? Will he be confident that an unsupported threadless wrap will go the pace year after year?


David.

__________________
David Norwich Rod Maker. Custom made Fly Rods.

Carbon Fibre Rod Repairs.. Favourite Fly Rods new or old, renovated or repaired.

Rod Building Supplies Fly Rod Blanks, Guides, Threads, Flex Coat.

The David Norwich YouTube Channel

David

It was done to prove a point... that it can be done... not to say this is how you should be doing it...

Hi, You asked for opinions. My points had nothing to do with me personally using it, it was a generalization. I was putting forward concerns on issues that may possibly occur over time for any amateur builder making a rod, or any manufacturer who guarantees his product would naturally do. The current method has a proven track record that we know we can rely on.

Will it last the test of time under constant exposure to UV ray bombardment and constant flexing? As far as I know it is only recently been available. So no long term testing has been undertaken on its use for a holding on rod guides long term? Correct me though if I'm mistaken there though. I'm not putting a downer on it, certainly for a quick repair it sounds good. As I stated, it may very well be good, but longevity in use possibly remains to be proven?

David.

__________________
David Norwich Rod Maker. Custom made Fly Rods.

Carbon Fibre Rod Repairs.. Favourite Fly Rods new or old, renovated or repaired.

Rod Building Supplies Fly Rod Blanks, Guides, Threads, Flex Coat.

The David Norwich YouTube Channel

18 months of field testing and more in the way of lab testing... and yes, long term rod testing has commenced... we'll see how much hammer it can take... thank you for your comments.

This would be good for those quick repairs that most shops have to do to get a guy back on the water, I've used UV Knot Sense in a pinch to ensure that a weekend trip wasn't ruined, so I think there may be a use for this kind of system for sure.

Colin