Hi,
I've been thinking about turning my own inserts to fit Struble skeletons, there are lots of problems when it comes to wood and water, sealing or stabilizing the timber can be a time consuming and dodgy task.
Having looked at the vacuum system used a lot in the States or messing with Birchwood gun stock oil, I decided to try using CA (super glue), it's a quick method and not hard to master once you have done the home work.

I've tried soaking the timbers first in acytone + perspex and using the CA without A&P soaking, both seem to work fine, the CA soaks in really well and at one stage had soaked about 2mm into the timber, which should give a good amount of protection.

I turned the timber down to about .15mm under size treated with CA (remember the gloves), then machined off the rough finish and sanded down with 400, 1000, 1200 wet and dry paper (used dry) and moved onto micro mesh (wet) 2000, 6000, 8000 and finished with 12000 grade + T-Cut.

Anyway the result

After 5 or 6 rubs of CA, the finish is now building up nicely, if you need to rush the job, Kicker can be used and it sends the CA off in about 3 mins, otherwise it's a good wait for the CA to fully cure.


When sanding down don't over work the timber, any more than 15 secs (dry paper) can produce enough heat to send the CA tacky, not good at 1400rpm!.


Glueing up. Note. the insert has been finished to size.




Finished insert and timber blank, I can't remember which type of Hardwood I used, it was 1 of 4 pieces I purchased of e-bay last year.
The seat is a Struble U-17


Reamed out to 20mm iirc, using a hole cutter from B&Q, I reverse the drill for the first couple of MMs to avoid ripping.


The cork is sealed with U-40, Yes I like it, I've rods 3 or 4 years old which where sealed from new and they look as good as the one pictured.


The blank. St Croix Legend Elite, 9ft 5wt


The bits and bobs.




Fuji Stipper followed by a matching single leg, the rest of the rings being H&H single leg snakes.


Pre Lacquer, Threadmaster lite was used, thread is Gudebrod 1892 with no CP, I think a340 gold (sage XP) would also work with this green blank.




The turner, hand made (I bet you guessed), microwave motor, runs at 6-7 rpm, 240v £12 of the bay.


Apologises for missing out a lot of the build, I'm struggling with spare time right now so needs must and all that.

Regards, V

__________________
"Perfection will do"

Looks great Gary, hats off to you, clever chap.
S.

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"A glint of sun has warmed the air,The flies will soon hatch out, To lure and tempt from their deep lair, The bonnie speckled trout." SKB tackle supporter. I love Furled Leaders.

Thanks Steven, pity I didn't have the time to show all the work involved with the reel seat insert, it opens up a lot of options for something a little different.

I'm working on a few grip idea's now, with luck I may have something to post soon.

I don't know what I'm going to do when my rod store is full, and that's not far away.

Regards, G...

__________________
"Perfection will do"

Perhaps you could sell a few off cheap G.

__________________
"A glint of sun has warmed the air,The flies will soon hatch out, To lure and tempt from their deep lair, The bonnie speckled trout." SKB tackle supporter. I love Furled Leaders.

Quality job well done.

Lots of stuff on Youtube with superglue like this one.




Look forward to seeing some more G


Gary
Nicho Bamboo Rod Co



.

LOL, perhaps

Regards, G

---------- Post added at 04:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:08 PM ----------

Thanks Gary, coming from a cane guy, that "means" a lot!! ps, that Vid is brilliant..

Regards, G

__________________
"Perfection will do"

I wish I'd had a go at making a grip a few weeks earlier, it was a lot easier than I expected, the cork was via e-bay and the composite rings came from Scott at Solway, 20 mins to glue and clamp, 24 hrs standing time to fully cure followed by 45 mins on the lathe, tools for shaping where steel files followed by 5 grades of sandpaper (rhino brand).

Bored to 19mm to take Struble U-20.



Regard, V

__________________
"Perfection will do"

Nice job Viking, I too made my own handles, and found it much easier than expected. Much more satisfying than buying one.

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"Water is peculiar stuff. It circulates mysteriously, rising invisibly from the sea as vapour, forming clouds, falling as rain, creating streams and rivers that return again to the sea. You can swallow it in sips, but it can swallow you whole if you fall into a deep place. You can't catch hold of it, but it can catch hold of you, even if you just look at it."

Thanks SC, I think the total job came out at about £14 (parts only) which is also a bonus, it does give you lots of options to make the finished rod that little bit different.

I've since treated the cork with U-40, it's something I'm convinced holds the filler in place (if used), a quick rub with a soapy clothe and it's like new.

Regards, V

__________________
"Perfection will do"

Nice job. What's the cork type between the rubberised and normal?