Works for me too, can also stay to 1pm if needed
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Got to test out the century today, I'm impressed! Threw a 3/4 oz bucktail, a 1 oz lead head and zoom fluke, a loaded redfin and a super strike darter.

Didn't want to really load the rod hard, but some decent casts into it, the action is different than what I use to but once you get it down, it throws great.

After i went to the dock and did some water casting i hit the local football field. Was able to get a 3/4 bucktail 65 yards with no effort.

All the plugs felt great on the rod.

Can't wait til it's fully wrapped and I can really cast it and put some time in with the finished rod.

Very impressed
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jsut a piece of info for those not in the class....the ferrels are wrapped but not epoxied so i asked people not to lay into it 100 percent yet. 65 yards with 3/4 OZ is a great cast!

it's all in the twirl

Just a nice side arm lobe got the rod to throw that jig that far, any wait to finish it and throw a lefthook pilgrim on it, it's going 125 yards all day!!
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OK , lets start at 9:30AM Sat morning.

Also , anyone who has not PM'ed me their guide starting locations please do so . i want to check them over so you at least have a good place to start. the sooner I get your numbers , the sooner i can deterimine if they are OK or need a little adjustment. then you can test cast and know you are starting off pretty close.

This is a sweet rod. I wrapped all the guides last night and cemented the tip in place and went out for some casing this morning. The rod does all the work when casting a 2 oz pencil. With my other rod a 1201L i have to get behind the cast to achieve the same distance. I was casting around 85 yards, and i know my form isn't that pretty. A real pleasure to cast, now the real test is how it fights a big fish.

this rod has some backbone it's going to be able to handle anyfish you can hit, you'll just need some patience in current, it's not a winch rod, a really like this blank.

My surf fishing is going to be selective this summer, I probably end up some places that Chris was talking about yesterday.

Did the cross wrap last night, came out nice, just have to pack it some more and it should look sweet, used metallic red, silver, metallic blue and black

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/...2/9b7ff55c.jpg

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/...2/abe54e92.jpg
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Should also note that the bottom of the wrap isn't finished, needs one more layer. Just ran out of steam.
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Very nice chris, im going stealth with a little decoration, you went all out. Awesome job.

I like all my stuff to be bright and loud and kind of obnoxious, I'll post some pics of my other build I'm doing.
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Nice job Chris. Pack it , let it all relax and pack again.

On the ends , are those supposed to be half diamonds? Either make them half or whole. You can start a short black wrap to get to exactly halfway. Do it on both ends.

I like the alternating Blue/Red!

that's a good way to make sure it stays your's not someone elses

yeah i always put my name on the blank somewhere and under the reel seat.

my dad had someone pry open his ski racks and take 4 boat rods, he was able to recover them cause he engraved the reel seat under the reel and the bottom of the reel foot. found em at a local flea market

What time this week?

10AM

Come up to Freeport, we can cast the rods out back at the farm

do we need to bring our rods? I don't want to screw up the trim bands by transporting the top half if we don't need them for class.

If you are confident in what you have and I am not doing the coating for you , then you do not need the rods.

However :)

I recommend you let me do a final inspection of the finished product before you apply your own finish. It will be my last chance to "save the day" for you if you have made any major errors.

Every time I go to Freeport it cost me about 500 bucks! If I stop at Kittery on the way up that costs me another 300 buck ! :)

I love those 1/2 day introductory outdoor lessons thay give at LLBeane. Dirt cheap group lesson with top notch instructors. I did the trap shooting and the fly casting last time. Was supposed to be a group lesson of 7 people. The shooting session I was in had just 2 people and we used these $1000 LLBeane shotguns. The fly casting had just one student , me. Since I have had a fly rod since I was twelve and since I was the only guy in the class , I got the advanced private lesson for the morning. Both classes were great experiences. I highly recommend them.

Some pics from today

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/...2/d3d6d620.jpg

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/...2/6a059b2b.jpg

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/...2/72260b18.jpg

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/...2/ff8c7e08.jpg

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/...2/028888f6.jpg
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I'm at kittery now. Cableas is up here too. Your total for Freeport is low, even with the employee discount my wife gets, staying overnight and stuff, has been painful
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http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/...2/d5537e0c.jpg

Here's the last pic I took of saltheart heating the epoxy to remove bubbles.

The epoxy process is very similiar to the plug building way, just a different product.
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Man, seeing the wrinkles on the backs of my hands has ruined my year! :(

The whole class went well IMO. Everyone did a great job bulding 5their rods and the final product on the Century Stealth makes an awesome fishing machine.

Someone asked about the cost of the parts. The total for parts (not including shrink wrap which people paid for seperately) was $59.73 plus shipping and assorted transportation charges of about $10 per rod. I charged only $40 (very poor Estimate on my part as it turns out). So You guys paid $40 for the parts and including shipping etc , I kicked in another $30 per rod extra myself for parts. Multiply by the 7 guys I was over budget by $200+ for the parts for the class and I ate the overruns in cost myself. This does not even include epoxy , tape , the D thread , etc. Not complaining , just making sure people know they got more than their money's worth in that respect. We used Fuji parts and in general the more expensive Fuji parts (Deluxe Seats, KW Guides, Alconite guide rings, Fuji Alconite tips) so that all added up faster than I expected. Next class I'll have to charge more for parts.

One comment about the specific picture showing me flaming the thread finish. What a snapshot doesn't show is that the whole prtocess of flaming the ferrel wrap takes a total of about 4 seconds! Not a lot of heat at all.

Anyway , congrats to the first graduates of the Saltheart School Academy of Rodbuilding. :)

I learned quite a bit durring the class. what i did not expect was; how mentally relaxing rodbuilding is once you sit down and actually get to wrapping. Thanks for Teaching me this great hobby.

Jon.

I had a good time at the class. I learned a lot, now i just need to perfect what i learned.

I need to fix my powerwrapper, I have 2 flyrods to do now. I missed the bubble burster trick. But I did get to see some real snow this weekend.

Mike how long after the epoxy is cured do I wait before I can take the rod for a real casting session?
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Depends on how warm the room is where it cured.

Some say overnight and go. In the interest of long term crack formation delay , i would wait 3 days.

The two rods left for me to coat are done. Please PM me to arrange a pickup time. This sat 10 AM would be good for me.

i went and really test casted the rod on thursday, i was using the new zee and brand new 30lb fireline.

I counted the cranks of the handle and did the math so i know the measurements are accurate.

once the line breaks in a little bit and i get use to the slower action of the rod i should be able to squeeze some distance out of it.

But was able to throw a 1.5 gibbs pencil 105 yards, loaded redfin 88 yards, ss 1.75oz needle 94 yards and a bunch of other stuff i didnt measure just fine.

Sweet spot is in my findings 1.5 to 2.5oz, but it did throw a 3.25oz bm needle with no issues.

Cant wait to put some serios time in with it and get use to the slower action that the rods I used last season.

Casting any shape 1.5 OZ lure 100 yards is really good. As you get used to the action you can also gradually increase the length of your casting tail. This will also boost distance some.

Before I unstick this I want to be sure everyone has finished their rod successfully. If you have not and there is anything I can do to help , PM me by the end of March. I want everyone to have ended up with a nice rod .