Monthly Archives: December 2015
Rod Finishing Tips
Finishes are the key to a good-looking and long-lasting rod if you use the proper techniques.
Experiment! You’ve got to experiment to see which finishes will suit your temperament as a rodmaker as well as the peculiarities of your environment: temperature, humidity & the like.
All of these affect results!
We Buy Vintage Silk Threads!
Rodmakers, restorationists, & collectors, Golden Witch is actively seeking to expand our line of vintage silks. If you have a collection, we’re interested in buying it. Our purpose is two-fold. We are seeking to develop a more complete “library” of old silk spools so we can better match vintage colors with contemporary offerings for those times when you need a very close match on either a restoration or a reproduction. We will also resell vintage silks when they are available in sufficient quantity. Please email us at info@goldenwitch.com to discuss your collection.
How to Order Ferrules
WHEN ORDERING FERRULES, THE NOMINAL SIZE, THAT IS TO SAY, THE SIZE LISTED IN THE CATALOG, IS EITHER:
A) For straight (or truncated) ferrules:equivalent to the Inside Diameter of the ferrules where they mate with the wood at the ferrule stations and NOT the ID of the female where the female accepts the male slide.
B) For all step down, restoration step down, or reproduction ferrules: equivalent to the Outside Diameter of the male slide or, by necessity, also equivalent to the Inside Diameter of the female where the female accepts the male.
Guide & Line Size Reference
Ever sit and scratch your top-knot for hours trying to determine what size stripping guide to use on your creation?
Here’s a rough guideline:
- 8MM 2-3 WEIGHT
- 9MM 3-4 WEIGHT
- 10MM 4-6 WEIGHT
- 11MM 6-8 WEIGHT
- 12MM 8-10 WEIGHT
For real silk lines, drop one guide size.
Introducing the ACW Silver Snake Hook Tender
New from Arcane Component Works, we’re pleased to offer Silver Snake™ Hook Tenders. Like so much of what we do at Golden Witch and Arcane Component Works, these tenders offer rodmakers a new twist on a trusty old component. Silver Snakes™ are crafted from solid nickel silver wire.
The GW Nickel Silver Hook Tender Series
Hook tenders, or hook keepers, tend to be a dime a dozen; well, perhaps a dime apiece back in the day when our coinage was silver. Generally, they are an inexpensive piece of bent wire or, at their fanciest, a thin saddle of bent sheet metal securing a loose ring.
References Post
This is a test references post. Come back soon!
Regarding Burnishing
We devote so much space to variants on this single tool because it is the one tool that makes the difference between professional and amateur thread workmanship. Many talented amateurs wrap as well as the fellows who do this for a living, but then they put finish on the wraps before taking the time to burnish each wrap (and each flat of each wrap on cane rods). Different burnishers work better for different rodmakers, but no rodmaker should be without one or two that feel good in the hand, are highly polished so that they don’t tear the thread, and are kept clean so they don’t mar the thread with oils, old finish, &c. This is one more example of the unavoidable fact that good tools used properly can make a real & perceptible difference in the quality of the rods to which you sign your name.
Eliminating Thick Glue Lines in Cork
- I use and recommend TiteBond II wood glue for glue-up.
Reel Seats by Golden Witch
REEL PROBLEMS, REAL SOLUTIONS
Have you ever been fly fishing over a rough & tumble cascade, casting, drifting, and retrieving your fly, landing the occasional fast river fish, then casting again? Did your reel wiggle loose?