Re False Advertising in line weights - update - Kling, Barry W.
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Peter -
I feel as you do about longer rods. These are measurements I took from a rod
I own, a Phillipson PowerPakt 8.5' 5wt piece, and it's the sweetest casting
5wt 81/2ft rod I've used. It's a varnished rod, not impregnated like later
Phillipson's, so was probably made in the early 1950's. Not everyone likes
this style of taper but it's got a good pedigree - Phillipson used Granger's
tapers with some modifications. This was measured over varnish of average
thickness, so I'd deduct about 0.004" for the actual bamboo dimension. I
noted when my measurement wasn't exactly at the usual 5" interval for taper
specs, due to ferrules and the like, but a little extrapolation will get you
close enough. It has a distinctly swelled butt, though I think you could use
a more moderate swell and get a very similar-casting rod. At least, that's
what happened when I used the taper. It has lots of reserve power and flexes
enough in the butt to roll cast like a dream, but when you cast gently the
top third of the rod gives you a very delicate and accurate cast. Have
fun....
Barry
Phillipson PowerPakt 8'6" 5wt 3 piece
In.
from Tip Taper Notes
0 0.080 bottom of tiptop
5 0.097
10 0.120
15 0.134
20 0.149
25 0.160
30 0.163
35 0.163 At ferrule base 32 1/2 0.163
40 0.188 At ferrule base 2 1/2 0.180
45 0.211
50 0.223
55 0.241
60 0.241
65 0.241 At ferrule base 32 1/2 0.250
70 0.250 At ferrule base 2.75 0.275
75 0.282
80 0.294
85 0.307
90 0.324
95 0.375
100 0.375
105 0.375 102" long
-----Original Message-----
From: Peter A. Collin [mailto:]
Sent: Friday, October 19, 2001 3:51 PM
To: Rodmakers
Subject: Re: False Advertising in line weights - update
I just went out and cast the same rod I mentioned in my earlier post. This
morning I tried it with a 5 and a 6. I just tried it with a 7 and an 8. I
have come to the conclusion that the rod is a 7/8. Now, I am rather peeved
about this, because I did not want a 7/8, I wanted the 5 weight I set out to
build. The taper was listed as a 5 weight in the book I got it from. It
does not cast a 5 very well at all. You can not feel the rod loading behind
you on the backcast. My blank came out nicely, cosmetically and so forth,
but I don't even feel like finishing it anymore. I guess the moral to the
story is that you are taking somebody's taper dimensions completely on faith
unless you get to cast a similar rod beforehand. Maybe someday I will
attend a rodmaker's gathering, and defy anybody to tell me he likes the way
the rod casts with a 5 weight. I simply can not believe that personal taste
is my problem with the taper.
Which leads to another question - does anybody have a good taper for an 8
1/2 foot 5 weight? That is what this rod was supposed to be. I know many
bamboo guys like short rods, but I am not one of them. I can get over a
little extra weight for the better distance and line control a long rod
gives. I was intrigued by John Geirach's writing how his favorite rod is an
8 1/2 foot 5 weight Mike Clark. I heard a rumor that Clark's rod may be a
bit of a noodle. But I was heartened when I built an 8 1/2 foot rod for a
buddy this spring. It was a Ray Gould 6 weight taper. When I got done, it
turned out to be a 6/7, but I really loved the way it cast. I was tempted
to built another rod based on the same taper, but to shave a few thousandths
off and try for a 5. Problem is, the tip measurement is only about .065
inches on the original taper. I don't know if I would trust a tip any
smaller than that. Any suggestions/anecdotes?
Peter Collin
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