The Hammer - Completed!

I am happy to say that The Hammer has been completed and shipped. I certainly hope that the new owner receives it safe and sound, and that he is happy with it.

The build went as expected, with one small hitch. I had an issue with one of the guides used on the rod and had to order a replacement. This added almost a week.

Here is a short slideshow that I put together with the photo's I was able to take:

The Hammer Continued!

The handle section is complete and so far the total weight of the rod is 5.48 ounces.
The guides still need to be wrapped and the finish still has yet to be applied, but I am hoping that the total finished weight is under 6 ounces.

The handle came out just as I had hoped.
The Charcoal Silvertone wood has beautiful tones and contrasts, and goes very will with the color of the St. Croix 4F1006.4 blank.

I will be starting the wrapping process today and will certainly post photo's form all to see.
I plan to use Black thread for the primary color. I believe it will accompany the Charcoal Silvertone wood very well. I plan to use Dark Green and Matte Silver Metallic for accent and trim bands as they will accent the Shiny Gunsmoke hardware and the color of the blank.

I believe this is going to be one of the nicest rods I've ever had the pleasure to building, but time will tell.

Tight lines!
Brian

"The Hammer" - Updated

I have received most of the components for "The Hammer".
The only item I am still waiting on is the Charcoal Silvertone wood to arrive, and then it's game on!

When the components arrived I inspected everything to make sure nothing was broken or defective. Upon inspecting the guides I couldn't help but notice how light they were in physical weight, so I busted out the digital scale.

To my amazement the entire guide set (10 guides plus the tip-tip) weighed in at .08 ounces, or 2.1 grams! The reel seat skeleton weighed in at .72 ounces.
Together this is combined weight of only .8 ounces!.
The wooden inlays and reel seat insert will add a couple of ounces at most, so the end product should be extremely lightweight and ultra sensitive!

I am even more eager to get started now than I was just a week ago. Getting these items in to my hands has given me the bug. I can't wait to get started on "The Hammer"

Here are a few pictures of the guides, reel seat hardware, and the custom made labels:

Project ~ "The Hammer"

I was fortunate enough to be asked to build a Fly Rod for Woodland Rivers Forum, which is based in Michigan (http://kmfproductions.com/phpbb/index.php).

The rod was raffled off as Woodland Rivers' way of showing their appreciation to their members. The drawing took place January 21, 2009, and I have since contacted the winner (Ta5teless), and together he and I have come up with a plan of action.

The components for the build were just ordered this afternoon, so it will take a week or two before I receive the materials.

The blank is going to be a St. Croix Legend Ultra 10' 0" 6wt, 4pc (model 4F1006.4).
I am using Titanium framed stripper guides from American Tackle, and RECoil single foot fly guides (RSFX) to finish it off. Together this combination should produce an extremely lightweight finished rod. The blank weighs 2.6 ounces, and I'm estimating a complete, finished weight of 4.5 to 5 ounces. Give me a few weeks and I'll have a definite answer on that one.
The rod will have a hand turned wooden insert in the reel seat, as well as matching wood inlays throughout the Full Wells style handle.

I will certainly post pictures of the build process once I get started.
I am very eager to get started on this build, for a few reasons:
* It's nice to support Woodland Rivers, and "give back" a bit of what they've given me.
* I've never built on that St. Croix blank before, or any of the SCIV blanks for that matter.
* I can sense how enthusiastic Tas5teless was about the build, and he has given me full creative freedom. I can do whatever I want!

Tight lines!