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Amundson 1005-4

2K views 16 replies 8 participants last post by  Maverick 
#1 · (Edited)
I recieved a 10' 5 wt Amundson blank and reel seat from Jack Simpson of Carribou Troutfitters last week. This is going to be a great lake rod. Jack and Brian Chan worked on the design of the rod and it is a very crisp rod capable of roll casting 60' of line with a 20' leader (so Jack assures me). I can't wait to get it on the water myself. I thought I would share the build process with you all as I go.

When I got the blank and reel seat, I immediately installed the latter.





Yesterday, I went down to Package Express in Sumas to pick up the rest of the components. I am afraid that I am not a "true" rod builder as I don't glue up and turn my own grips, but on the other hand, the burl insets on the one I ordered will add an extra touch to the finished rod.



I will continue to post new pictures as the build progresses.

The Amundson rod is a beautiful, deep, metallic green in colour and the factory models have a matching dark green wrap. I wanted something a bi distinctive, and chose Gudebrod Gunmetal thread. Untreated, it is very light in tone, but once the finish is applied (no Colour preserver on the wraps, with the exception of the inlay) the thread goes a darker grey, that should match up nicely with the titanium reel seat and guides. I have just finished the wraps, and will epoxy the wraps this afternoon.




So, I took yesterday off to go fishing (sturgeon [1] and cutts [0]) and only got back to apply the second coat of finish and a couple special touches las night. I use Flex-coat Lite epoxy as I fnd it is easier to handle (fewer bubbles, etc) and I like the option of adding 1,2 or more coats to my wraps without adding a whole lot of build up.

a lot of manufacturers are adding alignment dots to their ferrulesso you don't have to eye-ball the guides to be sure they are all in line, but I decided to do the same thing with junglecock nails instead of round paint dots. I mentioned the idea to Christian at Rierside Fly and Tackle, and he sugested turning the nails so the narrow white tips were pointed at each other. So....


For the last 3 or 4 rods I have built, I have been playing around with feather inlays (they really should be called overlays) and this is my latest attempt.



I mentioned earlier that the threads should darken once I coated them. I used colour preserver on the inlay, but not on the rest of the thread wraps. the difference?...



Overall, I am happy with the result, but not satisfied yet with my work. Speaking of work, those of you commenting on the amount of time I have taken, I am off work now for a couple of weeks (SFU cancelled classes for the Olympics) and I have spent about 19-20 hours over the past 4 days and quite a few hours planning the final rod.
 
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#4 ·
Amundson 1005-4

Yes I will be watching this build with great interest. Sounds like it will make a great chroni rod. I will be anciously awaiting a full preformance report. Being a 10' rod it will be of benifit to tubers and tooners. A listing of costs would also be of interest to me as well.

dave
 
#10 ·
Obviously I haven't actually tried it, but just flexing the blank, it looks to be a mdium fast to fast rod. Quite a stiff lower 2/3 and a fairly sensitive tip.
 
#14 ·
Thanks Dave. I kill 2 birds with one stone on this. I put a dab of colour preserver on the rod/wrap and using tweezers, i place the feather. There are a couple minutes where you can adjust the feather to your liking. Leave it for a couple hours minimum (overnight is better) then cover with epoxy. For the alignment feathers, I didn't want the ferrule wraps to have colour preserver on them, so I put one coat of epoxy on, left it for 16 hours and then used the above method to place the feathers.
 
#15 ·
Well, I haven't been out on the water with this rod yet, but I have done some lawn casting down at the school yard at the end of the block. I was chucking a 5 or 6 year-old SA weight forward 5 wt line. This stick is fast!! I was able to punch out 80' with very little effort, and am sure I will be out-casting that distance once I get a little familiarity with the rod. The alignment inlays work perfectly and and the beauty of them is they are on the top of the rod as you are casting and fishing. Nice to be able to see and admire them whenever I want. (Yeah, I know that sounds pretty self-centered, and it is!) Anyway, I would recommend this rod (either as a blank to build, or as a finished product from your dealer) as a lake rod for anyone looking to get a new one. I think the MSRP is about $250, and the build cost me about $225. Not a great savings, but I got what I wanted.
 
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