Udder stuff...

First...since I can't seem to get google to allow me to reply to comments...indulge me for a few replies right here. Yes, I've tried rebooting. Ain't working. Get error messages. I hate error messages.
So below are a few replies to Mijo who has bothered to even read this divvel, let alone reply. But hey...he's the only one that knows this is here.

Mijo bruddah...you knows I loves ya...but...
#1) As for golf...I tried it when I was 10 or 12. My dad liked the game. I went out and hit more than a few buckets of balls. My dad sagely advised me to "stick to baseball." I know he was looking to me to be able to share a Sunday doing something he enjoyed. I'm quite sure I disappointed him yet one more time.
Since I can't hit a ball worth shit, I actually admire that you can. I have long since lost any interest in the "sport."
#2) Thanks for pointing out that the rod is lacking a reel seat, I hadn't noticed. I'll correct that as soon as a set of hardware shows up. I've ordered it 3 times, and I am optimistic that it will finally show up in the near future. I'd order from somewhere else but the insert has been cut and finished and I need a particular set of hardware to finish this rod.
#3) You don't like my bags? Tough shit. At least my bags actually fit the rod sections. And though you were once a teacher...that is not piping. Piping is round. That is Bias Tape. Makes an easy job of a hanging loop as well.
#4) Yes, there is shrink-wrap on that grip. I felt it prudent to protect 25 bucks worth of Portuguese cork from the filth and ravages of Central AZ. That rod was sitting on the bench for too long and I needed to keep it in "as new" condition. I hope you understand?

So...where was I?
Oh yeah, udder stuff...

Well...there's Bonniethedog...

She loves games. She's a red, smooth-coat Border Collie. Unusual looking for a collie but I chose her because I love the breed (she's my third Border Collie), has wheels turning inside her head and can think things through (wish I could), and comes from a wonderful working bloodline of collies. She has a strong work ethic (much stronger than mine, and I have always somewhat prided myself on my own work ethic), and she is relatively easy to care for in the rathole. Having fur that is short, allows her to be a bit more comfortable living in central AZ, rarely needs a good brushing but she does enjoy it, always ready to play (work for her as I sadly don't own any sheep), and has a somewhat meager appetite. I love this dog...she doesn't eat me out of house and home, loves Frisbee and is damn good at it, not terribly interested in balls, but loves you to throw the rope. She will do flips, twists and knows I love it when she does. She does get her snadwhiches, ice cream, cookies and the like.
And before anyone rags on me for owning a Border Collie living as I do, giving her a half a ham sandwhich or a bite of ice cream, she is not an unhappy dog, is healthy, stays occupied, amuses herself without being destructive, and is a wonderful, smart, intelligent companion, though overly protective of me and this stupid rodshop. But she is after all a sheepdog, and, given the opportunity, a damn good one I'd wager.

Lastly for what this is worth...
I want to thank a brother/customer for giving me this godess. I was sent a picture and description of her when she was 6 weeks old and living in Missouri with her momma on a breeder's farm. I was asked if I would like to have her and all I could muster as a thank you was "Hell yes!"
She cost the brother a hell of a lot of money. More than I could afford.
3 weeks later when she was old enough to part from momma and fly on an airplane, I drove into hell (Phoenix) and picked her up at the airport from American Airlines.
She just celebrated her second birthday last month (August 9) with cake and ice cream. She let me have some too.

Now onto stuff...
Yes I live in my shop. It's quite glamorous I assure you.
Some of you might think that everyday I am hunched over the bench, diligently, laboriously planing out strips one at a time. Well, I do. Sometimes in the summer, it ain't easy, more than a chore, and amounts to drudgery.
In fact a lot of what I do I consider drudgery. But it needs doing or it don't get done. I know because I've checked.
A few things aren't drudgery. I actually enjoy planing strips. It's still really the only part of this process that I do enjoy.

So anyway... today I measure, cut and glue up the rod tube to fit the bag that I finished out yesterday with Mijo's horrid "piping." He doesn't like it. I don't care what he likes. He can make whatever he damn well pleases in his own shop. This is how I mostly make mine. They look like mine and that's that. But they DO actually fit the rod. Not an inch or so short...ya know?

So anyway...below is the tube that I put together for the brother in NY.

Measured, cut, epoxy measured out ready to mix and apply

...and now glued up, excess' wiped clean and the mixing cup will stay on my bench until tomorrow. I use it to make sure the epoxy on the tube is set properly.

This tube came from Landmark Components. I use this tube exclusively. The tube is mill finished. Expensive lesson learned after some pricey annodized and powder coated tubes got banged up and fookin' ugly in the back of my truck. This tube will look no worse for wear after sliding behind the seat in your truck, on the dashboard, or in the bed a year later. My kind of tackle.

There are other things I do to try to have fun in the shop. They don't ALWAYS involve Bonnie.

Above is a bodkin I made out of the cut-off of the above NY brother's rod.

The cut-off is chucked up and the ends shaped and one end drilled to accept the needle, signed and two coats of spar varnish. The brother is a more than accomplished fly tyer and maybe he'll enjoy using a bodkin with his old Hockey number (No 27) inscribed on it made from the rod he ordered and has patiently waited for. Maybe it don't mean squat, but I made it anyway. He can do with it what he wishes.

I make other things from cut-offs. Ferrule plugs, ferrule honers, etc. Use your imagination.

OK...10:00 am here and it's, once again, getting hot.

Time to slam the doors, fire up a fan, take a nap...then off to the library to get some new movies to watch come dark.

Later...

Mike