Homemade

[The Sweetcorn Kid]

Wow, thats brilliant!!!

Can't wait to see more. :hat:

[J.T]

Nice MGs, looking forward to the finished net. :thumb:

[MGs]

Thanks. I will post more photos and descriptions as I go along. My most pressing issue is getting hold of hardwood in small quantities. I have found supplies of ash etc. but the minimum order value is £750 which seems a little excessive for one landing net (I am not looking to set up a production line). Hardwood can be bought in DIY stores, usually in thin strips, for decorative edging, so one option I am looking at is a Walker style net, where I can laminate the arms myself. Another would be to laminate a hoop from thinner veneer type strips. Finding ash suitable for steam bending is looking like a tall order.

[Mark]

I love to see a work in progress, thanks MGs. :thumb:

[MGs]

Stage two complete.





Four coats of varnish, cleaning the cork and a bit of a polish and the handle will be done. Then the hard work starts

[Mark]

It's looking good MGs. :thumb:

[MGs]

First indoor (garage) test, indicates that although the handle can manage my 30 inch modern net, it is a little unwieldy. Given that most of my efforts at the moment are focused on roach, I have decided to aim at a 20/21 inch net. To this end I have ordered a suitable mesh, my first spend on this project, but only £7.

Still considering net style. Having received a PM, which has put me off the hoop style, I have been having a think about the two arm Walker style, but with some modification.

I have been looking at my modern net, which has two interlocking pieces of plastic, one with the thread, the other with a hole, both with composite arms embedded in them. I was wondering if this could be replicated in wood. To this end I have been to my local DIY store. The simplest solution would be to drill two holes in the mahogany block (or two half blocks) I am aiming to use as the spreader and insert two hardwood dowels. 15mm dowel looks elegant, however given a 20 inch length it seemed to be too flexible. I have therefore erred on the side of caution and have gone for 18mm. More money handed over, £6. At this price I should have bought some 15mm, just in case. The 18mm seems to have little or no flex over the required length. It may require turning down where it fits in to the block but should cope with some shaving down over its length to provide a more pleasing profile.

[Weyfarer]

What about something like this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Replacement-F ... 20b8894c5f

It'll save you a lot of hassle and you could probably "age" it by some means.

[MGs]

Looks like an elegant solution.

However, I have shut down my ebay account and have no intention of opening another.
They were putting purchases on my account which I had not made and expecting me to sort it out with the seller. They were also not processing purchases I did make properly. Their customer service "dis-service" department are worse than useless. E-mails just receive a stock reply which does not refer to or answer any of the questions submitted. The online chat facility is just a way of occupying time as they just keep saying not my department and transferring you to someone else. Having spent approximately 20 hours trying to sort it out, I decided it was easier to close the account.

Sorry.....end of rant. I will look for something similar, thanks.


Ahhh. Just spotted a problem, thought it would be too good to be true. The internal arm diameter is only 8mm. This would be fine for carbon etc. 8mm wood couldn't take the weight/strain of the net + fish. Fitting the arms externally would be an option. I will contact them and see

[Nobby]

That same seller does another spreader which takes thicker arms, why not contact them and request a sale off-ebay?

Here are his shop details.....

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/PAULS-ANGLING- ... 4340.l2563

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Replacement-F ... 2eb69e45c5



I'd be interested to know what your correspondent said about a 'hoop' net frame as I was thinking of getting some made by a walking stick maker in my area in ash, which grows around here in abundance. If anyone wants to cut some down to age over the Winter it is easily spotted as it is the only tree that has black buds. It's also one of the very few woods that burns whilst still green, by the way.


As you can see, you have quite an audience on this one At least two of us have already had a go and converting something else and are keen to see how you get on.