There's an interesting thread on the Bass Fishing Home Page (http://www.wmi.org/bassfish/bassboard/rods_reels/T35209.htm#26) discussing, from both the customer's and builder's viewpoints, what to do when you order a custom rod, pay for and receive it, but the blank is unacceptably crooked. What should you do as a customer? What should you do as a builder? The comments posted on BFHP are quite varied, wonder what the guys here think?

As a builder this should not have happened. I realize that things go though the cracks, but the blank should have been checked out !!!
I always check out all my blanks and if I do not like it I will either tell the customer, or just get them another blank!
When building a quality rod this should not happen.
The customer should get with the builder and they should be able to work it out.
I got a blank one time and it was off color from butt and tip. I got the customer another. Suppliers have two chances to check out a blank, when it comes in, and when it is about to be sent out

I doubt the blank was unacceptably crooked. All blanks are crooked, but most factories set their guides on the straightest axis so the customer never really notices any natural crook or warp. Most all fishermen will sight down a rod with the guides either straight up or straight down - never with the guides off to one side. If they did sight down the rod with the guides held at 90 degrees, they would see that their previously "straight" rods, are suddenly quite warped.

Many custom builders choose to orient the spine either on the top of the bottom of the rod, which will nearly always place any natural bend off to one side or the other. So most custom rods will appear "crooked" compared to the factory counterparts.

Certainly reputable custom builders should take it upon themselves to carefully check each item for quality. But from what I read on the BFHP, what the fellow has is normal blank, well within spec, that has been built with the spine oriented on either the top or the bottom.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/28/2004 09:03AM by Tom Kirkman.

Don't know where the spine was on this blank, but it sounds like it " might " have been able to be built with the bend going upward? But then again he should make it right
Right now I am building a light bass rod. Had an eglass blank I showed the customer. He would have excepted it. I did not. Spent more but got him a graphite blank that I know he will like much better
My name goes on this puppy

Tom the customer is not happy? Think he will ever come back for another rod?? I don't think so. I don't think it was to much to ask. This guy shows other frends and then ? I think the builder should have mad some sort of attempt to help

Just kinda reading between the lines, it sounds like the customer would have nothing but a Loomis blank, and now is not satisfied with his choice.I can't say what I would do until I heard the rod builders side of the story. I got a feeling that there is more to the story than we have heard. Just sounds like a normal Loomis blank to me.

Later.
Gerald Mc

The customer is not happy only because he doesn't realize that all his other rods are warmed similarly, too. Customer education is an important part of a good custom builder's job. Customers need to understand why the spine may or may not be utilized, how to use a rod, the proper reel and line to matched to it, etc.

The customer thinks he has a defective or sub-standard blank - he doesn't, but he doesn't realize that because the builder did not spend a few minutes pointing out certain things to him.

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On the other hand, most of the builders who responded on the other board pointed out that some blank manufacturers have a bad track record re blank straightness, others were good. That's something I paid attention to.

I haven't found that to be the case. Somebody started the idea that Loomis blanks are more warped or crooked than others. If you really do a little research and have access to enough blanks to gather a really good cross section of blanks from various manufacturers, you'll find that they're no better or worse in this regard than most others. There are a few that produce fairly straight blanks most of the time, but for the most part, all blanks have a certain amount of natural warp.

If you can get access to roughly 100 blanks of various makes and models. And you measure each one for length and deviation from straight, what you're apt to find that is that most blanks are off from straight about 1/16th of an inch per foot of length. This would be for blanks under about 8 feet in length. On longer models such as surf rods, the average will be more like 1/8th to 3/16ths per foot of rod length.

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I saw this earlier, but couldn't access the thread to see the exact exchange on BFHP. For some reason (hmmmm) I kinda figured that the manufacturer stated above MIGHT be the one! Yes, I realize that isn't exactly fair, especially due to the fact that I haven't built that many rods in my life, though I have done a handful.
I can believe what you say above Tom, I guess it all averages out in the end when dealing with 100's of blanks. However, I haven't held that many and the only one I ever sent back was...a Loomis GL4. On the second try, Loomis sent me a dandy that is still stikin' 'em today, it's a real pleasure to fish with.

Warp may not be the issue here, it's expected and not a problem. What was the problem in my case was a large nodule on the blank and a VERY snakelike characterstic to the blank, not a slight warp. No idea how that happens to a tip section, but this thing almost had a spiraling type quality to it when sighted down the section, one would have to see it to believe it. Over the years I've seen this probelm described elsewhere on the web, perhaps they just let alot go into the market by accident, I don't know. What I do suspect is that no one would consider that type of blank acceptable to build on or buy, especially considering the price of their blanks.

Blank wasn't listed a a "second", nor was it priced a one. Perhaps some "seconds" get mixed-up at various vendors?

This isn't a intended as a cheap shot at Loomis, just an experience I had with one blank. Perhaps if we saw the actual rod in question, the situation may be easier to judge. Sometimes "crooked" has several meanings depending on who is speaking and who is hearing, I know I had trouble describing/convincing the company on the phone when discussing the return. To their credit, they are mighty quick on the turn around, but it does cost shipping.

I think the customer should get the benefit of the doubt here, best for rod company and custom builder.

His messsage indicated that it was out of straight by a certain amount from tip to butt. He did not indicate that it was an odd crook or a spiral type of warp. But like yourself, I haven't seen the blank in question so I suppose anything's possible.

Blanks with obvious problems shouldn't leave the factories and those that do should be culled and returned by the builder. But I strongly suspect we're dealing with a pretty normal blank here, but one where the guides have been placed on or opposite the spine. This nearly always means there will be a curve off to one side when the angler sights down the blank with the guides held either up or down.

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Tom,
I agree with you completely that all blanks will have at least a little curve. But if you think that the blanks that Loomis is building these days, particularly the high modulus ones, are about the same in terms of straightness as everyone else's blanks then I think that maybe you have not had many high modulus Loomis blanks in your hands recently. They can really be pretty crooked and often it is not just a curve in one direction but curves in two different directions. This problem has been there for some time and frankly I am surprised that they have not cured it. I was in the Loomis plant about over a year ago and asked about this problem and one of their manufacturing people conceeded that they were having serious problems with straightness.

You're correct - I probably haven't bought 20 Loomis blanks in the past 5 years. Although those that I did buy were very straight. Perhaps I got lucky.



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Perhaps you did get lucky. Or perhaps, it's not impossible, Loomis knew who ordered them! (Take that as a compliment.) It's why most restaurant critics try to go anonymously.

For those that might be interested in the exchange that sparked this thread, but don't know how to locate it, it can be found at:

[www.wmi.org]