Hi, I'm new to this forum and rod building. I'm wanting to build myself a bass rod for flipping/pitching jigs. I was thinkin of trying the mhx blanks? I ordered the tom kirkman book and have a buddy thats gonna help but I figured is ask for all the advice I can get. I read some interesting things on here and sounds like some of you guys know what you're doing. Can I use any real seat I want on the mhx blanks? I want it as light as possible with split grips but still durable enough to handle hard fishing. Thanks in advance for any advice u can give!

I think the book will answer all these questions, and a lot more.

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I wouldn't presume to tell you anything other than what's in Mr. Kirkman's book, but I would emphasize 1 thing. Buy the syringes and carefully measure your finishing epoxy when you mix it up. You take a risk on screwing it up if you try to eyeball it.

Im lookin forward to reading the book. I will do it all by the book I want the best results I can get! I'm excited to try my hand at it! Thanks for the tip on the syringes!!

If you are planning on using a "normal" blank-through reel seat, All you have to know is if the Inside Diameter of the real seat is larger than the outside of the blank.
This is usually not a problem for freshwater rods, but its worth the sanity check.

On the other hand, you like the exposed blank seats, you need to be much more precise.
In that case, I would buy the reel seat and blank from the same vendor, and tell them how long you want the rear grip so they can size it before shipping.
I believe several of the sponsors will do this for you as a customer value added service..

Good luck with your build.

HTH

Doug

I can tell you that I have ordered from several at left and all so helpful.
I would suggest you order your rod complete (Eyes, Tiptop, Real seat, Grips, But cap, thread, CP,Finnish etc.) at one time all from the same place and do ask for help.
You will not be disappointed you are a trove of info.
Herman
Alaska

I was planning on tryin to order it all at once from the same place. Just wondered about things like epoxy and if one is better than another. I don't care to spend some money getting started but want good quality stuff. Thanks for the advice on the reel seat. I want the exposed style reel seat yes and want to keep it all as light as possible as I fish very long days most of the time

Derek, I don't think any of the sponsors will sell you something less than good quality. As far as epoxy or CP.and the preferences If you ask you'll get several answers. Try something like prokote or threadmaster lite and I'm sure you'll be more than happy with the finish. Take your time and enjoy the build. Don't expect perfection on your first build but if you follow Mr. Kirkman's book you'll find yourself with a very nice rod .

Rufus
Port Saint Lucie, FL

Thats reassuring! I will take this advice and the knowledge from the book and hope for the best! Thanks again!!

Derek,

Tom's book is a great resource. Not only does it help you with all of the basics of building a rod, it encourages you to think about why you are doing things.

When it comes to finish epoxies, they are all good, but each will have its own little nuances. Finish application technique is far more important than brand. Fortunately Tom's book covers it well, and there is a great article in the Library here to get you going in the right direction. For adhesive epoxies, it's tough to beat the paste type epoxies (Rod Bond or Pro Bond) formulated for rod building. They stay where you put them and work great for sliding EVA grips into place.

For a flipping/pitching rod, there are some things to consider aside from total weight. Weight distribution is key, particularly with flipping where your wrist does most of the work with little movement at the shoulder. You want to keep the tip light, with micro guides. Personally, I would spiral wrap the rod. Then even after you've made the effort to keep the tip weight down, the nature of the beast that is a flipping stick means that you will still have a tip heavy rod. When flipping with heavy weights over the course of a long day, a balancer that adds significant weight to the butt of the rod, can really reduce wrist fatigue.

If I were you, I would contact Lance or Bill at Swampland. They have the advice and all of the materials you need for a flipping stick that will leave you much happier at the end of the day. If you talk to Bill ask about the guy who wanted a flipping stick like his buddy's, only made as light as absolutely possible ;).

Joe

I will take all of that into consideration. I know what you mean about fatigue, ive used most of the light weight rods on the market and most are tip heavy. I will try to get up with those guys and see what happens. Once again, thanks for the advice i feel like every bit of info i can get will only help in the end!!