Hi guy's. Since I have started building rods in the past year I have become more critical of all rods now. Just this morning I disassembled a rod built for my boss. It was trashed ,so I wanted to check workmanship. It was an All Star blank with unknown guide and seat manufacture. It broke six inches from the seat and splintered bad. Also had a missing tip top. I was going to try to salvage the guides for future repairs but the feet are purple from overheating during prep and a very sloppy prep. I easily twisted the butt cap off and can reuse that, no sign of use at all !!! Then I twisted the real seat loose with very little effort. When I removed it, I found cardboard tubing was used as a bushing and no prep to the blank. Also a small split ring was placed finish to act as a hook keeper. This rod was just purchased a year ago and I don't know who to be sad for. My boss, who spends thousands $$$ yearly in tackle and rods and ended up with that cheap rod or the guy who built it!
By the way ,I now have an All Star ice fishing rod!!!
I just wanted to share this
Mark Schulte

Question did your boss have this rod built for himself????

Now's your chance to earn Brownie points!!! If he is spending G's on tackle, then it is safe to assume he does a lot of fishing, right? Build him a nice rod - this will do 2 things. A - Your next raise will be better. B - He will advertise your rods for you without even knowing it. Since you're just starting (Me 2) - this would get your work out into the public eye, depending on where he fishes and if he is in a club.

My 2 cents. Billy

Mark,
This probably means you are graduating up in the scale of 'critiquing' because you know custom is better and you know why.

The cheaper way of installing reel seats with skimping on bonding agents or arbors, is fairly standard, although I have seen first hand improvements this past spring visiting a major rod manufacturer. I was actually suprised and impressed by the proprietary use of their better reel seat filling and bonding. Something I may consider in my own rodbuilding down the road. Many rod companies, and some builders, can be deficient in the mounting of reel seats. Wait till someone I know reads this and weighs in about fixing many mucho reel seats. John???

Also, amazing how a simple application of a good quality hookeeper can impress customers with a custom rod over a cheap idea as you describe on the 'disapointing' rod.

Even the choice of guides may be well and good, it still amazes me how the wrapping and finish application is just basic. Custom rodbuilders can impress with a better wrap (security wrap for instance) and use of better epoxies, and most of all the better tweaking of guide placement for performance. One can also bet the rod never had the spine utilized for optimum use, nor any variation from 'rubber stamped' guide placement that would better tweak a rod built custom.

I've even seen fairly severe lack of workmanship in 'custom rods' such as tape instead of thread to hold the guide. Yes, tape and then epoxied over. The guide will last about one cast with this method. Other horrors are uncured finishes, misalignment of handles allowing moisture to build, use of extremely poor quality blanks with perhaps good quality components to mask the deficiency. Pretty thread art can't cover poor performance. Choice quality and choice workmanship go to make up a 'QUALITY' custom rod.
One can hardly rescue one of these poor shows into a decent ice rod most times, consider yourself lucky with the all star ice rod special.

Rich

Rich don't get me started with the reel seats,I think Florida is the home to 90% of the mass produced" custom rods",how anyone with normal intelegince can walk into a store see 50 identical rods on racks and buy one because it says "Custom" I'll never know but buy them they do,only benefit is great for the repair business.Now with cooler weather approaching the reel seats are remaining attached a little longer,have to wait for the Spring before it starts all over again.One good aspect of doing repairs is it allows you to see how others foul up and hopefully prevent you from making the same mistakes.To be absolutley up front about it most of the better mass produced rods do make every effort to produce a good quality rod and even have some very talented people to watch over the production insuring quality control.What have I found under reel seats,carboard tubes ,wood, cord, masking tape ,thread, and nothing meaning quite often someone forgets you need a little adhesive to keep the arbors in place.Now some of the above items are used quite frequently and with good results but adhesive is needed and I don't want to be profane I'll just say I have no idea at times what type of material they use but there is rarely very much of it.
John