I'm building an 11' pompano rod using Fuji LC guides. And I'm not sure how to fit the top section on my Flex coat wrapper. Even if I shim the end of the blank to fit in the rubber grommet I won't be able to move the thread carriage close enough to the first guide on that section of blank. Any ideas on how I can move the blank away from the motor and also fit it into the rubber chuck. This section of blank is the male end of the rod so I'm assuming something will have to fit over it. I've thought about using a wooden dowel and drilling a hole into it slightly larger then the blank and using some masking tape to make it a tight fit. Any ideas?

Tyler. Happy New Year.
There is a Blank Extension tool that Mudhole and probably other manufacturers have, that may help you. Take a look at it and see if it will help. I know it has helped me in the past. I've made my own from a broken rod section, using that as the extension tool. I used masking tape to build up the arbor to fit into the rubber grommet. Hope this helps.

Tyler,
Pretty easy and pretty simple.

Take a broken rod with an intact rod butt.

Depending on which is bigger, either the tip of the blank section or the part of the broken rod, trim the broken rod to a length that will allow you to have a reasonably tight match between the end of the broken rod and the butt of your 2 piece rod tip.

Once you have a fit -- you may have to add a masking tape arbor over the outside of the broken rod tip, or the butt of the tip section if the fit will be better on the inside and slide the two pieces together and continue pushing until you get a solid locking joint.

Then, simply put the broken rod in the chuck of the power wrapper, and adjust the height and position of your rod rests to allow you to finish the builds.

Very simple and if you don't happen to have a broken fishing rod to use as a parts source, go over to good will, red cross or thrift store and pick up a $1 or $2 rod to become the sacrificial source of parts. If necessary, remove guides and wraps from the sacrificial rod to match the blank size of your surf rod tip section that you need to wrap.

I have done this task numerous times and it works with a 100% success rate.


Note:
you can always build up a tapered end on a blank that either fits on the inside of a blank, or the tapered outside of a blank, by using masking tape to increase the diameter of either the butt rod, or the tip rod at the joint. Since you are working with tapered sections of rod blank, if you choose the right spot you will always have a perfect match and a solid lock between the two pieces by the addition of masking tape to form the tapered arbor, for lock tight fit.

Take care

There is something else you can do and I have done it a lot on longer blanks. Just be sure that the blank is fairly stout because you do not want to twist off a blank tip! Just wrap a band of masking tape around the tip of the rod blank and put the tip into your chuck. Now you can use the thread carriage on the far end which is where the ferrule area will now be. Only thing I do not know is how your chuck works. Maybe it will work with this method or maybe not. But if it will then it may solve your problem.

I have a 7 ft American Tackle power wrapper and have done several 11 foot surf rods with ease. What i do is turn the rod around so that the tip is now down near the chuck area. Where the larger butt is hanging over the end of the wrapper I use my rod supports from my drying machines and merely shim under it until it holds the butt section level with the rod rests on the wrapper. The same can be done with a manual wrapper. This way you are wrapping in front of the thread carriage and it works good and is easy to set up

Thank you everyone for your great ideas! I'm going to collect some supplies and see which one suits my needs the best. Got my guide spacing figured out by doing some test casts the other day and figured out my color scheme for my guide wraps. Going to be a great set up for pompano and whiting!

Whatever blank extension you decide on, (I would make one) don't force it into the blank, snug is good, and a few turns of tape around the end of the blank might keep it from splitting should the extension be inserted too forcibly.

Tyler Reinert Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thank you everyone for your great ideas! I'm going
> to collect some supplies and see which one suits
> my needs the best. Got my guide spacing figured
> out by doing some test casts the other day and
> figured out my color scheme for my guide wraps.
> Going to be a great set up for pompano and
> whiting!

Sounds like a good plan. I have an old cut off blank with a cork handle installed, works perfect for those situations. Curious, I fish for them pomps on the Florida east coast, what blank did you go with?

I went with an 11' Runout blank I got from Florida surf tackle. He sells complete rods but he sold me 1 blank. It seems to be identical to my 12' bullet FST just 1' shorter. Very parabolic but loads up exceptionally well and can cast 100 yards and still has great bite detection.

What blanks have you had success with. I'm looking for some easier blanks to acquire. I have a friend that wants a pompano rod between 11'-13'.

I also surf fish east coast FL. From Daytona down to Canaveral.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/03/2022 11:12PM by Tyler Reinert.

I am familiar with the FST rods, or at least I've read up on them. I haven't tried one. Parabolic seems to be the key for those fish, and those rods can be hard to find these days. I've been experimenting with the RodGeeks SRF110MM2, so far I like it. I just finished a Thrasher 13'4" Whip, 1-6 oz old school composite that I am ready to take out. I also just got in a couple of Gen 2 Carolina Cast Pro Series blanks, the 13' 3-6oz and the 12' 3-7oz. They will be built soon, I'm hopeful they will perform, they are some very nice blanks but the 13' may be a little stiff in the tip for the pomps,. but should be perfect for bull reds. The 12' is a little softer. So far, nothing out fishes my old Honey FG lamiglas rod! Another idea for your Flex Coat wrapper is to just extend the base to the left, so you can just move your motor further to the left, which is what I did for my 13's. Some 3/4 plywood, or even a 3/4 board is all you need and a way to support it. I like to spin the whole rod, just makes it easier for me. I have the same wrapper along with the 4' extension, and that's what i did.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/04/2022 09:41AM by Fred Zimmermann.

Unfortunately my work space won't allow me to extend my wrapper motor any further. I tried a few of the suggestions but couldn't get it to balance correctly so that the blank would spin without wobble. So I will borrow a PacBay wrapper from a friend.

Regarding the blanks the FST 13xd has excellent bite detection. But will still sling a 4oz and rig over 100 yards. The bullet and Runout are much more parabolic and load up easier for intermediate distance casts in my opinion. I've read up on the RodGeeks blanks and I'm considering one of those for a friend's build. That thrasher blank sounds interesting as well.

I've seen the Carolina Cast Pro rods but at over 200 for the blank they're a little steep. The complete rods are priced similarly to FST rods and I'm sure cast great with Tommy Farmer being behind them. I'm curious to see how they fish for you when you get them completed. What guides are you going with?

I've been using the American Tackle Delta Snagless guides and they have been working out well for me. Shoot me an email and I will give you the lowdown on the Carolina Cast Pro rods once I get them out to the beach! Good luck with your build!