Although posting a request to learn of an UL 1-4lb / 2-4WT, 6-8ft telescopic BLANK awhile back, I have not been able to find such an animal. A respected veteran member of this site graciously sent me his Tenkara style “fly” rod for inspection and evaluation. It was beautifully constructed with very nice, subtle painted details under a clear coat, and even came in a faux suede sock inside a very nice hard case but the price tag of $200.00 put it over what I am attempting to accomplish. There are a number of heavier telescopic already-built RODS available but, being a rod builder, I would prefer a bare blank, most important, an UL.
I will (may) explain my project in more detail at a later time (for those who might care) but right now, the project is dependent on finding the best, proper blank for the situation. Typical TOB ferrules found on conventional, multi-piece blanks are the opposite direction as with a telescopic blank and therefore, will not work for this application.
If any avenue can produce a source for what I am looking for, THIS IS IT!!! What cha got?

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

Mark:

I dont think your going to find an UL tele. All the telescopic rods Iv'e ever seen (and Im sure I have seen them all) were basically 7 and 8 foot rods that were just two pieces.
One piece would telescope into the other about two feet. This was really meant to accommodate shorter rod lockers on boats.

As for a pack rod (travel rod) I would think you would be better off with a 3 or 4 piece rod.
I'm actually building one now on American Tackles ATX series AT841-3 and think its gonna be a winner.
[www.americantackle.us]

Chris,
Thank you for the reply. You are correct about the blank needing to be 3 or 4 piece or even more. While the 2-piece tele rod you mentioned will not work for my application, I have a question. If the tip section telescopes into the butt 2 ft, does that mean the first guide from the tip top is basically 2ft away? I can’t imagine that working. With all of the tele rods I have seen, the guides are mounted to the tip of each section and when the rod is collapsed, all the guides are stacked against one another. In other words, the guide spacing is dictated and dependent on the length of each blank section. Obviously, static load testing for PROPER guide placement is ignored with such rods. I have developed a method of producing removable guides which allows the blank sections to fully collapse inside one another yet when the blank is deployed, the guides are slid down the blank and automatically stop at their predetermined, static load tested positions. Now all I need is a suitable blank!

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

Hi Mark,
You should be able to find a tenkara rod for 50 70 bucks on line with a handle already on it that with your custom slip ring might work, hope that helps, interested in what youve come up with guide wise.
TJ



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/05/2022 05:08PM by Tim I. Johnson.

Mark, yes, with a telescopic rod the first guide has to be out the length of the telescoping, which is usually somewhat less than two feet. But it does work. Maybe not as well as optimum, but everything in rodbuilding (and life) is a balancing of priorities.

There are some very nice UL 2 piece blanks out there, and probably some nice 3 piece. Might be a better solution. (But they might all be graphite. :-) )

I think were talking about two different telescoping rods....
The one I was referring to just collapses into the handle...a little less than two feet....and will basically have a rod about 5 foot (colasped) total...extending to 6'+.
(Now I realize) that your talking about a rod it all collapses...ie Eagle Claw PK56TS

Mark, I’ve never seen full telescoping rod blanks sold in the US. However, I have seen already made telescoping rods in the US. Telescoping rods are fairly common in The Japanese domestic market with some rather high end models made by Diawa, Shimano, and Smith. It’s quite possible that telescoping blanks may be sold in both Asia and Europe, since both Fuji and SeaGuide sell guides for telescoping rods. These guides are made to slip onto the rod, so they are built on a pipe which come in various diameters. So basically you pick the ring size you want and the pipe size to fit a particular position on the blank. Thus they can be positioned anywhere along the length of the rod. Of course these types of guides aren’t sold in the US but they are sold in Europe and Asia. Here’s an example of what they look like.
[www.fujitackle.eu]
Norm

Here is a site that sells various telescoping rods. I think they are in NY, but not sure. You can call them and see if they have anything you might be interested in trying. Prices seem reasonable.
[www.allfishingbuy.com]
Norm

Aha, now we are getting somewhere. Thanks for the replies which are greatly appreciated!!!
Tim,
From my research so far, the Tenlara style rods may be the best candidates for my project. However, the one which was sent to me for inspection, previously mentioned, had pronounced spiral ridges (similar to a Point Blank?) the full length of the rod (pole?). Too bad because it (Tenkara USA) was beautifully constructed albeit rather expensive. The ridges in the blank would make it impossible to use for my application and method; the surface of the blank needs to be smooth. I am utilizing the actual blank as the “mold”, similar to my CARL ferrules, to facilitate wrapping the guides in their PROPER position with an inherently identical taper but isolated from the blank with cellophane so they can be removed rather than bonding to the blank. The identical taper is key and paramount to the removable guides securely mounting to the blank.
Michael,
While existing telescopic rods may work, their guide spacing is atrocious, sub-acceptable in my view. All of you on this site are to blame because you have taught me of the benefits of the 2-line static load test for guide placement lol. A blank which is not static load tested will NEVER become a rod in my book! I have found a source for 7-piece, 8ft, UL CF blanks which make awesome pac rods for wild trout. Although extremely nice, that is too easy. You know me; always trying to build a better mousetrap.
Chris,
Now that makes sense. Excuse my ignorance and not being up to date on the bass fishing arena. The Telescopic Eagle Claw you mentioned is the lightest power ROD I have been able to find, but would still obviously prefer a BLANK. Nonetheless, I should purchase one anyway; they are only $25.00. To be honest, a cheapie ol’ yellow Eagle Claw UL rod is what awakened me to the Fish-Fighting-Fun-Factor world of FG rods!!! I have owned that rod for > 20 years and still enjoy it!
Norman,
As you, my research has discovered a number of built RODS but no raw blanks. Of the rods discovered, none are UL (>6lb). I have seen removable guides similar to your link, but uncertain if they are the same ones. But the (removable) guides are not of importance to me = I have my own design (of course it’s better lol). Finding an appropriate telescopic BLANK is my ultimate quest, with the possibilities of a proper ROD entertained.
The last two wrapped guides of my prototype telescopic rod are curing as we speak. All the others (8 guides, 1 tip top total) appear to be functioning properly and secure themselves to the deployed blank securely. I am hopeful, no, make that optimistic, no, make that confident, that my technique will be successful. Whether it is viewed as a brainstorm or brainflatulence is yet to be determined.

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

There are some UL telescoping rods out there. Here’s a JDM UL Smith dagger stream telescoping rod. It’s high end so little on the pricey side, but I’m sure you can afford a couple. Diawa and Shimano also make similar UL telescoping Rods. There are also other brands of telescoping rods which are Much less expensive.
[jdmtackleheaven.com]

Norm

Mark,
Given your CARL ferrules and slip rings ,i was curious that that might be the direction you are headed, interesting. there are plenty of cheap tenkara options ( I know you get what you pay for, but for an experiment ...) Most with what appears to be a sanded, smooth finish. If you use alignment marks/dots on the blank sections as well as guide alignment marks on both guide and blank, it should be quick and easy do deploy a tenkara and guides. just a thought.
TJ



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/06/2022 09:58AM by Tim I. Johnson.

I’m sure that’s the direction Mark is heading. I assume he Is using his CARL sleeves sized to fit the various guide locations on the blank, and then wrapping a guide on them. This will allow for moveable guides which will slip into place when the rod is extended. Ingenious and should work. As he mentioned the problem is finding telescoping blanks. The All fishing buy site posted above does sell some inexpensive Tenkara rods, otherwise suitable telescoping blanks might have to be sourced overseas.
Norm

Norman & Tim,
Norman said it very well, “I assume he Is using his CARL sleeves sized to fit the various guide locations on the blank, and then wrapping a guide on them.” That was the original idea but the sleeves ended up being too thick, ~ .025in wall = added bulk, weight and stiffness. Actually, the first removable guide (RG) was simply the guide thread wrapped directly on the (cellophane covered) blank. While it worked, it was basically all hoop strength and no axial support and although it was nice and thin, it was a little too wimpy, possibly being inadvertently damaged too easily down the road. Instead, the RMs I am building utilize a 3K CF tow spiraled once up and back down that position on the blank as the base rather than a CARL type sleeve. The CF tow base is < .010in and the ~20* angle (~40* included) offer more hoop strength than axially (more flexible, a good thing). But thread wrapping over the wound CF tow base has proved to be a monumental PITA. I’ll spare you the details but I now have a much deeper appreciation of wrapping on a hard, smooth surface!!! In the end, the tube of the RMs are < .020in (a finished conventional size A thread wrap is a bit over .010in) and stout enough to avoid possible damage. With a RM mounted on the blank, the tube is thin enough that it looks as though wrapped directly on the blank.
As for the blank employed, although you didn’t ask, allow me to bore you further. I took one of my in-stock UL 6ft Conolons and sectioned it so that the ferrules are in the opposite direction (Butt Over Tip, BOT, rather than Tip Over Butt, TOB) to afford the telescopic ability. Due to blank taper and overlap of the BOTs, the overall length was shortened by 16in. I used a big butt section from a different model Conolon to keep the overall length (almost) 6ft. While I anticipated a difference in power and action after sectioning, I would have never guessed it would be so profound! The original blank required 52 cents to deflect and produced an AA of 64*; after sectioned = 121 cents and 77.1*. Some of that is due to the bigger butt section. There are those who could say the blank is ruined, and while I would not argue the point, I prefer to consider it the fastest action per power FG rod lol. I am going to have to be careful to not overload the tip section, especially at the first BOT. This is a whole different world and experience than I am accustomed to with CARL ferrules which virtually do not change the CCS, CCF numbers. But with the difficulty experienced attempting to find a 6ft - 8ft UL telescopic blank, FG or CF, this is what I had and hence used it.

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

BTW and FWIW, I have been using Flex Coat thread finish rather than structural epoxy. Although the FC is a higher viscosity, it is still penetrating through the thread and into the CF tow base. All appears to, and I am confident it will be fine. So much so that I plan on using thread finish on my next CARL as well as tapered composite slip rings for Tennessee handles.

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

For those I have not bored yet and are still interested in following this topic, the final 2 guides are cured and trimmed so I decided to weigh them all, bare guides vs wrapped. The KR guidetrain consists of KL16-H, KL8-H, KL5.5M, and 6 KB 5s. A KB 5 was used as the tip top because the tube of a typical tip top will not work in this application. While I have a very good quality scale, the resolution is only 1g. Bare weight of the guidetrain = 4g; wrapped = 6g. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the CF tow base + thread + epoxy (2 coats) was only ½ the weight of the guides themselves.
The inherently identical taper of the removable guides, due to utilizing the actual blank as the “mold”, holds them securely to the blank, even though the “tube” of the KL16 is only ~1in and the and the KB 5 tip top ~.5in.
The last step is to dab a little PG on the ends of the wrapped tubes to get rid of the sanded white appearance.

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

Keep at it Mark...........................................it will keep you out of the bars ! LOL

Phil.

Yea or send to one!!

Give Em heck Mark.

Tight Wraps &Tighter Lines.

Bob,

New Bern, NC.

Phil,
Bars themselves, alone, by nature are enough to keep me out!
Robert,
I have to give this project “heck’ to repay if for giving me so much heck.

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.