Hi. I just joined yesterday. Lurked for many hours this week. I'm sure this will end up kind of long, sorry.

My son, 15, has quite the collection of bait casters and spin casts. My FIL/MIL have bought him many. haha...Loves fishing and is now on his High School fishing team (monthly bass tournament). He's very good about taking care of his things. No idea how that happened for a 15 year old. His birthday is coming up at the end of the July.

My son has been saying for his next rod he's wanting a finesse/senko type rod. I did a little research and it happened to be the time NFC had their big sale going on for Loomis's birthday. I ordered the MB-725-1(X-Ray LMX) C6O2 Epitome (for bait caster). Reason I ordered it. The pictures on NFC shows a complete, finished rod, not a blank. After I few days, I started having doubts that it wouldn't be a finished rod. It arrived a few days ago, its a blank. My own fault, I should have known better. No big deal. I'm hoping this rod isn't too "fragile" for a 15 year old. Time will tell. I found a guy that does rod building for a living, tons of YouTube videos who is hooking me up. He ordered everything I need for a split grip handle and all the eyes needed. He had to make an order for himself and went ahead and ordered everything I needed to finish my sons rod. I was confused with the split grip handle components, so he took care of it for me. He'll ship it to me once he gets it in. Can't thank him enough for helping me out.


I've been flirting with the idea of getting a kit that includes all the equipment to build them myself. I'm in desperate need of a hobby anyways. Our youngest son is special needs. (Epilepsy) When not at work, we are mainly confined to our house. My buddy has the stuff to build it for my son and said he would, but I'm thinking I will go ahead and get a good quality kit and build it myself. I'm normally a buy once, cry once type. On this, I'm after a good quality set up that I'll enjoy, produce great quality work, without a lot of headaches. Few things I'm thinking:

1) Buy a basic kit (with motor), CRB Advanced Hand Wrapper System-2 spool, (Piece together everything needed). If hand wrapping isn't too bad, I don't mind trying it. I'd just buy a drying motor.
2) Flex Coat DX777 OEM 36 volt wrapper/finisher & Guide Alignment tool ($690)
2.1) CRB Pro Power Wrapper Kit ($499)
2.2) RBS Pro G2 Ultimate Power Wrapper & Finishing Machine ($699)
3) Find someone to build this rod for me if it won't cost me too much. One time thing until I get everything set up?
4) Average cost for someone to build it? If too much, I'll get the stuff or have my buddy attempt it.
My buddy has the stuff, but he's only built several rods over the years. Doesn't do it often and said he's no BA rod builder. lol Considering the quality of the blank, grip handle, and eyes, I'd like it to be built with good care so we end up with a great rod. If that makes sense. Anyone want to build it? lol. In a bind with his birthday coming up July 27th. If it goes passed his birthday, no big deal. He already knows about the blank.

I'm open to all suggestions. Once I finally get the equipment in, I'll look into the wrap, epoxies, etc etc. I haven't looked into any of that yet. It will be a learning curve. I figured rod building I'd really enjoy. It will satisfy my OCD. lol. Plus, I can build my son, FIL and myself some very nice rods and have a hobby I really enjoy. A lot of the terminology I'm running into is like Chinese to me. I will start watching more build videos, etc. I have much to learn, especially regarding supplies, different eyes, difference in rod blanks, blah blah...Basically everything. Don't worry, I'm on this forum for long haul. I'll be sticking around. Don't be too hard on me.

You'll get a lot of suggestions to get your feet wet in rod building, with a rod building kit that has all of the components needed to build a good functional fishing rod. While I understand that line of thinking, I don't necessarily agree with it. Your personal back ground in the type of work you've done for a living, IMO, has a lot to do with what you might want to start with. For me personally, my background is in the trades, so I felt very comfortable that I didn't need to go the "kit" route for my first rod, or any of the rods I've built.

And even though this kind of thing is right in my wheel house, there are things that it just plain takes some time and experience, to get good at. While my first rod was built just as well as any factory rod I had used to date. The rods I build now are much better built than my first or even first 5 or 6 rods.

There is a learning curve which is why I say what I am going to say. Do not build this rod for your son, yourself. Not on that blank. For one, as you can see, it is a ridged blank. Wrapping on a ridged blank offers challenges you won't have on a blank with a smooth finish. Can you sand the blank smooth? Sure you can. But sanding it would void the warranty.

I've built two rods on the MB 725 C6O2 blank, and have two more of them waiting to be built. It is IMO, an extremely special blank. Crazy crazy good in every aspect of blank performance. You don't want to build your first rod on a blank like that. It's just too good.

Let an experienced builder build the rod for you.

I’m a refinery operator. Things of this nature (rod building), I think it’s something I’d be comfortable doing. I’d be comfortable doing it on this blank. In my head anyways.. lol.. I’d definitely take it very slow and take my time. I’ve watched many videos on rod building. As far as this blank goes, I don’t know anyone that is an experienced rod builder that could do it for me. I didn’t know how special this blank is until after the fact. Lesson learned. It was on sale. I got it for $83 (plus shipping). I don’t bass fish much these days. Crappie fishing is my thing. I might go bass fishing 2-4 times a year on my local lakes (Sooner Lake, Kaw Lake, Ponca Lake). I live in Ponca City, Oklahoma.

My son bass fishes a couple times a week. He’d put it to use. I’d also use it when needed. I definitely understand what you are saying. When I say rod building kit, i’m only referring to the equipment. I’m not against piecing things together instead of kits that include all the equipment. I’ve already got all the rod components ordered to complete the rod minus the epoxy and resin. I’m understanding most things much better regarding the process. My original message made it sound much worse than it actually is. I understand finding the spine, guide layout, static load testing, balancing the rod, etc. in no rush. Blank isn’t going anywhere.

The main headache I think I’ll have is wrapping on the rigged blank. I also don’t mind getting a cheaper, smooth blank to build on first to get my feet wet with. I should have done much more research on this blank before ordering. Thanks for the feedback. I’ll keep everyone updated…

I did find an experienced builder that will help me out if I get stuck, etc. He’ll be available by phone, etc.

Jeremy, I hope I didn't make it sound as if you couldn't do it. If I did, I certainly didn't mean to. And I get you wanting to build the rod for your son, because it will make the rod that much more special to him. My father had stopped fishing because of age, by the time I started building rods. I would have loved to build a rod for him, but ........

Anyhow ..... I was merely trying to convey, that some of the aspects of building a fishing rod are not as easy as they may seem. The most frustrating thing for me, and it still is, is wrapping guides. I'm a whole lot better at it now than when I first started, but I still find it to be the only part of rod building that I really don't look forward to doing. One must have thing in rod wrapping is great lighting, as well as magnification. When I first started building I didn't have either, but I do now. And I have members of this site to thank for that. It's probably the number 1 recommendation when it comes to guide wrapping. The number one tip I could give about guide wrapping is to not let how long it's taking you, get you frustrated. Results matter more than how long it takes.

As far as buying a less expensive smooth blank to build and practice wrapping. Since you say you can see yourself taking up rod building as a hobby, then that isn't a bad idea. But you can always start out stripping one of the rods you have now, and practice your guide wrapping as part of the rebuild process. While there are little tricks in installing reel seats and grips, they're fairly easy to master, so you don't need to, unless you want to, strip the rod down to a bare blank. A guide train upgrade is the easiest way to enhance the performance of all but the top of the line factory rods. And even those don't necessarily have the greatest guide trains on them.

But you need to be aware, that wrapping on a couple of smooth blanks may not have you ready to wrap on a ridged blank, But ..... you may be someone that just falls into it easily. I will also say this ...... I haven't had to redo any completely finished wraps on the ridged blanks I've built on, but I know, based on changing guides or thread color on blanks with a smooth finish, that a ridged blank will not be fun to clean up dried wrap finish off of.

Anyhow ...... I hope your endeavor goes well. One last suggestion I would make, is to use Gen 4 finish for your wraps. It is very good finish, with great bubble release properties.

I didn’t take it that way at all. I welcome that kind of advice. Thank you for the advice and tips. I’ll take everything you guys send my way. I do wish I wouldn’t have went with this “grooved” blank. I had no idea a lot of NFC blanks were like this. The only reason I bought this blank was because of the sale and me initially thinking it was a complete rod based on the pictures. I’ve been flirting with the idea of getting the equipment to take on rod building. Looks like this blank will finally push me to do that. I expect the wrapping on this blank to give me issues. I will absolutely take it slow. With this blank (knowing what I know now), I’ll take all the time needed to make sure it is done right. I predict I’ll spend $250-$700 on the equipment rod kit. (depending on which equipment kit I choose). I’d prefer to buy the best hand wrapper system that will set me up for success. I really only need a single spool one. I’ll probably build less than 10 rods yearly. If the $499 equipment kit is capable of building top quality rods, I’ll go with that. If it’s an overkill for what I’ll be doing, I will definitely go with a lesser kit. I’m open for all recommendations on which setup I should go with.

I have a long, heavy duty wood work bench I built years ago when I had my FFL. I used it to reload ammo on and work on firearms. It’s located in my garage. It’s been an odd and end collector the past 7-8 years. I plan to clean and overhaul the garage soon to get everything back in working/play shape. I have to get my gun safes organized and cleaned out too. I plan to start cleaning everything up this weekend and will finish once me and my wife get back from our MUCH needed vacation to Vegas. We leave Wednesday and will back Sunday, Our first “vacation” we’ve been able to take since married.

Our youngest son developed severe epilepsy at 4 months old. He’d have 25-100 seizures in a 24 hour period. When the marijuana bill passed in oklahoma, OU Childrens started prescribing him
Epidiolex (CBD with a tiny amount of THC). It was a game changer. It instantly stopped his seizures. He’s only had 3-4 seizures over the past 2-3 years. He went from having many daily, to none. His epilepsy is caused by a mutated gene that formed in the womb or shortly after birth. SCN1A is the form of mutated gene he has. It’s a form of Dravet Syndrome Epilepsy. Mild Dravet Syndrome he has. Hard to say mild when he’d have close to 100 seizures in a 24 hour period. True Dravet Syndrome, they aren’t functional. Our son is now 12. He’s also autistic, still
in diapers. Weird thing is, this all started shortly after his 4 month vaccinations. Enough of that. He’s autistic too. He gets around fine, knows what’s going on, lives in the playstation, X-box, or iphones. That’s his thing. Young kid games. Me and my wife are finally at a point where we are able to start doing things, etc etc. Not sure why I explained my entire situation, but I did. Basically, why I’m adding this rod building hobby. Something to relax me, keep me focused, etc. Will be something my older son can learn along the way too.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/31/2024 05:03PM by Jeremy Moore.

Can't go wrong with Flex-Coat. Give them a call and explain your situation. I'm sure they'll be helpful. Top notch.

David Baylor Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Jeremy, I hope I didn't make it sound as if you
> couldn't do it. If I did, I certainly didn't mean
> to. And I get you wanting to build the rod for
> your son, because it will make the rod that much
> more special to him. My father had stopped fishing
> because of age, by the time I started building
> rods. I would have loved to build a rod for him,
> but ........
>
> Anyhow ..... I was merely trying to convey, that
> some of the aspects of building a fishing rod are
> not as easy as they may seem. The most frustrating
> thing for me, and it still is, is wrapping guides.
> I'm a whole lot better at it now than when I first
> started, but I still find it to be the only part
> of rod building that I really don't look forward
> to doing. One must have thing in rod wrapping is
> great lighting, as well as magnification. When I
> first started building I didn't have either, but I
> do now. And I have members of this site to thank
> for that. It's probably the number 1
> recommendation when it comes to guide wrapping.
> The number one tip I could give about guide
> wrapping is to not let how long it's taking you,
> get you frustrated. Results matter more than how
> long it takes.
>
> As far as buying a less expensive smooth blank to
> build and practice wrapping. Since you say you can
> see yourself taking up rod building as a hobby,
> then that isn't a bad idea. But you can always
> start out stripping one of the rods you have now,
> and practice your guide wrapping as part of the
> rebuild process. While there are little tricks in
> installing reel seats and grips, they're fairly
> easy to master, so you don't need to, unless you
> want to, strip the rod down to a bare blank. A
> guide train upgrade is the easiest way to enhance
> the performance of all but the top of the line
> factory rods. And even those don't necessarily
> have the greatest guide trains on them.
>
> But you need to be aware, that wrapping on a
> couple of smooth blanks may not have you ready to
> wrap on a ridged blank, But ..... you may be
> someone that just falls into it easily. I will
> also say this ...... I haven't had to redo any
> completely finished wraps on the ridged blanks
> I've built on, but I know, based on changing
> guides or thread color on blanks with a smooth
> finish, that a ridged blank will not be fun to
> clean up dried wrap finish off of.
>
> Anyhow ...... I hope your endeavor goes well. One
> last suggestion I would make, is to use Gen 4
> finish for your wraps. It is very good finish,
> with great bubble release properties.

Gen 4 High or Low? I ordered both just in case. What is the difference in the two?

I use the high build, so I can't help on what the difference is between the two. I'd imagine that the difference is the same as what the difference is between high build and low build are in other finishes. High build is a little thicker.

I can't speak for others, but I suspect that a lot of people that use low build, use it because the thinner finish probably releases any air bubbles in the finish more easily. Or that it soaks into the thread more readily.

I can say that the Gen 4 high build has excellent bubble release, and it soaks into the thread really well. It's more thin than other high builds I've used, like Flex Coat, or LS Supreme. I really like it.

David Baylor Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I use the high build, so I can't help on what the
> difference is between the two. I'd imagine that
> the difference is the same as what the difference
> is between high build and low build are in other
> finishes. High build is a little thicker.
>
> I can't speak for others, but I suspect that a lot
> of people that use low build, use it because the
> thinner finish probably releases any air bubbles
> in the finish more easily. Or that it soaks into
> the thread more readily.
>
> I can say that the Gen 4 high build has excellent
> bubble release, and it soaks into the thread
> really well. It's more thin than other high builds
> I've used, like Flex Coat, or LS Supreme. I really
> like it.

Thank you much.