Fascinating by the idea of the NFC XO Skeleton. I build rather basic rods just as a hobby and keep things relatively practical. Has anyone built with it and what were your thoughts? -Is there an arbor inside the reel seat? I know that's the only area that contacts the blank, and I'm guessing there is a foam arbor in there to ream out to match your blank. -Has anyone installed the blank thr
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Another vote for the Northfork Composites MB765 NEO. I've thrown Strike King's 8.0 squarebill and their 8XD on it with 14lb fluoro. I really haven't messed with the 10XD but I think it'd handle it. If you dropped to 12lb, it'd probably be at the higher end of power for a 6XD, a Little John DD, or Fat Free Shad, but it'd work. I'm sure it'll launch them a mile. It's probably overkill for 5XD or a
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I was looking at one of the MB692's, myself. I built a spinning rod on the MB662 Delta. I'm throwing 14lb fireline to an 8lb fluoro leader, typically. It's a slick little spinning rod that I throw a lot of plastics and finesse jigs on. 3/16 oz seems to be the sweet spot on my build, as 1/8 is a little light and 1/4 bogs it down a bit, but both the rod will handle both. Hope that helps.
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Josh B is right. Throw on some music or a podcast, crack open a craft beer or cocktail, and take it all slow. If you're not building for profit, don't rush. I had Long Trail Harvest Brown Ale last night while listening to Mark Jefferies' retirement show on BTL as I wrapped my little girl's 1st rod for Christmas. Very enjoyable overall.
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Joel, my chemistry isn't that good to speak on glass, I've only built on graphite. I just wet a napkin/paper towel with nail polish remover and wipe away excess epoxy. I've noticed that it'll occasionally pull some dark color off my real seat/winding checks but I've never noticed it damage a blank or even leave any noticeable effects. .
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Lessons I've learned as an amateur rod builder, mostly the hard way... -Work in a bright, well lit area. -Ream your cork/arbors slowly. You can always take more out, but you can't put it back in. Ream, dry fit, ream, dry fit until you're happy with it. -Get your napkins/paper towels and acetone handy and reachable before you start working with your epoxy. -Fresh razors and sharp scissors
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Built 2 x-rays so far and they're pretty awesome. I've built a few Deltas which are a fantastic value but when comparing the two line ups, the X-Rays are on another planet. Will absolutely buy more in the future.
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Much appreciated to all. I have a NEO that I love for big cranks but was hoping for something a little shorter for more accurate casting. I'd considered cutting 3" off the tip and 3 more inches off the butt of a NEO to shorten to 7' but I like the idea of that moderate action David Baylor mentioned above. May give the MB709 a try... need to buy a plain ticket, fly across the country and get
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Goal: Build a night time spinnerbait rod. I'd really like to buy NFC to support an American business and have had good luck with their blanks in the past. We fish a lot of night tournaments during the summer and I throw a lot of 3/4-1&1/4 oz, big thumping spinnerbaits. I want a 7' rod with some flex to keep fish from throwing a heavy lure and to make semi-accurate roll casts, but it needs
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Most of my blanks are MHX or NFC's, but out of gratitude I feel compelled to say Get Bit's customer service is AWESOME and they have a good selection of components. Most of my seats/grips/trim pieces have been coming from Get Bit because they usually have everything in stock.
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Much appreciated everyone. I'll heat it up (slowly)!
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The last two times I've tried to mix epoxy to repair/finish rods I've noticed that my ProKote Resin is getting thicker and thicker. It's borderline chunky. I can no longer suck it up into the syringe. It thins out a little bit when mixed with the hardener and a little more so when I put a heat gun to it. The finished product is decent enough, but it's tough to get all of the bubbles out. I never
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Carl, Just built an X-Ray SJ703-1. In my opinion it's a bit heavy for a spy bait. I throw my Duo Realis Spinbait 80's and G-Fix 80's on a 6'6"L using 6 pound fluoro. I'd hesitate to throw a spybait on that ML 703 as I'd be afraid of pulling those tiny hooks. I view spybaits like crankbaits and want a moderate action to the rod, hook set isn't needed with those hooks. That SJ703 is gonna
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I built an MB 703-1 (Delta LMX) which seemed to have more pronounced ridges than my X-Ray NEO. I had an exposed reel seat on it (size 16 Fuji ACS I believe) it and never had any issues with discomfort or the ridges rubbing my fingers raw. I was using it for big squarebills and heavy spinnerbaits so I was casting and winding a lot. No issues, never sanded.
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Sounds like a great idea. You should be taking orders for custom winding checks!
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I haven't fished with my NEO a ton, but it handles an 8XD very nicely on 15lb fluoro. I'm sure it'll be fine for a 6XD and I have slung a 6" hollow belly on a 1oz. jig head with it. Loads that swimbait up and launches it.
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I've built 3 or 4 Deltas, now. The ridges REALLY caught me off guard when I first unpackaged the blank. Reached out to a few builders/researched this forum and found you can sand them or leave them. I left them for fear of sanding too much and weakening the blank. I wrapped over them with size B thread, the ridges actually seem to help hold the thread. I wouldn't hesitate to order more Deltas bec
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Thanks for all of the advice everyone. I'll probably go with the ECMS. Benjie, I don't know anything about saltwater fishing. I plan on throwing large, deep diving crankbaits and heavy spinnerbaits with it. Feels like it'll load real nice on the cast but if you lean on one, it's going to bury hooks. Soft tip and then a lot of meat.
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Spencer, They're exposed blank through seats that are too small for the NEO. I don't mind reaming them out a little, but they barely make it down half the blank. It'd take considerable reaming to get them to fit correctly.
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My NFC X-Ray NEO just showed up. It was love at first feel. I'm pairing it with one of NFC's soft touch grips. None of the reel seats I have at the moment fit it correctly. My last two casting builds have been with the Fuji ACS reel seat and I'm looking to try something different this time. For anyone who has already built on a NEO blank and love the way it turned out, what model/size reel seat d
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I have the Delta 705 in my wrapper right now. Personal preferences differ greatly, but I think it's far more suited for Texas rigs/jigs/1/2-3/4 oz. spinnerbaits. Seems awfully stiff for a jerkbait.
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I'm far from professional, but I'll share my experience. I just installed their split grip earlier this week. Mine did not come with the EVA trim pieces for the inner parts of the split grip. I only received the fore and rear grips, an arbor, and the butt cap. I emailed NFC about the missing trim pieces that were pictured on the website, they replied within a day, and maybe 2 days later the t
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Just ordered one and an EFX handle! Never purchased an X-Ray before, always out of my price range. Figured I had better jump at $75.
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Has anyone ever used rubber grommets as winding checks? I use very small ones to tie my own punch skirts, and figured I might try them as a winding check. My local Ace Hardware has a pile of sizes and I'm thinking that heating the grommet up with a heat gun will make it more soft to stretch and slide right down the guide.
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Much appreciated, Lance and Roger! I'm going to snag a couple of size 17 vinyl winding checks and some EVA foam just in case.
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NFC blanks showed up the other day and I bought two of their new EFX grips to go with them. I've got a huge gap (maybe 1/8") between the blank and the ID of the grips. The only winding checks I have are too small, and do not completely fill the gap. I can fill it with epoxy and it'll be functional, but it'll look like @#$%&. Has anyone built with the EFX grips yet? What'd you use for winding
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#1 Tip: Don't start. I haven't bought a stock rod in probably 5 years. I find myself patiently waiting on the best sales each year, spending about $100 on each build to build rods that I don't even necessarily need. I have custom builds that I'm not a huge fan of for one reason or another leaning into the corner of my garage, next a pile of stock rods that have accumulated over the years. My
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I'm a big guy with big hands that also struggles on the last few guides. I actually avoid micro guides and single foot guides just for this reason... also because they're not as sturdy and I have a bad habit of bending guides when they're laying out on the front deck of my boat. However, I've had good success putting my thread in a bobbin and tying the last guide and wrapping over my tip top
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I recently had the abrasive tape come unglued from one of my extreme reamers. I lost probably the first 1/3 of the tape on one of my reamers, it just unwound right off the stick. Is there an easy replacement for the abrasive tape, or do I need to just pony up the $20 and buy a new reamer? Maybe glue a belt sander belt to it?
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I purchased a couple of the Deltas when they had their 65% off sale during the Holidays. I was also surprised by the ridges. I researched a couple of forums with sanding being suggested in several places. I also saw some comment that said the ridges add extra strength, which has already been reported above. I contacted one of the NFC "approved rod builders" listed on their website. He s
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