It’s St Croix’s blank charts and their intended purposes that’s of value to me. I don’t need to go to a sporting goods store to look at the EVA real seats on their Victory series to know that I never want to do that.
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I’ve purchased two factory rods in a time period exceeding twenty years. One was a huge St. Croix liquidation of their SCV Salmon rods. The Torzite guides it carries would have cost me more. The other was a halibut rod when a trip opportunity came up with short notice. I absolutely prefer to make my own. My point in starting this wasn’t to pitch industry against custom building. I’ve learned a lo
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The Carbon 3 blanks are the St. Croix Victory series, as you may know.. I think they are very good rods for the money. The thing with punching is that it actually varies a lot across the country. In some locations, the minimum rig is one ounce. Where I live, the maximum is usually 1/2 of an ounce with 3/8 ounce being pretty common. Some anglers use really heavy four-strand braid and others straig
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That’s a great point, Tom. Information and ideas go in every direction. Trends recycle when good ideas are behind them, as well. I never stopped building moderate action carbon rods for crankbaits when they went out of style. Now, there seems to be a move back to either composites or full carbon. I’m not sure whether custom builders have more ideas on designing for fishing techniques verses the f
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Instead of taking Todd’s post on the Expride grip sideways, I decided it was best to start a new one. I find it valuable when conceiving a new build to look at a few factory model lines for reference. It’s not that I’m interested in cloning what they are doing, but rather being informed by it. The Expride seems to be in the top handful of factory lines most respected for being dialed-in at techni
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There is a lot of good technical advice in this thread that doesn’t need repeating. I’ll cover something else. Most things that can be a little difficult or tedious seem to go much better with the combination of a good process and mental approach. I grew up watching an old gunsmithing neighbor perform complex handwork in a very calm and easy manner. Jobs varied a lot but he was still redundant in
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I usually try support the inner wall, in addition to the masking tape around the outside. If it’s not too far in you can put masking tape in on a stick or even rubber cement barely getting to the cut line. More important is to use a fine toothed blade, and of course breathing protection in a place away from occupancy. I set a saw horse outside so only the lawn bug larvae are at risk.
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Every freshwater baitcasting rod I’ve built for about three years has started with an RV6. I especially like them on BFS rods. I’ve got enough casts with various guides and have packed enough rods around to feel like these just work better and are very durable. My next build will be a Cagey Hook spiral wrap, though. While I’m happy using my tried and true formula, it really appears that Kent work
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Michael Danek Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > No I won't use drywall mesh. I find it too messy > and hard to handle and fit. It tacks down almost immediately with a couple of drops of superglue. You just set your caliper to the inside diameter of your seat and check for size like any part. Cut it when the diameter is right and tack that end with
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There is a point when old history should be considered irrelevant even when it still shows up in a search. Much of the awful stuff you can find about NFC appears to be more than five years old. The more contemporary comments are far different in tone and balance. I’ll never accept a blank that bends more than slightly in one plane. However, if I choose to order during a big promotion, a wait of a
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There are products from companies not involved in rod building that can certainly work. For instance, the West Systems line of epoxies from Gougen Brothers are very sophisticated as they literally hold many boats together. They used to not sell their products in hobby rod building appropriate sizes, but now they do. Certainly, a one ounce shot glass is as good as a plastic cup of the same volume.
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If there is only .19 grams difference in by far the biggest guide on a spinning rod, the difference between running guides is probably that mosquito wing.
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Les Cline Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > These look nice to me, Aleks! > > I came to the conclusion that if they are lighter > than any metal frame guides, that puts them in a > 'definitely interested' category. The one shown appears to weigh .19 grams or .00669 ounces less.
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Along with what Tom wrote about rod finishes, I also recommend sticking with syringes, self sealing caps, mixing cups, foil cups, plastic sticks, and applicators standard to rod building. The entire set of that stuff doesn’t add up to very much while easily and reliably working. To have to start over on wrapping a rod because a few bucks were saved would be very disappointing. Decades of evolutio
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It’s certainly curious that there is no company name or website, just one retailer who isn’t offering much of a description.
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Along with the syringes, the self sealing bottle caps are now a must to me. There is no product from outside the syringe that can get in the mix. There is no product waste or contamination to the components. Also, there is no need for using DNA to clean the syringes. I mark the syringes so they always get used in the same component. A small amount of planning and organization removes most of the
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I use drywall tape filled with epoxy between the stem and the inside of the blank. I have never had one come loose.
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Just beware that this can be a fairly heavy material. If you use it more for trim between natural cork sections, it won’t weigh the rod down so much.
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That’s really nicely done! Simplicity, with just a little pop added in a rod is usually very attractive.
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I can’t give you a current Fuji color as I’ve used an out of stock one and also Justace thread in Charcoal. Maybe this will still help, though. I’ve found a scoop of VooDoo Dust in Night Sky for every six ml total of rod finish helps a dark grey thread blend very well into raw carbon. I did this mix recently on an Eternity blank which is made from the latest generation of Toray carbon fiber. That
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I’ve noticed a shortage made worse by COVID for guides and tip tops during this time of year. I do most of my builds in January through March and buy components earlier now than a few years ago. It would be interesting to know what portion of components in the non-manufacturer distribution stream are bought by hobbyists versus professional builders. I’m guessing many of us build in the cabin feve
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I don’t think loosening will be a great factor, but thread choice could help. Nylon tends to stretch more than polyester. John made a great point about contamination in storage. Silicon is destructive to rod finish and can become aerosolized from the use of various products.
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I use bright colored thread on a fly tying bobbin to lash the guide down (just a standard wrap done fast without any regards to being neat). When my wrapping thread gets near the lashing thread I just cut the lashing thread loose with a razor and continue wrapping.
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Tom’s link and the Angler’s Resource KR and New Guide Concept algorithms go together. I use their KR system and check the alignment from choke guide rearward on a straight counter-top edge (Tom’s link). It’s always either right-on or a guide needs slightly nudged in one direction (rod taper variation can cause very slight changes). I add a couple of more running guides than the KR software calls
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The Immortal is my go to series for good performance at a value price. I’ve got one that is openly exposed to highway wind and gravel road dust. Its finish still looks new.
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Fizzing fish is a good question with various opinions. I tend to believe that pulling them up slowly from this depth range is better than putting even a small hole all the way into their bladder. It’s over a BAR of pressure change so it’s a real consideration. I don't see many lethargic releases from slow ascents from these depths.
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I’ve only used them once. They are more sensitive to varying tension in how they look. With at least some hand wrappers, even tension can be a bit problematic. They can also look different in pattern as rod diameter changes.
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I built on the ETES610MXF and use it as a dropshot rod. I’ve pulled several smallmouth over 3.5 to near 4lbs up from over 40 feet down with it (same point drop off). This was working vertically, in upper 50 degree water conditions, with some very nice fighting fish. I didn’t get to a 90 degree rod bend (close, though) on a drag set properly for 8lb fluorocarbon leader. Under this definition, the
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Some of us were having frustrations with Get Bit shipping a few years ago (pre-COVID-19). I recently had a good experience with them and was happy to put them back on the “to do business with” list. VooDoo, Utmost, Rod Geeks, and RodBuilders Warehouse have also treated me well over the years. It’s been a trying several years with demand bulges, supply disruptions, and difficulties finding employe
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Thank you for the information Spencer and Tom. I am glad this is an additional choice rather than an upheaval of an already appreciated choice (Rod Geeks). TFO and Bob Penicka should make for a good blank source. I bought from Rod Geeks under Bob’s management with great results. I believe he is the guy who likely had the most to do with the huge success of the “Mojo” label. TFO has consistently p
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