I would suggest watching this video. This video was done by Tom Kirkman, this site's moderator. Now I don't follow this procedure to the letter, for me the key to this video is Tom explaining that you need to let the finish do its' thing. Based on your response to a couple of the posts in this thread, you know that you may be putting too much finish on. I would caution you not to go to t
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Kent, my apologies. It has been some time since I've looked into bearings. I had no idea they made a full ceramic bearing. Based on how much better the hybrids cast versus stock, I can only imagine how much better a full ceramic bearing would be. Like you I have some older Curado @#$%& (still great reels) and I up graded them with ABEC 5 hybrids from Boca Bearings. I upgraded 3 first generati
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I can't say for sure, but my guess is that Kent is speaking about hybrid ceramic bearings, and they definitely make a difference when it comes to casting light weight baits. The balls are made of ceramic, and the rest of the bearing (unless it has a rubber seal) is made of stainless steel. As he said, there is no need to lubricate the hybrid ceramic bearings. And while they are noisier than a reg
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For future (or current) use. you can sand the carbon fiber sleeved grips without it causing the weave to unravel or fray. The epoxy permeates the entire sleeve and bonds the individual strands together. Of course you don't want to take off so much that you sand through the sleeve itself, but looking at the dimensions you mention needing to achieve, you're only talking .015". Based on my expe
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While I personally still use a 3 guide reduction train, Norman's suggestion would get my nod. Unless you have to pass a leader to main line connection knot, I wouldn't go above 5's for running guides.
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lol Thomas ..... you are exactly right about there being a right way and a wrong way to boat flip fish. And I have no doubts that it can be done on the rods you mentioned doing it with. As long as it's done right lol It's just not something I would make a practice of with my MB 736 X ray rods. Maybe it's because I have over $300 in costs for each of them lol
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Shawn, your outline of what the CCS numbers mean is correct. IP = intrinsic power. The numbers Norman and I gave are the number of grams it takes to deflect the blank 1/3 of it's total length. Let's say you have 7' rod held horizontal and level. 1/3 of 7' is 28" so you add weight hanging from the tip, until the tip is 28" below where the tip was when the entire rod was horizontal.
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With the price of the X ray blanks I certainly don't fault you for looking to them for your builds. I've built two rods on the MB 736 X ray blanks and they are without a doubt the highest performing rods I have built. The CCS numbers I came up with for the MB 736 X ray blank don't match what Norman came up with though. But they do match almost perfectly, the numbers he came up with for the SJ 736
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I go by the location of the ring.
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Technically, yes. As a centimeter is basically 4/10ths of an inch, shortening a blank by a few centimeters won't make much of a difference in action or even power. With a trim that small, I'd be very surprised if you could tell any difference at all. I've only cut down two of the blanks for the rods I've built. I took 6 inches off the butt of both of the blanks I used. While I didn't perform
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Norman is the man when it comes to KR concept spinning rod guide trains. He will get you dialed in beautifully. As a question concerning how stiff 40# braid is? I use 50 and 65# braid on my casting rods from time to time. Now I know casting rods are different animals than spinning rods when it comes to handling stiff lines, but ........ I don't find 50# or even 65# braid to be as stiff as most 10
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I will try to help to the best of my understanding. If any of it is incorrect I surely hope another member will set me straight, 1) HM = high modulus, IM = intermediate modulus, SM = standard modulus, and Delta, I'm not really sure. Modulus refers to a fibers resistance to bending. The higher the modulus, the greater its' resistance to bending. 2) I'm not sure I understand what you're a
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I don't know about the Fuji ECSM reel seat, but I have the same problem with the Alps MVT reel seat and the Curado 200 I's and K's With the I's and K's the hood will tighten completely against the reel seat body. The reel is tight in the seat, but it isn't, if you know what I mean. I don't have that problem if I put one of my older Curado 200 Ds on the same rod. I use a couple of small pieces of
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I've yet to build on a Point Blank, but I am sure I will at some time in the future. Concerning what Mr Ising said .... I've used Fuji T2 guides on my last three builds, and I am going to find it very hard to use different guides in the future. They are truly beautiful guides. Not as pricey as the Torzites, but pricey enough to push material costs close or slightly above the $300 mark. I'm al
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Birds of a feather ......
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I guess I just see casting accuracy as being more inclusive than just the direction the weight being cast, is headed the moment the line is relased. There is so much more to a cast than that. In order to be truly accurate, one needs consistency. The more consistently a rod handles line, the more potential for accuracy that rod offers. It has nothing to do with the person using the rod. It's in th
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LOL Russell. I only fish for bass, and have been doing it for a long time, so that makes my reel choices much easier to make. I'm a Shimano guy when it comes to reels. Casting reels are all 200 series with varying retrieve speeds based on what baits the rod is used for. Spinning reels always 3000 series. The only difference between a 2500 Shimano and a 3000 Shimano is spool diameter, so because I
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I have the Harbor Freight ones that Jay linked on the previous page. They work great. Like Jay said, we aren't building rockets lol
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Guide sizes and their layout affect how the line is handled by the rod. If you think casting accuracy is dependent solely on the path of the tip top, you are sadly mistaken.
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I too use a cordless drill to ream. I made my own reamers out of sections of old rod blanks, but they are fashioned the same way as the Dream reamers that have been mention. I run the drill in reverse when reaming. With the adhesive being spiraled, running the drill in forward causes the reamer to draw into the grip. Running the drill in reverse (relative to the direction the adhesive strip is sp
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Russell, your descriptions of the various baits and techniques, as well as the type of water I fish them in, are pretty much spot on. The only real difference being that, unless the shaky head jig you're using has an EWG style hook. the bait is Texas rigged, versus Texposed rigged. We differ in that I don't feel extra fast actions aren't the best choice when wanting to feel the bite. But that
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Russell, thanks a TON for that detailed synopsis. I truly appreciate you taking the time to post it, as well as the information you provided. I was wondering what the dimensions for the SJ 703 were, because NFC doesn't have them posted on their web site. Assuming the construction of all the X ray blanks are similar, your opinion on the blanks' power differences corresponding with their dimens
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Russell, going by the guides you listed it appears you're going with a KR concept guide train. That is exactly what I would do. They perform beautifully, and far better than any factory rod (assuming they were laid out properly) that I've owned that uses an NGC or COF guide train.. Far less line slap, probably at least a 10% difference in casting distance, and far far lighter in weight. As fa
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Russel, no problems as far as not speaking bass lingo. If you just share how you feel the power of the 703 compares to that of the 736, I can go from there. As far as what you've read about the MB736 X ray's power. If you're basing your concern partially on something I may have written about the blank's power, you should know that my opinions probably differ quite a bit from what others may feel.
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Russell, I'm happy to hear you purchased one of the SJ 703's.If you would, please share your thoughts on that particular blank. I would greatly appreciate it. Thomas, I've actually become a little leery of buying blanks of late. The last blank, based on it's lure weight and line size ratings, was nothing like I expected it to be. I had far less power than I expected it to have. I have two rods
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I don't have any experience building on the SJ X ray blanks. When you say you bought one of each, I take it to mean that you purchased one of the SJ 703s? If so, once you receive them I would love to hear your opinion of the SJ 703 blank"s power. I'm looking to build a new spinning rod for use with tube jigs and shaky head jigs for large and smallmouth bass.
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All of this "doing it right" stuff is leaving one factor out of the equation. Thread color. It's a whole lot easier hiding tag ends with darker colored threads. It becomes even more problematic if there are trim bands or inlays involved.
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You don't see the charge on other sites, because it's built into the price of the blank. As far as it being $20, it's $10 per blank.
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I have a rod built on an NFC MB 790 IM blank. 90 - 95% of the time I use it for flipping and pitching. The other 5 - 10% of the time I use it for throwing spinnerbaits and swimbaits. It's rated for 3/8 - 2 oz baits and 14 - 30# line with a mod- fast action. Sensitivity is outstanding, and it has gobs of power. I have two rods built on the MB 736 X ray blanks, and like your client, I love them
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I'm with Lynn .... grip is either ahead of, or behind the reel seat. I understand that you grip a reel seat, but I've never heard or seen it called a grip.
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