Keith, how hard are you pushing on the blank? You don't really need to put a big bow in the blank, so it doesn't take a lot of pressure. I will say that the further away from the tip your support hand is, the more it takes to get the blank to roll because you have to push harder on the blank to make it bow. One thing is for sure, you want the butt of the blank on a smooth hard surface. Now I
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Ben, I get what you're saying, but for me my adding weight to the butt of the rod to get the balance point I want, is all about being able to use the rod efficiently, and comfortably. I'd rather add weight than change the way I hold the rod. For instance .... how people a spinning rod. I know a lot of people that hold a spinning rod with 3 fingers in front of the reel's stem, with just the pinky
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lol ben ....... no no nooooo lol I was talking about Steve's first post. His feelings are the exact same as mine. I have zero problem adding weight to the butt of a rod to get the desired tip light feeling that I like.The rod may be heavier but you don't feel it. And actually it will make the rod feel lighter in your hand because you aren't working your forearm and wrist. The only area Steve
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Personally I wouldn't use fiberglass blanks for either of those rods. I'd also use blanks with different actions. For the spinnerbait I'd be looking for a fast action blank rated 1/4 - 3/4 oz lures. Length is a matter of personal choice. I myself have 2 rods for spinnerbaits. One is an old 5'6" Shimano Speedmaster Fighting Rod with a pistol grip. I use that for short casts, usually 30' or le
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Steve buried a 16 penny nail in a solid oak board with one swing of he hammer.
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Norman, roger that. I just applied my practice decal. The plastic peeled off rather easily after I burnished the decal. I also have to say to Phil Erickson if he is reading this thread, that I used his method of applying decals that I read when I did a search on the subject. It turned out perfect. Having the bed of finish just to the point of not fingerprinting allows the edge of the decal to
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Frank, I wrap my guides tight as well. Not as tight as you described on that first rod, but tight enough that I sometimes have to use a fingernail to push the guide foot to straighten it out. I personally don't use a tension rod. I had one on a hand wrapper that I built but I didn't like it. It was just another thing to be in the way of my hands when I do a trim band or a thread inlay in a wrap.
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I'd like to piggy back on this thread if I could. I built a couple of rods on X ray blanks last year, but I didn't receive any decals with them. I recently contacted NFC about getting two decals for those blanks, and I received them just this past week. They actually sent me the wrong ones the first time, which turns out to be a blessing as I have yet to put a decal on any of the rods I've built.
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Brian, as you've already contemplated by your comments ... having a rod that will rip a trap out of grass, yet be soft enough in the upper 1/3 of the blank to really let them eat it well, makes blank selection a bit tricky. The two requirements just don't go hand in hand all that well. Personally, I know I wouldn't go with any thing slower than a moderate fast action blank. And I'd be looking at
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Here's a thought Phil ..... using the CCS as your vehicle, do a test to determine the IP of one of the rods you used for your ..... experiment. Convert the amount of weight it took to deflect the rod 1/3 of its length and convert that weight to ounces. Once you've done that, use that amount of weight for your experiment, and report back your results.
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Hearsay: noun, unverified, unofficial information gained or acquired from another and not part of one's direct knowledge: Marketing: noun, : the process or technique of promoting, selling, and distributing a product, or service Tarradiddle: noun, : fib, pretentious nonsense. And now, back to our regularly scheduled program
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Preposterous: adjective, Completely contrary to nature, reason, or common sense; absurd; senseless; utterly foolish:
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Foolishness: adjective, Lacking or exhibiting a lack of good sense or judgment; silly.
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Dennis, It's really up to your personal preference if the line touches the blank, or not. Whatever you do, DO NOT let the line pass entirely below the blank between guides. Despite what you may have read, that is not general practice, that is just bad guide spacing. Bad guide spacing to the point that it has the potential to damage the rod. However, many builders don't mind the line coming in co
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I don't know if it's ok to post a link to a Youtube video. My apologies if it isn't, and of course I'd expect it to be deleted. But this is the video I learned how to do trim bands. I wrap the trim band by hand. I tried the method shown in the video, but I start my main wraps pretty close to the end of the guide foot, and paying attention to the main wrap thread and the trim band thread was just
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Count me in on doing trim bands the way Mike Canavan described. It isn't difficult at all. And while it does add time, that time is nothing compared to the hours of enjoyment you get out of the appearance of your rod. For me, the real pain is doing a thread inlay in the middle of a wrap. Securing the tag ends is simple enough, it's just having to work with the ring of the guide in such close prox
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Curves in 2 different directions? Oh yeah, that baby is going back.
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Of course, whether or not you send it back is completely up to you. Personally I've only built 14 rods I think it is, so I have limited experience, but with that said, it's not unusual for a blank to have a curve in the upper portion of the blank. I've never had one that had a bend or curve in the butt section. I have had a couple that had kinks in their tips, and I sent those back for replacemen
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Lynn, thank you ... and like you, I am very fussy about my line path for the very reason you stated. Protecting the blank. I do it the way I do because of the way I land fish at times. It was one of the things that Tom Kirkman suggested to me when I first started building rods, and I have taken it to heart. One other benefit of having the line path follow the natural curve of the rod more clo
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The first thing I would say is, I hope you are ordering more running guides than you have listed in your guide train build sheet. If not, you have the potential for a delay while you're waiting for another guide to arrive. If you're impatient because of the excitement a new build brings, and you decide to build it with what you have on hand, even though you wish you had maybe that one more guide,
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The most amazing and probably the most important thing I have learned from rod building, (and it's all because of the members of this site) is how much difference the guide train makes in the performance of a rod.
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Lynn, I haven't gotten them yet, lol ...... which is why I said I'd post back when I get them. But I did get a response. Which is something I didn't get when I e mailed right after getting the blanks last year. I hope they have turned the corner business wise and are going to start to have customer service worthy of their name. I mean heck ...... the company was founded by Gary Loomis. You'd
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Just an update. I sent an e-mail to NFC this past Friday about the decals in question. I received an e mail yesterday from Ashlynn K at NFC stating that they would have those decals out to me Monday. Awesome news and I'm happy to say that it appears that NFC has things together from a customer service stand point. Dean, shoot them an e mail and see what comes of it. My guess you'll get a sim
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I'm all in with Carol and her dad. They are great people. I placed a small order with her for some grips and a reel seat just last week. Had them here in a blink of an eye. As they always are. No disrespect to the other board sponsors, but they are the best place I have ever dealt with when it comes to .rod building supplies. Actually they're the best place I have ever purchased from, regardless
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Aleks? I have a question related to 2 MB 736 X ray blanks I purchased last year. Neither of the blanks came with a rod decal. Is that something that just got missed being shipped with the blanks, or do you not supply decals for the X ray blanks? I purchased 2 IM series blanks a couple of years ago, and both of the those blanks came with decals. Just curious, because I would love to have some d
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Paul, you are going to love the rod you build on the MB736 X ray blank. As far as the reel seat, you might want to take a look at the Alps MVT casting reel seat. (they have one for spinning rods as well) Since using my first one, it is the only seat I've used on my casting rods. It goes very well aesthetically with carbon fiber grips. It's a beautiful and very comfortable reel seat. Like the ECSM
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Andrew, this is a link to a picture of the grip I made with it dry fitted on the blank. It turned out pretty good. Especially considering it was my first time. It was fun making it.
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Paul, as you know, soft is a relative term. When I think of a "soft tip", I think of a tip that is going to load up with a low energy cast, such as pitching. The MB 736 pitches a 3/16 oz tube jig head dressed with a 3 1/2" tube, very well. And it will flat out launch a 3/8 oz weedless football jig with a plastic pork chunk type trailer. As I mentioned in my prior post, IMO 3/4 oz b
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Andrew, I have only made on foam core carbon fiber sleeved grip. I too used the CFX kit from Mud Hole. The grip I made was full length, but the way I treated the butt would be the same, regardless of what type of grip it was, or is. I cut and turned a tenon to accept an EVA butt cap. Since it was a full length handle, I actually cut and turned tenons on both ends of the grip I made. The way
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Paul, I have two rods built on the NFC MB 736 X ray blank, and it is an other worldly blank. Extreme sensitivity, and a really nice power band. Personally, I think 3/4 oz would be pushing it for that blank. I built mine for bottom contact baits, but the rods are proving to be quite versatile. The AA for the MB 736 is 75, so it's probably not what you're looking for as far as the action you're loo
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