Thanks for the input- I'm going to give them a try.
Forum: rodboard

I know there a lot of experienced surf fishermen and surf rod builders on this forum so I'd appreciate your thoughts. I've seen these plate type reel seats on custom surf rods and I find them very attractive. I was curious about the strength of the latching mechanism as compared to say a spinning reel seat which has a hood tightened by a "nut." Any problems with the latching mechanism
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Since your rod is a custom, one-off rod, whether you build it considering the spine of the blank or not, when completed you'll have no basis for comparison with any other rod to determine which method would have been better- erase the mark where the spine is supposed to be, build it (hopefully with spiral), and enjoy the heck out of it- it will be fine. As Michael pointed out, in a rod this stif
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you see a lot of stabilized spalted maple blocks available on @#$%&. Most are for knife scales but I'm sure one of the dealers can hook you up.
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Phil, please provide us with a list of "really cheap foreign made blanks" and "lousy imported blanks" so we can avoid buyers remorse. Thanks
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I've only used Fuji's metallic Ultra Poly thread (lime green and navy blue) on gloss black, satin black and natural blanks- colors remained very bright and absolutely beautiful. No CP was used (I tested first to make sure color remained true- it did). No troubles with nubs.
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Check out the NFC LMX ice blanks- I've built quite a few of the Hybrid IP 342-1 (Fast/Heavy) for the trophy lake trout fisherman at Flaming Gorge (Utah/Wyoming). They're 3'4" long and rated 8-17#, 3/4 to 2 oz. Customers have been very pleased with the blanks/rods.
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Wade, if your son hasn't purchased his guides/tip tops yet, have him take a look at my ad under "Buy/Sell" in the forum for ATC holographic guides and tip-tops. If he sees something he can use, have him contact me and I'll gift him whatever he can use. Only have large guides left but plenty of tip-tops.
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Lynn, what I described above is certainly a niche rod for a specific jigging technique for a specific fish although many of these fishermen also use the rod with smaller lures for lake trout "pups" (any laker under 28") and for 2-4# kokanee. I consider myself a hobbyist (although I build a lot of rods for myself and friends) so would only be comfortable advising someone on this sp
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Thanks for the tip Roger! I too am a real fan of Batson blanks, particularly their slow pitch jig blanks. I've had similar problems in the past with their decals but haven't dared use denatured alcohol, usually ended up giving them a coat of color preservative first. I'll give the alcohol a try.
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I'm grateful to all those on the forum posting helpful hints and answering our many questions- that's what makes this such a great forum! Four years ago I posed a question asking for suggestions on building a short jig rod to target trophy lakers using 20# braid, 10-12# leader, using a 1 oz. jig. I received a few rod blank suggestions and one response stated that those specs for trophy lakers
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Batson's Revelation slow pitch jig blanks have similar "ribbing" and depending on the effect I want, I sometimes apply a run of black "A" thread the length of the decal with decorative thread work each end (as a picture frame), apply a very thin coat of epoxy and after curing, apply the decal, then another light coat of epoxy to protect the decal- it really pops! Of course, I
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Looking closely at your photo where the epoxy transitions to the bare blank (a short distance past the gold trim), it appears that where the epoxy is present it has protected the manufacturer's blank finish. Where the epoxy is thin, you start to see the "damage" and where the epoxy is absent, you see the full "damage"- as previously stated, it looks line sun damage to the ori
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I have the LW-PX800 label printer and from looking at the ads for the 400, it appears both printers take the same label cartridges. Yes, the labels are fairly thick (compared to most rod manufacturer's labels) and at times can be a challenge. Frequently, even after cleaning the blank, burnishing the label, and coating the label with Chromaseal, the edges of the label start to lift after applyin
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Ridiculous pricing indeed for 3" OD...
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I use Fuji's palming trigger grip on my tuna jig rods. The seat is larger and moves the trigger toward the rear of the reel seat so that your entire hand can rest in front of the trigger. This allows you to palm the side of the reel while jigging . I find the reel seats very comfortable. However, if you are going to use a reel where you want/need to use a rod clamp, doing so would certainly d
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I also really like Rod Geeks surf blanks. I just completed their 10' 4-piece travel rod (SRF100MMF4) for use in Baja and when visiting my son in Florida. I built the rod with a Fuji plate reel seat, paracord grip, and a guide layout as Tom suggested (30 double foot, followed by 20, 12, 8 single foot in Fuji's BC gray/alconite). Haven't used it yet. I'll probably pair it with my Shimano Ultegra
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Or I could use a salt water grip without a trigger and rotate all the sections to the bottom and use it as a spinning rod. Or, when I'm fishing with someone who objects to spiral wrapped rods, I could quickly rotate the top two sections so the guides are on top in order to keep the peace. Oh, the possibilities are endless! Question: Will all this rotation wear out the ferrules? LOL I'll have
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I was thinking of a white alignment dot on each segment like Sage uses on their blanks. I was planning on a single bump guide at 90 degrees but I don't have the blank yet so don't know where the blank segments join with respect to the guide layout. I will start with MHX's suggested guide layout and modify as needed.
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Mark/Tom, Well stated guys! That was the nudge I needed, spiral wrap it is. Thanks, Dan
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I'm planning on building a 3-piece casting travel rod and will probably use an MHX-TR906-3 blank (7'6", 15-40#). The rod will be used primarily for live bait and bottom fishing in Baja using a Penn 25NLD2 or an Andros. I've built most of my knife jig and and some bait rods with spiral guides and I'm inclined to do the same on this rod. Several years ago I built a 2-piece slow pitch jig rod
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Thanks everyone for your advice. I'm going to incorporate some of these suggestions and since this rod will be used fresh water only with infrequent/light use, the color may just outlast the old fart (this old fart too)...lol
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My friend wants me to build him a trolling rod with bright colors and he's insisting on neon yellow. I've searched through previous posts and I'm concerned about color fade. I've never worked with neon thread before. Question: Have any of you noticed any difference in fade resistance between NCP/colorfast or non-NCP? Any particular brand more fade resistant? Anything I can do in he way of coa
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I just completed a Sage fly rod for a friend. This particular blank was marked by the factory along the straightest axis by placed "dots" adjacent to where the blank's sections join. I decided to find the spine on the sections that had enough flex to identify. As Spencer mentioned, the spine did not match the factory's "straightest axis" determination. Aligning the guides
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Ditto Tony. One other grip material I like the feel of is a hypalon foregrip on a stand-up tuna rod. For lighter jigging rods, particularly slow pitch rods with split grips, I like Winn.
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I just want to give a shout out to one of the advertisers on this board. I recently submitted an order to Hitena for some metallic thread I plan on using for a special salt water rod. A short time after receiving a notification of my purchase, I received a refund from PayPal for one of the items. I assumed it must have been out of stock. Nope. I received an email from Hitena stating that the
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I've built several jigging rods using their blanks and was impressed with their quality but found them softer/more flexible than blanks from other manufacturers with same line weight and lure ratings.
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Agree, this is excellent thread. I've only used "D" in black for my saltwater rods and have been very pleased. The thread stretch allows the tag end to retract cleanly without fuzz when cut with a new razor blade. Also I really like the bright black color when coated with epoxy- none of the dull or slightly "grayish" caste with some of the other black thread I've tried. Goo
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Has anyone constructed/used a surf rod utilizing a North Fork Composite blank? Impressions?
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Thanks Don. I sent an email to Mike. Hopefully he'll get back to me.
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