A friend has asked for a recommendation about a shaky head rod blank. I have a Batson XSB 822.5 that I built, and for the big Lake Lanier spots, it is not powerful enough. A 3 lb spot will double it over in a heartbeat, especially pulling one out of 30 or 25 feet of water. Looking at the Batson lineup, and found these two RX8 blanks - XP 843 popping blank and the XSW 72ML Walleye blank.
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If anyone needs a room for the ICRBE, I just cancelled my reservation at the Best Western. My son is coming in town on Friday, and I have not seen him for awhile. I hope everyone has a good time, and I will miss seeing everyone. Regards Bert Nagy
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I built several threaded mandrels last fall in an effort to reduce and minimize the amount of reaming. I built at least 4 using threaded rods from different sources. I never got one to turn true. All were off center just a little bit. After you turned the grip down, it would not line up with the reel seat perfectly. It was noticeable by me at least. I bought a 3/8 and 7/16 mandrel, and the
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Thanks for the help. I appreciate it. Bert Nagy
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I found a blank in my shop that I would appreciate some help with. I did a Google search but could not find anything. I bought this blank at High Point when Andy Dear was selling All Star blanks via trash cans. It came out of one of the All Star cans anyway. The label says IGP 964 8' 1 piece, Fast Action, Medium Power I am thinking of building it as a spinning rod. Any ideas o
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I have built several Alabama rigs, and also bought a couple. It is kind of surprising when you "Put em on the scale - Dewey" The rigs I have built with just wire and and swivels weigh from .25 to .50 oz depending on the wire used. The heaviest wire is the utility flag wire. A commercially made rig weighed .37 oz. A swimmin' super fluke on a 3/16 oz jig using a 4/0 long shank h
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Scott. I have been making my handles using individual burl cork rings. I bore the rings to the diameter of the mandrel including the the butt piece of cork. On that piece of cork, I use a Forstner bit and drill a 3/4" flat hole about 1/8" deep so that the center of it is the same as the bore hole.(concentric) I complete the handle - gluing, turning, oiling, .etc: on the mandre
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Jeff, The label is clear, not cloudy at all. If you tell me what you want on it, I will make you one and you can try it. The reason I stick with the Brother label maker is that I have had bad luck with peel and stick decals. I built a "naked" graphite rod and put the factory peel and stick on as I had always done, and it did not look good. The lettering looked wavy, and was hard t
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Jeff, I use a P Touch label maker for my rods to do exactly what you want - personalized with names, rod specs, etc: It works OK. I did not want to get into ordering one decal at a time, and an extra in case I messed up the application. I put the label on, and wrap the ends with thread,and put finish on label and thread. This hides the vertical edges. You can see the horizontal edges of
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I just received two of Utmost closeout fly blanks. They are 7 foot 4 weight, and are quite nice. i got a plum colored one and matte graphite. I am gong to build one as a spinning rod, and the other as a fly rod? i think they will work well. The spinning rod is for my brother in law for crappie fishing. I made myself one last year, and it worked well for crappie. I did weigh them this after
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I made a couple of Alabama Rigs right after the Paul Elias FLW win on Guntersville To throw it, and you had to lob it as Steve said I used my Frog Rod (Castaway 874 with 60 lb braid), and I was very happy with the rod's performance. I tried my flipping stick, and did not like the combo at all. I managed to catch one fish (about 3 1/2), and it about tore the rod out of my hands. We only u
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Thanks for the responses. I appreciate the input. Joe, I'm using Shimano Curado E5 (The original Curado) with 10 lb line. I'm thinking that maybe if I dropped to 8 lb, it might cast better. I am apprehensive of going too small, due to the size of the fish we chase. Yesterday, we happened on some schooling hybrids that were 4 to 8 lbs, and they would only take small baits. A #5 shad rap
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Has anyone built a a bait casting rod for throwing small crank baits such as Rapala #5 shad raps and Norman Crappie Crank Baits? These are fairly light, small baits, and are usually used on a spinning reel. The lakes I fish are weedy, and I usually don't take along a spinning rod. Space is limited on the boat. I have built a Batson CB 70M, and Batson XSB 822.5 and tried these with the
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I have never been able to fill cork voids to my satisfaction. The Elmer's wood filler did not work for me. It dries a lot harder than the cork, making the grip difficult to sand. I ended up sanding down some of the grip. I have switched to burl cork for those rods that I want a cork grip. It shapes well, and has no voids. I put Tru Oil on to give the grip a sheen. In my opinion, it looks a
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I used to own a countertop shop that fabricated and installed both laminate and solid surface countertops. I put a laminate top in my build area. It is a light color (Wilsonart Mystic Dawn) It is 30" deep and 10 feet long I used some heavy duty L brackets to support it so that it is open the clear span. I would not use solid surface as it will cost a fortune compared to laminate. The
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I am not quite sure of the guide, but I used a Fuji Alconite on mine and it matched up pretty well. . I had read somewhere awhile back that Gudebrod candy apple red with no color protect was used as the main thread, with silver trim bands. I used those colors and the wrap matched perfectly. Regards Bert Nagy.
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Terry, What brand or manufacterer of heat shrink do you use? I've looked online and found there are diiferent temperature ratings. I would think you would want a low temperature so as to not damage the blank. Can you tell the supplier? Thanks Bert Nagy
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Yes it was! Many thanks Tom! Bert Nagy
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I did. This was not the article that I recall seeing. Bert
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I recall that there was a recent article in Rodmaker discussing Common Cents System (CCS). I recall it was summary with a how to get started with CCS. I have looked through my stack of Rodmaker magazines, and cannot find it. Any help with the Volume and issue would be appreciated. I looked in the FAQ's and Library, and could not find a reference to the article. Thanks in advance Bert
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My experience in doing this was less than stellar. I met a fellow at a bass club who was opening an outdoor store. He offered to put one of my rods in his store, to help both him and me. The rod was there for a couple of months, and I stopped by to him, and check on the rod. The place was an hour from me.. He said everyone picked up the rod, and liked it, but could not get over the spiral
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Charles I make a paper template for every rod per the article in Rodmaker awhile back. Works quite well. Bert Nagy
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Many thanks for all the replies. A couple of thing to clarify. Roger - I did an oversleeve as well as the plug. Also, I did not trim the break. I had done that on my first attempt ever at repairing a break, and had a hard time getting a plug to fit. The little bit that I trimmed off resulted in mismatched size holes I believe that my problem was probably caused by my assembly process. I
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My brother in law broke his favorite 2 piece spinning rod. - "All I did was set the hook" . He asked me to look at it, and see if I could fix it. It is an old Spiderwire rod. Not a very expensive one, but he likes it. The break was about 2 inches above the ferrule on the tip end part of the rod. I glued a 1 1/4" fiberglass plug in, at the break, with rod bond. Then I put
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I have also been struggling with this. I found some software called Photomix on the internet. It is used by scrapbookers to create scrapbooks and collages. I found it when I was trying to do a collage for my daughters wedding. It allows you to places photos anyway you want on a user defined space. The software is available for as a free download , however if you want to save your work as
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Tim, I fish Guntersville fairly regularly. I built a Batson XMB 783 RX8 stricly for fishing there. I also built several Castaway HG 40 783 blanks that I got from Swampland. Both work well in the grass there. They have the power to get the bass out. Not sure the Castawy blanks are still available. Bert Nagy
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Steven, Your email is hidden. If you send me an email, I will send you a picture or two. Regards Bert Nagy
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I use a P Touch 2300. It works very well for me. I use white print on a clear label. The only place I could find the tape was through Brother. Mine hooks up to my computer via USB, and that gives you a lot a flexibility with respect to fonts, layouts, etc. You can even put in graphics. I have not had a problem with the edges lifting, as John mentioned. I put the label on the on the blan
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Walt, I used to own a countertop shop, and had a local guy sharpen all my saw blades and router bits. He is a one person show, runs the business, sharpens the blades and bits. He has all the necessary machinery in his store. He also sells blades, bits, etc. You might give him a call, and talk to him about mailing the blades to him. Can't speak for him on that aspect. Ron Butler - Butler Sa
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I built an XMB 783 as Texas Rig rod for Lake Guntersville. It does well with 1/4 oz T rigs and 3/8 jigs in the grass. In my opinion, it is not powerful enough for heavier weights, especially in the grass. I suspect the XMB 843 is similar only longer. If you are fishing or pitching heavy cover, I would go with the XMB 844. My personal best largemouth at 8 1/2 lbs came on my XMB 783 last summ
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