Yes, the voiding of warranty and having to discard part of a blank that can add up to quite a bit if you think of cost/inch. I have a box of expensive SC5 blank pieces from butt trims. I’ve been fortunate that I rarely have a broken rod, but I’m particularly careful with rod handling. It’d be nice to have the option to purchase blanks without a warranty at a reduced price.
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Bill, Cliff Hall's diagram also deals with extending blanks, which can be another useful practice.
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David, I just changed tip attachment points and butt support locations to get the various measurements. I was just curious to see how the blank would measure at random trims using the CCS setup. The blank was never trimmed. Most likely for this particular blank, I’d trim 2” from the tip and 1 ¾ from the butt end to get what I want. I actually use a different measuring/rating system (other than
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Yes, but the question is often asked “how much will trimming from the tip (or butt) affect the Power and Action”. The best illustration that I’ve seen regarding blank/rod trimming came from Cliff Hall (now deceased) and used to be in the photo section. I can’t find it, so I’ll repost it. There’s also an article in the latest issue of RodMaker magazine.
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I normally cut most of the blanks/rods that I build…..mostly from the butt end, but frequently from the tip as well. Since I build relatively short rods, starting with a longer blank and trimming from either end allows me to “dial in” the Power and Action to suit my desired application. Having too much time on my hands, I drew up a diagram showing the effects of trimming a blank by varying amount
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That’s all true (up to a point)….and easy enough to do if you have all the requisite blanks on hand. There are other factors that can be measured such as stiffness to weight and others not so easily seen like layup materials and construction. I think it’d be fairly easy to determine a low dollar blank from a high dollar blank (for lack of better terminology), but not so easy for two “identical” t
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Norman, I have to agree with you regarding unpainted blanks. Removing finish from blanks is a tedious job and not without some risk. I’ve also discovered that some blanks can fall into the category of “paint covers a multiple of sins” (Ha). It’d be nice if the manufacturers that painted their blanks offered the option of no finish, but I guess the finish enables them to identify that a blank
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I think the last thing I would consider when choosing blanks is the warranty. I shorten and strip all finish from my blanks, so the warranty becomes void anyway. As with anything else, there’s a cost associated with a warranty…….nothing is free….and I hate having to pay for it. Most reputable manufacturers offer a warranty to back up their product and I suppose it may give them incentive to have
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Roger, Agreed, but I think Jason did ask for input and by doing so, sometimes you get what you want to hear….and sometimes not. My opinion differs from your previous input, so yes, ultimately, the decision is his, but in all fairness, he needs to be aware that there are many compromises in rod building…..not to mention differing opinions regarding build techniques.
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Fourteen is going beyond the point of diminishing returns……you’ll give up more than you’ll get.
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I’ve built several of my rods using the Microwaves and found their casting performance to be comparable to the NGC or Rapid Choke guide set-ups. They are a bit heavier, however. I agree with Michael regarding mixing of guides. The Microwaves IMO, are only optimum for “general” use (one-size-fits-all) and presumably designed as such. Their design as a “set” may be fine for factory rods or where a
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Phil, Although a bit off-topic, you’re correct, they are relevant and also factor into the performance of the rod. We’ve probably all seen well-designed, good performing rods with cosmetic wraps judiciously placed (away from the rod tip). Guess you could call these a happy medium (there are many compromises in rod building). We’ve seen other rods where performance was obviously not a priority….a
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Maybe we need to press the “re-set button” here. We can all agree that the proper size guides are the smallest ones that will pass your line and any required connections and hold up to the required task. “Micro Guide” is simply the terminology used to describe very small or relatively small guides…..usually smaller than a size 6. Other than size, they are of the same conventional/traditiona
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Maybe we need to press the “re-set button” here. We can all agree that the proper size guides are the smallest ones that will pass your line and any required connections and hold up to the required task. “Micro Guide” is simply the terminology use to describe very small or relatively small guides…..usually smaller than a size 6. Other than size, they are of the same conventional/traditional
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I’m a little amused at some of the concerns relating to the height of micros and the fear that additional guides must be added to prevent the catastrophic consequences of the line rubbing or dropping below the blank. On several (non-spiraled) rods where I replaced standard guides with micros without relocating or respacing, they worked just fine and have had no issues after several years of hard
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I’m a little amused at some of the concerns relating to the height of micros and the fear that additional guides must be added to prevent the catastrophic consequences of the line rubbing or dropping below the blank. On several (non-spiraled) rods where I replaced standard guides with micros without relocating or respacing, they worked just fine and have had no issues after several years of hard
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I don’t know of a published article regarding micros vs. std guides on the same blank, but I have converted many rods from standard guides to micros and although the difference in performance was significant and noticeable, it was still subjective. Other factors aside, the rods definitely did feel more responsive and less tip-heavy. If further objective conclusions were needed, checking the reson
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Reminds me of Mark Twain’s “The reports of my death are grossly exaggerated”.
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Reminds me of Mark Twain’s “The reports of my death are grossly exaggerated”.
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I don’t think it’s so much the “angle” configuration of a rod that makes it susceptible to failure as it is the “bend radius”…..especially within a given length, where stresses could exceed the elastic limits (I.E., tweaking a rod tip between thumb and forefinger). If a rod was long enough, it could easily accommodate a 180 degree angle or more, so “high-sticking” wouldn’t be so much a problem as
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Michael, I’m well aware of the ratio. I also don’t think the resonant frequency would improve that much either, but I look at overall weight of the rod and the reel. The lighter the combination, the more sensitive and less fatiguing it is to use. With a finished rods weighing less than 2.5 oz. and light weight reels (Ald50HG), my rigs are around 7.2 oz. total weight. Like many things, you can re
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FWIW, I shorten and remove the finish from all my blanks before build. The finish weight varies from about .1 ounce (clear glaze type finish) to as much as .19 oz. (paint type finish). Might be worth noting that these weights are for a blank less than 6’ long. I just built on a Rainshadow Eternity blank where I removed .19 oz. of paint finish.
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Chris, Not even close.
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Craig, I started using SF guides for tip-tops several years ago because of the unavailability of small ringed (micro) guide tip-tops. It took a while to get used to the look of them and now I prefer them to conventional framed tip-tops. They are also considerably lighter (higher resonant freq.) and I think they look cleaner. They do tend to be more “fragile” than the normally braced tip-tops,
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I shorten the feet by about 1/3 and reshape. Cuts 15 to 20% off weights.
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I have flattened the leg/foot of many Fuji Ti guides (TYSG and TATSG) and reformed them to get the height desired for spinning setups. Several of them were even bent several times without fatiguing or breaking. While this practice is not for the faint-of-heart (Ha), the end justifies the means. In regards to fragility, I typically use single foot guides (TLSG3.5) for tip-tops and being as they
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Jared, The aforementioned formula (from the orig. CCS article) is what I’ve been using for some time. It’s an easy, quick and practical calculation to get you in the ball-park until you can perform subjective evaluation. I always do the calculation once I determine the Power and Actions of all my rods and add it to my spec sheets. Although some rod builders or anglers may not think its wor
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John, I think that because of the design characteristics of a blank/rod, depending on whether in the casting or the fish fighting mode, there would be an inherent Achilles’ heel, where failure would be most likely….assuming that the blank/rod was loaded close to or beyond its elastic limit. The mode of use would most likely dictate where the failure occurs. What remains the biggest unknown varia
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Bill, Even with a small amount of weight hanging from the end of a rod, barely deflecting it in a static (unmoving) mode, if enough energy and speed was applied, the rod could be flexed beyond its safe design limits. Designers/engineers can calculate for stress loads, but the amount of input energy/speed can only be estimated to be within a range derived from averaged angler’s capabilities (the
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Back to the subject of Lure Weight Determination….a couple more points to ponder…… If a lure weight range is derived from a blank/rod’s power, the resulting lure weights will be linear, right? (i.e., lure weights go up in proportion to power). My gut tells me that Action should also be part of any equation to determine a lure weight range, and if so, two rods with identical power, but dif
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