Torpedo makes a better swivel tip for half the cost. It has a #6 SIC guide on the incoming side of the roller as well as the exit guide. Do a search for "Torpedo Tip" or "Torpedo Wire". The company that makes Torpedo Trolling Wire makes the tip.
Forum: rodboard

Todd, will these make good diver rods? I have been using other "surf blanks" for wire and mag diver rods, this would put me in the same boat as Ken in not being able to wait LOL!
Forum: rodboard

Absolutely, my own two wire rods are spiraled SN's and standard SN turbo tip, no issues. Let me know if you need any help or input for your build. Blanks can be tricky to pick for wire diver rods also. Magnum divers on wire put serious drag on a blank, and you need plenty in reserve for the strike. All that and still be user friendly enough for weekenders to fight fish on zero stretch wire, h
Forum: rodboard

Jason, I have the SN guides on over 50 rods now fishing wire. Some of them are charter and tournament captains that use them daily. The SN's have been awesome. I checked some from a charter boat last fall(third full season) with magnification and they did show slight scuffing under magnification, but nothing that made me feel like they were in any sort of trouble. The factory polish was just
Forum: rodboard

I have been building on the 9'6" 15-30# for guys trolling copper line on the great lakes. So far bulletproof.
Forum: rodboard

Sandra, one thing to consider when building downrigger rods is that while graphite blanks will be lighter and maybe have slightly more fighting ability over glass, glass is actually the best way to go. First, you want to be able to load the blank in the rigger, most guys will set the load heavy enough to have the rod tip almost touch the water. Having that kind of load on graphite, followed b
Forum: rodboard

Dennis D., your going to have to draw me a picture, no idea what your point is? I have no problems listening to or even accepting all the different ideas presented on this forum, it is always a wealth of knowlege. State your point without the riddle, it may be a good one.
Forum: rodboard

Whether its about the money or love of the craft, I just can't stand to see peoples work labled or degraded based on peoples opinions of how rods should be built. There are many factors that come into play in pricing, types of rods, artwork, etc... Building what you enjoy, charging a price that your satisfied with, and supplying a quality product that people want are all good things and shouldn'
Forum: rodboard

Holy crap Todd, you just made my day, my whole diver rod lineup is in there!
Forum: rodboard

Seems like a lot of people around here get real hung up on the "custom" word. Some kind of feather in a hat or something? Who cares if anyone calls your rods "custom" if they are making you money? Some peoples niche or geographical area won't support $400 rods and you will starve building just "custom" rods. I know in my area mid Michigan, you will starve making
Forum: rodboard

That also describes rods used by anglers in the UP fishing for herring.
Forum: rodboard

The MHX will give you the same or better performance, quality, and warranty at a price that will make you smile. I have built a couple of the 1024's for hotshotting rods for a local river guide, he loves them. These blanks are the real deal.
Forum: rodboard

All of my trolling rods are spiral and I place the stripper at 12 degrees and have never seen a line stacking issue. My strippers range between 23-26" from the front of the reel seat. I thought I did once with a Penn309, bugged me for a whole summer. Ended up loaning the reel to a buddy for use on a rod with a standard, guides on top setup. When the rod came back a month later, the line (
Forum: rodboard

Julie, It will be tough to find a blank that is 10', that will do both trolling applications effectively. The Batson RDR100H is the closest I can think of. It has like Tom described a graphite reinforced bottom end with a glass tip section. The RDR's action is relatively slow which will make it work for pulling cranks or spoons for walleye, even crawlers on boards, but will be overpowering
Forum: rodboard

If these rods will see hard use, like charter work or serious sportfishermen, I would go with the Silicon Nitride II rings. Over time, maybe not very much, the wire will eat the zirconia up. A twilly or swivel roller tip will also reduce the amount of line twist. Line twist is a fact of life with wire, but those tips slow the progress.
Forum: rodboard

I have a customer after an 11' Herring "noodle" rod (spinner). They use 2-6# line fishing from boats in Michigan's UP. He said he wants to be able to feel a mosquito land on the tip, but not rip the lips off the fish, not asking much. Looking for some blank ideas. This is way out of my normal builds and not sure about blanks for this application. UL action steelhead, Fly rod blanks
Forum: rodboard

I agree with many of the comments on breaking the rubber bands. Another trick I use to break my bands (small reds) is to reel down and take up the slack, pointing the tip directly at the release clip. Give a sharp slap to the butt of the rod handle, the rubber band will either break or pull free from the release. My suspicion is that he is Roland Martin jerking at the releases and the mono lin
Forum: rodboard

Not real familiar with centerpin other than they are very similiar in nature to a fly rod. Hotshotting is the method of using a drift boat to hold current and "hot shot" plugs downstream in a basically backtrolling manner. You use the current to give the lures action and basically steer them downstream by controlling the drift of the boat. Very effective for steelhead in Michigan.
Forum: rodboard

Thanks Dave
Forum: rodboard

Anyone know a good Australian builder. I want to refer a customer with possible multiple rod order. Too much cost involved all the way around to do it from US. If you know of anyone you can recommend, please contact me and I will get you in contact with the customer.
Forum: rodboard

I am open to any Australian or other builder that wants this business. Just get ahold of me and I will give your the contact information. This whole thing seems very cost prohibitive from the US, but I would still like to see this customer taken care of. Thanks for the info guys.
Forum: rodboard

Thanks for the information. This may not be worth the headache. Maybe three or four, mid range rods. Anyone build rods in New Zealand? I would be happy to give you the referral.
Forum: rodboard

Is there any issues with shipping and customs?
Forum: rodboard

Anyone ever ship rod/rods to New Zealand? I have a request from someone living in New Zealand for trolling rods. I checked with the post office and looks like a 5# PVC 4" in diameter and 60" long would run over $85. Any better ideas? Anybody have a container heading that way?LOL
Forum: rodboard

I need one of these blanks. I have been searching sponsors pages and haven't found any listed. If anyone has one, please contact me. I believe that they have been discontinued. If none of the sponsors have one, I will call Batson directly to see if they have any. Thanks
Forum: rodboard

I use SN II guides for stainless wire. The copper isn't abrasive at all, so the expense of the SN guides is counter productive. On that line, the radius of the SN guides is very large and would work well with copper though.
Forum: rodboard

Thanks Ron
Forum: rodboard

Thanks Ron, that was kind of what I was getting at with that long winded preamble. The ones that MH carries by Pac Bay?
Forum: rodboard

Many guys do just that and it does help. I realize that there isn't a fix all guide out there and my real question is basically if the Stainless Wire boat rod guides are tough over the long haul. They tend to look "cheap" like their price suggests. Worried about the "silver sodered" joints letting go prematurely?
Forum: rodboard

I have been building copper rods for the past three years now with very good success. In the effort to build an ever better mousetrap, I am working to reduce or hopefully eliminate the biggest issue with all rods used for copper. The knot used to join the copper to mono or floro (normally an albright, twist, or variations of both) stubbs into the guide rings during the letting out of line and w
Forum: rodboard