I am in the camp of a very light finish multiple times rather than one heavy application. I guess I am just lucky in that this is how I have always done it and I never have problems with bubbles or globbing.
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Call the airline and ask their policy. You might be able to carry them on and put them in a locker up front. Kind of like a coat closet. Or you can ship. That is what I have done. Make sure the tube is sturdy and well sealed. My pvc tube with taped-on caps got beat up and the caps cracked, but the rods were fine. I used USPS. Much cheaper and the post office held the tube and let me come pick it
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I just did my first fish scale wrap. I did it on I guess what is called an 8-axis. Threads at 0-90-180-270 up and back down for diamond pattern. Then second color to the right of each thread up and down. Then original color to the left. Then two of second color to right. One of first color on left. Three of second color on right and so on. Got up to six threads.
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What could also be cool is a swap meet of sorts. Trade different colors of thread or grips. Heck even a blank you changed your mind on building.
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OP, do you mean the stripper guide is turned 180 degrees so the side usually facing the butt is now facing the tip, 2 legs facing tip, not on the underside of the blank? If so, the purpose of this positioning is less legs for line to get caught up on when casting.
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My only gripe is shipping charges. I hate flat fee based on dollar amount spent. I know it is the easy way to do it, but in this day and age it should be pretty simple to calculate accurate shipping charges. $50 worth of guides does not cost the same amount to ship as $50 of eva grips or $50 of epoxy.
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Let me offer a little different perspective. I am a home builder, not commercial. It was Mudhole that first got me interested in building my own rod. I found tis site and learned enough to have the confidence to give it a shot. I quickly realized how involved it is to build a custom rod. I didn't give up and ended up with a great rod. Now I have built several and truly enjoy the experience and en
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You already know the answer by how you wrote your message. I too one time had an issue that was not resolved. I ate the loss and never dealt with them again. Plenty of other good manufacturers out there. Like Tom said, if it becomes a pattern, you won't find them here anymore. Too bad that others will have to have issues, but one problem does not make for de-listing.
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Put up a notice on your website. State that if you are not contacted within say 90 days regarding the dropped off materials you will be disposing of them.
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Ok. Thanks.
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Hi billy, Any news on an 8' XH Hercules blank being released? Thanks, Tom
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Thanks to the AmTak guys for getting back to me. :-)
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Most of the time the Post Office is the way to go. Unfortunately, a lot of "companies" have contracts with Fedex or UPS and get reduced rates. These reduced rates are still more than the USPS. The only negative to the USPS is their tracking system, it stinks. My pet peeve is shipping charges based upon the dollar amount of your order. $50 dollars worth of guides does not cost the sam
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Hi all, I am researching building a bent butt IGFA 130# rod for targetting giant bluefin tuna. The rods will never leave the swivel rodholders so the butt is important. Does anyone have info on the handle outside diameter of the different manufacturers of the #4 and #6 size curved aluminum butts? I am trying to figure out which butt will fit securley in the holder. Thanks, Tom
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How about tops to match the titanium virtus nanolite heavy guides?
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Two companies that I know of that will be releasing what they call "new carbon" rods next month, Ocean Tackle International and Black Hole. The rods are very thin diameter for their strength and also very light. There are videos/pictures of blanks that have a butt diameter of 0.600" and tip of 10/64ths which weigh 7-8oz. dead-lifting 100 pounds at a 45 degree angle. Pretty impressi
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Hello All, Does anyone make a large, heavy duty ferrule? I am considering making an 8 foot, 2-piece, tuna rod. The diameter of the blank would be around 20-22mm so the ferrule would have to be pretty big. It also needs to be heavy duty, ie. capable of handling 40-50 pounds of drag. Similar to what OTI is doing for their popping rods.
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I have seen small waves in blanks that didn't bother me. I did get a Lamiglas blank that when loaded (spined) would not come back to straight. I had Lamiglas replace the blank and all 3 times the blanks I got had the same issue. I ended up just eating the cost as they would not refund only replace and I wasn't going to waste my time on that blank. Inshore Classic IC84MH and H. Last time I will
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Hi Billy, Any news on when those 8' Hercules blanks will be available? I am in the same exact position, topwater BFT fishing in CCB and Stellwagen. I need a rod that can handle 30#'s of drag (Avet HX Raptor), can cast a 2-3oz lure (Ron Z 8"), has moderate action, but will shut off at the foregrip and is not very heavy.
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Me and my buddies fish Cape Cod Bay and Stellwagen mostly topwater casting. Calstar and Seeker are the only blanks we are considering for the rods we are building for next year's class of fish. I am waiting for Billy V's 8' Hercules blanks to come out. That's what we will be using I think. The Grafighters are also an excellent choice. I like 8' for the added casting distance. 7' is also popu
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The first, straight one came from Mudhole. The other three came direct from the manufacturer. They all look straight until you put a bend in them.
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Joe Spencer Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Are you saying the blank does not return to the > exact same shape after you manually bend it?? That is exactly what I am saying. It looks straight. I bend it. 2/3rds of the way up from the butt there is a bend of a few degrees. The blank before and after the bend is straight so the tip ends up being off ce
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The blanks are coming directly from the manufacturer. They are straight for 2/3rds of the blank and then make a few degrees turn and then are straight again to the tip. I should also add I can bend the blank opposite the turn so it stays straight. It is just when I put a bend on the blank when testing the backbone or looking for the spine the bend in the blank stays and keeps the top portion offl
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I know a blank is never going to be perfectly straight, but how much is too much? I had a blank replaced under warranty and when I was puting a bend in it I noticed it was really bent. The bend is not a slight wiggle. It is about 2/3rds of the way up from the butt. It is more of a turn in the blank so the tip ends up being around an inch off of the center line. I contacted the manufacturer and th
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Gotcha Dave. Purchase an aluminum ball style gimbal. Make a nice pretty wood butt handle or grip. Purchase a heavy duty saltwater reel seat and ferrule. (I like Aftco products) You could use the "other" Tom's idea and make it a blank through rod. It would be plenty strong enough, but you will not be able to detach the butt/reel seat from the rest of the rod. If you don't think the
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Yeah, a little more of an idea of what you are looking for may be helpful. Brand, model, test. I know the lines I use are very different from some of the others I have looked into. For example: Momoi diamond mono at 130# is 1.28mm Momoi Hi-Catch mono at 130# is 1.20mm Jinkai 130# mono is 1.04mm Others ranged from 1.2 to 1.4 if I remember correctly. Then there is always some variation in actua
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I don't have an answer to your question. What I am curious about is what don't you like about the unibutt gimbles? Do you not want a gimble at all? Do you want a wood gimble? I don't understand. What I do understand is a heavy (i.e. 80#) trolling rod is going to need a gimble. 80# setups make me think atleast 25 pounds of drag and 130# line. You could have a standard, non-gimbled butt in the fi
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The lighter poppers I cannot cast as far as the spinner setups. The go to lure for me is a 10" Ronz tail on an Owner 1.5oz lead jighead. I can get it out there plenty far enough. For next season I will be trying out the heavier Ronz heads with the heavy duty hardware. It always seems to be on the initial drop that I get hit so the added weight hopefully won't be an issue, i.e. dropping under
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In my experience and location the problem with the local shops is they do not (and cannot) have the selection. It is too hard to keep everything everyone wants. When I want a new set up I have to buy the reel from one place, the blank from another, sometimes the components from another. Then there is the line, terminal tackle, lures, etc. I cannot even find an online retailer that carries everyth
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I fish off a friend's 24' CC. I have no problem using an 8' rod. The other guys currently have 7' spinning set ups and want to go to 8'. A crazy tuna and outboards or the bow can be a little tight with the 7' rods. I don't have an issue. I am thinking the XH should work. I don't want too heavy since we need casting distance. Also, having a CC and experienced boaters means boathandling makes a bi
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