Jeremy, John, and Mike, I'd also appreciate a copy of the spreadsheets. Thanks! Dan
Forum: rodboard

While I haven't tried it yet myself, some people tuck hand warmers inside the cuffs of their sleeves to warm the blood circulating to their hands. Doing this is supposed to keep your whole hand warm, and if it works, you wouldn't need hand warmers in the handles and can install arbors in them eliminating the need to battle the adhesion issue with these tubes. Good luck. Dan P.S. De
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Tom Kirkman Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > This may not help you, but you know you can make > them yourself for pennies. And that way get > whatever size you need. > > ........... Tom, Sounds interesting. I've tried several searches on the site, but can only find generalities about doing this. Could you please point me in the right d
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With threads today about rod tip breakage and warranties, it brought to mind a factor in rod breakage that some customers may not be aware of. Wind buffeting can break the tips of rods that are placed "tips forward" in tie-downs on decks of 70+ mph bass boats. Someone on another board had several of his "over the counter warranty" rods break their tips during a run down th
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This over the counter warranty issue was discussed recently on BassBoatCentral.com concerning Shimano Crucials. Shimano used to sell their Crucial rods with an "over the counter warranty" but they are now listed on their website as being a "lifetime warranty." Some stores still honor the "over the counter warranty" but many retailers, including some of the big bo
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A Google search popped up this. 7' 12-20 line 1/4-1 oz. .515 butt 5 1/2 tip $213.00 Dan
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Thanks Mike and Steve. The rod will have 8lb test mono, and be used mainly with exposed hook jigs and some jigs with very light snag guards. It will be for mostly short casts to relatively shallow rocky areas in a river where an XF reacting blank is a must to minimize snags. It will also be used for some longer line drifting in 15 - 25' of water and I was concerned that the 822.5 might be a
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The RX8+S822.5 is listed as "Medium" power and the RX8+S823 as "Medium-Heavy." I know that each manufacturer varies in their interpretation of these terms. Do these descriptions seem about right, or would these blanks be closer to ML and M blanks from St. Croix? The 822.5 is often mentioned as a drop shot rod, which to me, brings to mind a "soft" medium rod.
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Thank you Tom.
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I've had success using a hacksaw to cut the seat parallel to the blank to remove the bulk of the seat so that the heat from a propane torch, applied carefully, will loosen the epoxy without effecting the blank. Good luck. Dan
Forum: rodboard

Jon Black Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > If you used Titebond, you might be able to chuck > it up on the lathe, get it spinning on a low RPM > and then try a few quick, abrupt "grabs" to break > the glue free. I've done the same said mistake and > it worked for me, but it was on a 3" grip. DO NOT TRY GRABBING SOMETHING
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Saw the photo of the cover in the photo gallery and that's a sharp looking rod! I'm curious about the reel seat. Am I correct that this is a "NSP" seat that's been modified? In addition to the porting on the sides, it looks like the area where the reel foot is normally seated has been machined out so that the reel rests directly on the rod blank? If so, how has the locking ring
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Thanks Jay, I would like to see photos of the rods - they both sound GREAT. I've been considering the AERO comfort grip and am glad you posted about that. I have fairly large hands, and I usually grip spinning rods with the reel foot between my middle and ring finger - do you think that seat be a good match for me? I like your idea of the modified locking nut with EVA over the threads.
Forum: rodboard

Tom Kirkman Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > The reason they can't ship for free even on a $100 > sale is that there isn't enough margin in a $100 > sale these days to cover the shipping of a rod > blank. I know several people that have gotten > into the component business in the few years and > most have had a somewhat sour awakening as t
Forum: rodboard

The last time I built a rod was in the '80s. Pricewise something that has changed is that it used to be that you could build a rod with a "name brand" blank and comparable components for less than the cost of a factory rod. Today the "name brand" blanks are priced so that's no longer the case. And if you add the shipping cost for components and the oversized package costs f
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Thanks Steve and Joe. The rods you built sound great, and it sounds like they do a lot of things very well. A couple of questions. What reels did you pair these rods with? Do you use mono or braid with these blanks? I planned to build the rod for use with 8lb mono for pitching to rocky areas in current, and need the rod to be Extra Fast reacting to avoid being constantly snagged
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I am leaning toward the Batson RX8 XSB 822.5. Now it's a matter of picking a reel seat, guides, etc. Steve, you said you and your friends liked the ISB822.5 for walleyes. Pitching jigs for walleyes and smallmouth is what I plan to use this rod for along with some drift fishing. How do you use your rod - for pitching jigs, vertical jigging, etc? I see this blank is often used for "dr
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I was a tool & die maker for a time, and a bench grinder should work fine for sharpening turning tools for a lathe. Keep the tool at the proper angle, use a light touch, and dip the tool in water FREQUENTLY to keep it cool. (Dip the tool in water BEFORE you start sharpening it, and dip it often enough to keep the tool from feeling hot. And the same advice for cooling the tool would app
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Thanks for the replies. The Batson blanks recommended sound good, and I had been eyeing them. It sounds like Batson's "fast" action blanks are closer to most rods "extra fast?" While "sensitivity" is subjective, I've heard the RX7 blanks being compared to SC Avids. Does that seem about right? The RX8 and RX8+ blanks sound like they're even more sensitive
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Any recommendations for some M and ML spinning rod blanks in the 6'8" to 6'9" range with extra fast actions? These will be used primarily for fishing 1/16 - 3/8oz jigs in current so good sensitivity is must. I like St. Croix's actions, but don't appreciate the pricing on their blanks so I would like some other options. Something at least as sensitive as an SCIII, and maybe more in th
Forum: rodboard