I have upwards of 50+ blanks (and growing) in my shop and am looking for a creative storage solution for better protection and inventory management. Currently, I just lean them against a wall or a cabinet, which works fine, but I would like to store them in a slotted or gridded storage bin of some sort. How do you store your blanks? Thank you, in advance, for your comments. Jon
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I was about ready to start building a 9'6" 8wt for carp and mousing. My thought was to go 20, 16,12, to a #5 DF and then #3 DFs to a large TT. The reason for this setup was simple, this is close to how the textbook says to do it. Now after reading some recent posts and remembering some older ones I think it may be time to retool. Current thinking is to go 14, 10, then ceramic single foot 6s
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If anyone is going to teh Somerset show the next couple of days, I will be working the Garone's Custom Rods booth #343. I will have the full line-up of Seeker Blanks that I have been working on, the Hercules, Super, and Classic Series. We had a surprising amount of builders stop by on Friday who check this forum daily but do not post. In addition to the 15 models of blanks, there are 40 rods in
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Mud Hole Custom Tackle is pleased to now be offering the custom rod builder some fantastic wooden rod racks at affordable prices to display their new custom rods on. Check them out at: We have also add new designs to our custom rod building t-shirts!! These new action images really jump off the shirt! Let people know you’re a custom rod builder by adding your own name, rod type, web site a
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The new MHX rod sleeves have arrived! Protect your MHXâ„¢ rod from damage while making storage simple with this stylish MHXâ„¢ rod sleeve. Made of a braided polyethylene fiber, this unique material will not mold or mildew. Similar to a "Chinese finger trap" this rod sleeve is designed to grip your fishing rod with the strength and durability to protect your line guides and rod tips fr
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Wow, I feel we had an icredible day! New builders, Old builders, new builders with old faces. lol. We all had a great time. On my part, How fun it is to watch friendships form. At the first gathering people really did not know one another, yesterday they treated each other as if they were old friends. That was cool. We even have the possiblilty of having 2 -3 new members of the ORBS mont
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When: Saturday November 5, 2011 from 9:00AM-6:00PM Where: Ramada Inn 4914 Everhard Rd. NW, Canton, OH Cost: The price of admission will be $20.00 per person. The cost is used to offset the cost of the room, and the lunch catered by Old Carolina Barbecue, and include BBQ, sides, and dinner roll. We will have water and pop on hand for beverages. RSVP: Please RSVP to Bill Eshelman via ema
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Is there a method to wrapping your guides twice, besides tying the thread off and starting a new second wrap? I have been told I should wrap the guides twice, this is a class 20 to 30 pound rod. Any comments or suggestion welcomed. Thank you
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Does anyone make a glass "Dropshot" style blank?? I have been searching quite a bit, and it seems like there are limited options for a soft tipped rod out there. Thanks Josh
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A little off topic - I've got a large number of 2 - 3 feet long 2" PVC tubes left over from shipping rods. I've have been trying and trying to think of what to do with these as I'd prefer to use them as opposed to filling up a landfill. Any ideas? Rod rack is about the only thing I've come up with and I already built a rack for finished rods and a rack for blanks.
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I have been "dabbling" with building rods for nearly 40 years - started with a Herter's kit. However, it is never too late to look into something new. I would like to find a supplier for protective inserts for fishing rod racks made from wood. I have looked at teh internet until I am nearly crosseyed. Now is the time to yell for help. Can anyone give me the name of a supplier where
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Can anyone recommend a blank and components for a Black Drum Rod. A friend of mine went on his first Drum trip this year in the Delaware Bay and is hooked. Now he has asked me to put a rod together for hime. Ideally the build with material should be under $150. Thanks for any suggestions.
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I have had several guide frames crack and split over tha past few years. This appears to happen for no apparent reason. I normally find that a guide has split when taking the rod out of the rack ready to go on a trip when the insert falls out onto the floor. I decided to put up a note here after i found a cracked and split frame on a Fuji CHBNG heavy duty silicon nitride II guide on my Calstar GF
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I fished a tournament this weekend on a lake near my home. I do not usually fish tournaments but was asked to fill in since a regular could not. Yes we did place in the money both days. I got a 1st hand look at today's rod lockers and how they effect micro guides. Talking with the anglers and watching them loading and unloading rods made me see where spiral wrapping these tourney rods is just
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Okay so my wife volunteered me to build a rod for her brother for a birthday gift. He lives in SW Florida and does a lot of fishing in the mangroves and such for sea trout, redfish, snook, catfish, etc. and he does this from his boat. I need some help in finding the right blank and guides. He said he wants something that throws (spinning) in the 1/4 - 5/8 range. Approx 6.5' - 7' length. Said he
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Did anybody else read the "Your Turn" article on the Microwave guide in this month's Florida Sportsman? Or the article on micro guides i the same issue? Two totally different articles but worth reading if you get the mag.
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What is teh best way to get the epoxy out of the guides, I have some 2mm. and they got epoxy in them, I tried denatured alcohol, it works but thats because it was still soft, what about when they get hardened?
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The Ohio Gathering is coming upon us. Those of you who have registered recieved an e-mail from me today. If you did not, let me know so I don`t miss anyone. If you have not registered it is not too late. All you need to do is send an email to ; bill.eshelman@yahoo.com and I will res
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So I was hit with some noob questions this morning by a customer. I have heard that Lamiglas will custom finish a blank for additional cost.....has anyone ever had this done by them? And does anyone know of other companies that do this?
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Every year I get back from the Expo only to have regrets? How did I miss the give away blanks? Why didn't I buy another dozen clear tip blanks from Mudhole - or all the surf rod blanks they had in the 1.99/foot racks? How do I always seem to miss the seminars that I wanted to hear? - this year there were not only seminars to miss but demos galore. Billy keeping the cleaning crew busy wit
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I decided I was going to try selling some rods at a craft show in two weeks.( My wife seems to think I have too many) I have three rod racks I made which hold ten rods each and I was planning on having them in front of my tables so they would be easily accessible. I am now told that nothing may be in front of any tables and we are not allowed to split the booth so people may come in betwee
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hello all! I just got a 6'6" fly rod 2wt. that i am going to build into a ultra light spinning rod, the problem is that the tip has a bend in it probably like a 20% bend, it is really noticable, sending it back would'nt be worth it , cause it is like a 30 $ rod, so si there any thing I could do to make this not so noticable, I know that I should put the guides on with the bend downwards, I t
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I want to build a couple rods with the North Fork Composites "HM" blanks. These will be bass fishing casting rods and I am looking for a 6'6" Medium power fast action. I remember touching some of the blanks at the expo last year and I think I remember them being quite soft for the listed power/action. Has anyone built with these blanks and can you compare them to any other blank
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After having fished multiple split grip spinning and casting rods, I am just not sold that they boost rod performance, as they always result it a tip heavier rod. The only way, with a clear conscience that I can build a split grip as a "better" rod, is if the weight removed from the split is added at the very end of the rod, resulting in a nicer feel. I know of no mass produced spli
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Just got a new Cabelas catalog and their Fish Eagle II series of trolling rods are now spiral wrapped! It's a popular, decent rod around here and at $89 is going to make it a little harder to use spiral wraps as a selling point for a custom rod. I spend a lot of time spouting the advantages of spiral rods to everyone that i talk to andknow they have a local source for them at a price point that
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CASTAWAY Revolutionizes Spinning Rod Performance CastAway Rod Manufacturing introduced the first production micro guide casting rod at the 2009 ICAST show. This year, while other rod manufacturers are playing catch up and follow-the-leader in producing their own micro guide rods, CastAway is well into the next generation with its performance shattering MICROWAVEâ„¢ series of spinning rods.
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Maybe it’s time for an intervention, but I can’t seem to kick this obsession. I’m sure my wife thinks I’m one USPS shipment away from showing up on 'Hoarders' (“Oh yeah, well maybe you should take a good look at your handbag collection!”) I’ve built a couple dozen fly rods over the years—strictly for personal consumption, don’t ya know— but I never seem to have enough. I even
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The Swampland Tackle Trailer Loaded To The Brim Is Rolling! If you see The Purple Circle on the road toot your horn! Thank all who preordered - you have insured that this years show will set Swampland sales records for the ICRBE events.- All preorders are filled and will be available for pick up. Ebusiness orders placed through the Swampland Tackle Web site will be processed daily duri
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I completely grounded my rod wrapping setup and drying racks, and it seems to cut way down or even eliminate dust attraction to wet finish. My wrapping stands are wood with rollers, my drying stands are aluminum, and both slide in metal T-tracks. I connected grounding wires from the roller mounting bolts on the wrapping stands, and the base of the drying stands, to the bolts that slide in the tra
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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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