Hi all, I am planning to build steelhead rod. I have few questions I need help with, any input will be appreciated. 1. I am leaning toward northfork ST 904 blank. There are 2 options- HM and IM. what will be the main difference between those besides blank weight and price? Is this one of those -"u get what you pay" or else? 2. How do I find spine on 2 piece blank? 3. I am think
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I recently finished a NFC 703-1, and I love it! I used a 20-10-5.5 reduction, and ultimately 5 more 5.5 running guides plus the tip top. The blank is 7' long, and so it took 8 guides plus the tip. Not long after I purchased the 703, I decided to try to put one together that was a little heavier, and ended up with a MB 765-1 Neo. This one is 7 1/2 feet long. I saw no reason not to set
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Hi all, I have finally decided to build my first rod. I plan to build spinning rod on NFC SB 683 blank, I would like to keep it as light as possible and pair it with new vanford 2500 (6.3 oz). Thinking of fuji vss hidden thread reel seat(size 16) and fuji titanium frame sic-s guides. I think to trim foregrip cork a bit to reduce weight. Will I achieve a minimum rod weight with this set up?
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As the title implies, I am interested in learning more about the significance of the “tone” an individual blank emits when struck or tapped on its side or dropped on its butt. It is very intriguing to me after learning about it a few months ago here on this site; and it has been mentioned a few times since. Apparently it is nothing new = some responding veterans claim to have been using the proce
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I love NFC blanks. My wife just ordered a couple blanks for my birthday that arrived yesterday and upon inspection, saw a few concerning things. First, I had ordered an 8 weight gamma beta blank and received a 10 wt? (At least according to the decal that came with it.) I can’t find any measurements online of tip and butt sections to confirm but compared to other rods I own, the rod sent to me is
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I am writing this post to introduce a process, using cheap almost universally available technology, that can accurately measure the true natural frequency (TNF) of a blank or rod. It has been casually mentioned before on the forum. The reason for wanting to know the true natural frequency is that most knowledgeable builders believe that while one cannot measure sensitivity, it is proportional t
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Is there any evidence that rods built with certain blanks and certain components will cast farther and/or with more accuracy than rods built with other blanks and components? Most serious anglers value performance over appearance, but advertisements for rod blanks and components do not reveal how their products perform. Why not? Maybe they all perform alike!
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Want help with Spine finding/ guide spacing on NFC 805-4 Iconoglass Fly Rod Haven't built one of these before. Is finding the spine important? And what about guide spacing/ size for this 8' 5 wt. fly rod? Any suggestions for guide sizing, spacing? And wrap thread sizes. And difference from usual graphite rods, or go silk and lighter? Any help is appreciated. Thanks.
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Hi Mates, what is the best solution, when my rod blank has a misallignement mistake? After finishing the whole building process, I have recognised, that there's a misallignment between the top two sections (fly rod, 4 pcs). The female part of the ferrule is not coaxial with the blank axis, so the top section stands sideways. It looks as if it was cracked. The deviation is roughly 3 mm (cca.
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Hello, I bought a NFC blank (SWB807IM) and checking it for the spine, I noticed that it is not perfectly straight. For about 1 feet, from the TIP, it bends to the left with respect to its spine (I don't know how much, compared to the tip line maybe 1/2 inch). What can I do? Is it possible to straighten it? I've read that some builders straighten crooked blanks using heat. What could be the co
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What is the point of buying a rod kit that ends up being the complete rod? I guess I don't get it, if everything is preselected then its not to customize and get exactly what you want, right? Is it to save dough or just wanting the thrill of putting pre-selected parts together?
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Hey all, I'm wondering if decorative wraps on graphite fly rod blanks will have a huge effect on the performance of blank? I recently built a 10'6 Sage ESN for myself and I managed to scratch the bejeezus out of the blank just above where the grip ends and decided to cover it up with a 6" ish cross wrap design. Just wondering if I messed up the action? Thanks! Chris
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Recently purchased a CTS spin blank. Came factory labeled. Not a big fan of labels mainly the application and finishing of them. Anyways I will live with the label since it is already on the blank. Wondering how durable these labels are if I don't finish over them. If it where to wear off evenly over time fine but I don't want it to flake away and look terrible after just a couple uses. Thought
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Howdy All! Very new to all this and am learning much from this forum. Thank you! Question please. Is there a rule of thumb about how many wraps (or winds?) to make before starting to walk the thread up the guide foot? Does that length depend on the size guide, ie: gets shorter (or fewer) as you work your way up the rod with decreasing size guides? Mic
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Firstly… Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Secondly…. I have an NFC X-ray blank ready to go for a build. It is unfinished type with the circular ridges running the blank. Last night I was inspecting it under light and noticed what I thought was a crack. This is a faint line that tracks in a spiral around the blank for about 8 inches 1/3 way back from the tip. Almost looks like a line was wrapped
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In general which type of blank will make a more accurate rod: a parabolic action blank, or a fast action blank - or is there no difference? I am particularly curious about fly rod blanks.
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I acquired an older Calstar 6465 XH-B that I thought would make a great rail rod. It's so stiff that finding the spine the usual way by having the butt on the floor and applying pressure against the blank while supporting the tip just wasn't getting it, so I used the straightest axis to find it. That worked well. Everything was going smoothly until I glued up the aluminum reel seat. It required v
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I imagine this will get some debates going. The part for that makes this the most difficult is not being able to put my hands on a Rod Blank before buying one. Which leaves me with the opinions of others based on there experience. With that being said, let me try and set a control group if that is even possible. Brands I have personally held in my hand. Bass Pro Carbon Lite - Not a bad rod
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Getting started into the world of rod building. Mudhole has been the one that more or less showed me that you could even do this as a DIY project. I was set to take a class with them in order to learn the process until COVID put a halt to that. Here I am a year past that and I still have the itch to learn how to build my own rods. Some may or may not agree, but the proper tools can have a larg
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I almost hesitate to post this in fear of it being associated with a couple of recent posts which may have been considered by many to be nonsensical. Please believe me this is an honest request for information. How is the “action” of a blank actually determined? I am fully aware and accept that slow, medium, fast and extra fast designations are representative of where the blank “initially” start
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For you fly rod builders, where do you generally put the logo that is already on the blank by the manufacturer in relation to the reel? Right side, left side, bottom, top? It’s a short section and really can’t find a spine on it. Thanks, Dave
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After 18 years building rods, I am giving up the craft. Like anyone who spends time doing this, I have accumulated much equipment and a lot of components. I am looking for someone just getting started that would like an opportunity to equip their shop for very deeply discounted prices. I am located in NC, and can send an inventory list to interested parties. Items include a power wrapper, dryer
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Dear sir, I have read as much as I can find on the KR system setup, rod templates and guide pairings etc. I am presently building a special purpose KR system, micro guide, 10', spinning rod. I think I understand guide size and basic placement. I have measured my 2500 size reel spool and multiplied this by 27 to calculate the choke guide location. Option A. Most information I have found sa
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I'm working on a Calstar BT6460XH. The blank is short and stiff and my attempts to "find the spline" are getting inconsistent results. I've never been very confident on my ability to find the spine via the "bend it, roll it, and mark where it stops" method. As I was sighting along the blank, I noticed that there's a distinct white line running the length of the inside.
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Hello All, I stumbled across the video linked below where Gary seems to contradict popular opinion on guide placement: He seems to state that guides should be placed on top of the bend for casting setups and below for spinning. Am I interpreting this wrong? If no, what are everyone's thoughts on this? I suppose i get the casting distance argument, but wouldn't this put the rod under inc
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Is there any credible source which compares the performance in casting distance and/or accuracy of various rod blanks-rod builds? Or must we rely upon advertising, hearsay, and feelings rather than measurable facts?
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Until I joined this site I never really heard so much about weight reduction. Since joining and reading most of the topics, it seems that there is a huge belief that the less weight...the better. I can understand that a fisherman doesn't want to cast a 2lb. rod all day when he can cast one in ounces. However, I really can't understand cutting grams will make a better more desirable rod. Are rod
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How do you get the guides aligned properly to the reel seat? I’ve been doing a little reading on static testing to locate the guides, and they recommend having the tip glued on to do the testing, so a weight can be hung on it. Seems like once is glued on, it is permanent, and would be very difficult to align the tip with the real seat. Thanks
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Hello, I’m building a my first rod for inshore use. Currently I have several rods, a Loomis, Kissler , and Waterloo. They all have small guides, I’m not sure if they qualify as microguides, but they are very small. At first I did not care for the small size, but over time I have actually gotten used to them and prefer them. I have a medium heavy, fast action, 7’6” blank from NFC for the build
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Lol
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