FD.

Size 0 surgical tubing cut into small bands.

This one is headed north to a VA Tech fan. Rod Geeks C473MHXS painted maroon and dressed in Hokie colors. In the beginning there was Cork.. On the right is the rear and butt grips. Put it on the power wrapper and turn it down to mate up with a Fuji SK2 split spinning seat. Sanded and cleaned

A package arrived today. Bottom to top. C473 MHXS - It's a Va Tech Hokie rod. Maroon and Burnt orange spinning rod. C276 MHF - Gold and Black light flipping stick C4711 HMF - Metallic Light green flippin stick. This one is mine and is finally going to replace my last factory rod. A veracity will be for sale soon. C273 MM - Copper Metallic cranking rod C476 MH F - Gold Metallic Frog rod

Even with the 1st overall pick this year, without an O line we are still in trouble. I'm afraid Jameis is going be seeing a lot of sky this fall. 6 - 10 would be a good year based on what I see.

I have a Roadie 20 qt and love it. Is it worth the money? That's up to you to decide. It does hold ice better than most but the deciding factor is the durability. I've had mine for 2 years and it still looks new. I was going through a 50 dollar cooler a year mostly because the Florida sun destroys them.

I saw one similar to it on the Custom Fly Grips website a couple of months ago. The heat index has been over 100* so this weekend I decided to stay in the AC. I have about 6 hours in cutting, cleaning, glueing, cutting, cleaning, glueing.....

With the rapidly deteriorating physical abilities, I don't run triathlons anymore, I don't mountain bike much or even fish that much anymore. The kids are all grown up and I pretty much hate everything on TV, so I had to find something to keep my mind occupied when I'm not working. Rod building is it.

Now that you have 12 cork rings glued back together and sanded smooth, let's cut them apart again. 48 wafers!

Glued back toegther Sand the ends flat, then stick them on a mandrel and turn the outside smooth on my power wrapper.

You could have a custom Rainshadow E-Glass cranking rod built in that price range.

192 wedges cleaned and ready for glue

Lakeshore Blvd on the north end of Toho has lots of access and is on some of the deepest and most productive water on lake Toho. If you have enough time I'll take you out with me if you want.

Yep, I have done some checker board grips. This one is going to be a spiral. There was probably enough stuff going on last night to film several episodes.

So what do you do on a Saturday night in Polk Co Fl. Take 12 cork rings and cut them into 16 pieces each. What do you do with 192 cork wedges? Glue them back together. Not an entirely stable thought process to the casual observer.

This is absolutely the truth.

You really have to stop soon. You are causing me to want to spend more money than I should. I had talked myself out of the need for a ban saw and lathe. Not so much anymore. Watching this thread unfold is like a fishing crack addiction... And I can't "Just say NO"...

I love MHX but you should look at Rod Geeks also. They are St Croix designs. Plus you can get them painted.

The base is nice but not necessary. I built my first ten rods or so with just the hand wrapper.

Here is what you need to start including a hand wrapper and dryer http://www.mudhole.com/Rod-Building/Supply-Kits-Tool-Kits/All-In-One-Rod-Building-Supply-Kit

The two middle ones in that kit will handle most blanks

http://www.mudhole.com/Rod-Building/Reamers-and-Abrasives/Extreme-Reamer-Set-of-4 Not absolutely necessary, but they sure make life easy.

Epoxy as Mick said and thread work on smaller guides. Not overly difficult but will take some practice.

Most sewing threads are coated with a wax to help if through the machines. Absolutely do NOT use that on a rod. The finish will not penetrate the wax.

Are you going to have a booth, or just wandering around? It's good they don't allow sales, but I'm sure I will come away with a list of things I did not know I needed...