spoonplugger1

No specs, location or presentation needs given, how would we know? What do you need vs what you can live with? The 5S76MLXF is a very specific actioned and tip powered blank.

Unless you are an very avid builder/angler with nothing else better to do I can't imagine why you'd build all those blanks for the same purpose. I wouldn't have a clue. None of my small stream smallmouth rods are built on any of those blanks, they do the job so well, I see no reason to build or recommend others.

The reason I started building rods 40+ years ago, if they can make something look and work long enough to get you out the door they'll do it, for just a few pennies more they could have had a reel seat that wouldn't give when it's supposed to ride a bit up the threads and jam when you tighten it. You don't want to know what they use to hold the reel seat on the blank sometimes.

Buy one of the guides that are the same size as the next guide toward the tip, the size of the guide will make absolutely zero difference on that rod.

Believe it or not, the blanks were the straightest G Loomis made because a bare blank shows everything. They sat in the warehouse already bagged and tagged, while the others were just bundled together till built.

Everything you need is on their warranty/expeditor website. Phone calls not necessary, do the paperwork and send in your rod, or use the Expeditor service.

Kind of hard to mistake a Fazite guide since the ceramic ring color is blue. You have something going on with how you treat, transport, or store that rod if you are taking out ring lock design guides, the next thing to go will be the blank, I'm surprised it isn't broken now.

You can also put a camo pattern of your choice on any blank you wish. Not hard to do if you can build a water vessel long enough to dip it in.

Going to need to know what size tip top you need on thar 30 + year old guide. Garrage sales may be the best option, got rid of mine over 15 years ago, today's guides are worlds better.

Lure rating are far more important than line rating, you gave us no info to form a base line, also you didn't mention what you're fishing from, I wouldn't use the same rod length if I was fishing from the floor of a john boat as I would the deck of a big bass boat. The longer bass boat rod would be smacking the water all the time. Also a longer rod moves the spook differently than the shorter rod, if you have been successful with your rod and developed good muscle memory with it, I'm not sure I'd want to re-learn the effective presentation you have now. I'd be thinking similar length blanks. Rod powers are arbitrary, a MH mag bass is nowhere near a MH popping or crankbait blank in power, that where lure ratings hopefully help in your selection.

The groove you mentioned is perpendicular to the fishing line's travel through the guides, how the line could produce a bend with an angle to trap itself in a groove 90 degrees to the guides the line is passing through would require some odd line travel, the guides are supposed to have control of the line with little ocillation, or loops by the time it gets to the tip top and a stiff line shouldn't bend enough to produce your result, hence my comment. I wasn't commenting on you, just the results and how to mitigate it.

You can try it, what could it hurt. You most have some gosammer line to get it the notch, I somtimes don't apply anything there and have never had a hangup on the blank/tiptop junction in 60 years.

Butt diameter has a huge effect on a blank's power, a blank with twice the diameter in the butt, with the same amount of graphite used, will be 9 times stiffer. So the MB 733 mentioned above simply increased the diameter to get the power they wanted without adding a bit of additional weight. Since the tip is the same diameter as any other blank in it's class it has very little change in the lower limit the blank can throw. This is why an XF blank of the same power as a less fast blank many times has identical upper lure limits, but can throw a lighter lower weight, it's right there in their catalogs.

There is a very good chance your reel seats, if you are lucky to get them off, which I doubt, wouldn't fit the new Xray blank you are using, that offset reel seat and it's corresponding special rear grip are all important in the feel and how much you like those rods. They are at a 15° offset, not straight like most rods. Ergonomically more comfortable. The Edge Black Widow spinning and casting reel seats also have other special features that Gary has used for 40+ years and they are also US made products.

Since you can't buy either as a blank, why bother with it? You can't hang your hat on sales speak, you can't buy a blank with RXT5 graphite in it, it doesn't exist. Worry about what you need that blank to do, than buy a blank that will do that job. Graphite modulus alone gets you nowhere, it is not where the rubber meets the road.

It's not alcohol, and if you remove as much as you can from the brush before dropping it in the bottle, it will last for over a year. Mine has.

The Fenwick Feralite ferrule was developed in 1962 and looks nothing like what you discribe. It looks just like the ferrules today.

IHopefully you can still find one and the blank is smaller than you think at the back of the reel seat. Them using a non exposed style seat makes me believe a 17mm exposed blank seat wasn't big enough. The Seeker and Lamiglas S glass I have used had this problem, I had to build my own exposed blank seats ala Rich Forhan style, but I have no idea how you could offset it, offsetting the arbors wouldn't do much.

I suspect you have a 15 degree offset grip set involved here it's nothing new Wiebe had one back in the 80's the design was later continued by Super Sticker who went out of business 10 years ago. G Loomis used them on their highend rods till they ran out, Gary Loomis had a pattern and last I knew had a US company making them for the Edge rods. Looking at a bare reel seat the hole was centered at the front threaded area and offset by about 3/8 of an inch down, the hole is not far from the trigger. The rear grip is cut at an angle matching the reel seat and the hole is offset to the bottom and centered at the butt cap. Anyway the offset give the bump on that seat, it was developed to improve palming on round reels, and continued doing an even better job on low profile reels we use now. My early I believe 1994 GLX rods and IMX rods came with them, I can supply a photo if necessary, of you could just look at the black widow reel seat on an Edge rod. The only disadvantage I've noticed is you can't use them on a larger diameter blank or you'll cut the trigger off, 9/16 max blank diameter if I remember right.

Titebond III is waterproof, few are, and cleans up with water. Gorilla wood glue is only water resistant, many are and there is no mention of water cleanup I seen. 8 oz bottle is $5-6, there are smaller sizes, but it may not be near as easy to find. My bottle is just fine and maybe 6 years old. It is also the color of new cork and similar woods when wet, I don't see it when dry, many use it to bond their cork ring custom grips, it doesn't bond the cork to the mandrel as good as epoxy does if you don't get a good wax job on it.

Wood glues an be found in any hardware store I have ever been in, they come in varied size containers, require no mixing, it's similar to Elmer's glue, only waterproof, Elmer's may also make one.

Any waterproof wood glue like Titebond III will work, the bare cork butt, if that is what you have, is the least durable option out there so anything else is a better option if you're so inclined. My rod butts see lots of rocks, gravel, etc.

You could glue it back on than cut a tenon on the end and install a butt cap to smooth and hide things.

Length makes fish feel bigger, get to light and the big bend in the rod make your hand feel like you are holding a shorter rod as the tip gets closer to your hand when bent. To stiff and you lose the versatility of lure selection and lure weight. There is no concrete answer, everything has a few compromises, set your priorities and work down the list the best you can, a good custom builder has used alot of stuff and knows where your gem may be hidden.

Look at the St Croix 5S, or 5CMXF in your length. Very light tip, better butt than a ML and you get the fancy graphite and resins. Tackletour and others have reviewed them, the blanks don't care how you build yhem so use the slightly more powerful cast blank if you want.