S Hovanec

You won't even find a used rig like that in my area for that price. In 2005, I sold my 1995 16' Sea Nymph tiller with 25hp, 55# bow mount TM, 55# transom TM, 2 batteries, 2 bank charger, 2 fish finders and custom cover for $4500.

Noone but me and basserjim. I have at least 2 Tennessee grip rods slated for myself in the near future. I have the cork glued up for my new DS rod, I just have been too busy with other builds. It will be started soon as I'd really like to fish it and my new TwinPower this season!

Agree on the dream reamers. I've been using them since they came out 8 or so years ago.

I've only built on 3 MHX blanks, a MXF, MF and MHF. I couldn't discern between the 3 without looking at the labels. Not a fan. I still have a Gen 1 HM MLXF to build. It feels different.

Little tip with those reamers. Make sure you check the cork or Eva before you slide it on the blank. They will sometimes deposit grit in the softer grip material, which in turn, scratches the hell out of the blank when you slide the grip on. From all that is on that list, I only use reamers, tool kit, bottle caps, syringes, tip glue and finish. You will need to develop a procedure you're comfortable with. For instance, I don't use brushes, I use cut up pieces of those plastic fake credit cards to apply finish. You can eliminate the mixing sticks by nipping the end off of the brushes and using it for mixing. I use 1oz condiment serving cups for mixing the finish. I then pour it on to a foil covered board to allow the bubbles to release. Some people use to bottom of a soda can for this also. You might want to substitute in guide tubing for the foot adhesive. It allows for adjustment when laying out a rod. The spatula set is handy for mixing adhesive and dropping dabs of finish at the ends of the guide tunnels. You will want some kind of paste epoxy, like RodBond, for attaching grips and reelseats. I'm sure there are some tips I'm forgetting, just trying to save you from getting stuff you'll never use.

Glass. The squeeze is an accident waiting to happen.

Didn't want to start a new thread for this. Border Colie themed rod. I had 2 instructions. make it hot pink and put a border collie face on it. The name has been scrubbed from the pic just in case someone is snooping. Black Alconite tangle free guides. Kigan XLA hook keep and Batson FAWC-B winding check American Tackle 16mm Aero seat with threads trimmed and the grip from hell!

Someone been poking around in my photobucket albums? Lol one would think if they didn't want you to know who the blank manufacturer was, they would have at least removed the OEM Decal.

Everyone has different expectations of their equipment. I guess mine are too high. Of all the rods I've built, I've never been 100% satisfied with a single one. In my eyes, there's always something wrong with it. No one else can ever find the issues I have with them, so I guess as long as the customer is happy, then its all good! All of the rods pictured were fully functional with the exception of the Abu. It was the only one that failed. Call it whatever you want, its still poor quality and every company that I've messed with puts it out in one form or another.

80, 150, 220.

Put a 1/2" dowel in a drill, stick the butt cap on it, set it spinning and sand it down.

Wow, that is big. Typically I make them around 1 1/8" Dia x 1.5"-2" long.

You won't even find the 15hp for $2k.

Oh, sorry. I took it the wrong way.

I'm hoping that was sarcastic. These are examples of poorly executed production rods and in no way, shape or form a sample of my work.

Yep. That is the way it was bought. Every guide came with a football!

Take a close look sometime. too much finish. bubbles in finish. wavy finish. gaps in wraps. guide feet not tapered. cardboard arbors with insufficient epoxy to seal out water. reelseats filled with epoxy instead of using arbors. cork veneer over tan colored EVA to emulate a solid cork grip. IMO, crap. Musky rod brought in to have full grip made into split grip. Here's what I found when i started tearing into the project. This nice looking chunk of cork was only tacked down in 3 places with epoxy. Oh, wait a minute, it's not even cork! If you're spending $500+ for a rod, something like this is unacceptable. This was just the hook keep. there were 8 or 9 guides, all with the same gappy wraps. 1 piece blank? Think again! Here's one from another supposedly popular maker. This is all on one rod. every guide looked like this and every winding check had the same gap. Maybe "football" is the look they were going for? These examples are why we build our own rods. Plus, it's fun having something that no one else has. The only time I've ever duplicated a rod is when the customer wanted 2 of the same thing.

I started building because what I wanted wasn't commercially available. Not to mention the build quality of most of the mass produced rods is crap, even the highly coveted NRX.

That one I don't know.

If you need more line capacity, then you want the C3000HG (6.0 gearing) or C3000XG (6.4 gearing). The C denotes compact body, which is the 2500 size, yet has the deeper spool of the 3000.

Yep

That small amount, it should just stretch over the butt. Put some epoxy on the walls of the butt cap and a very, very thin coat on the blank. Stick it on and clean up the excess epoxy with DNA.

Eva or cork?

$1200 wouldn't buy me 5 rods or 5 reels, let alone both. It might get me into 2 setups tho.

If you like that, I'll give it another shot! I think I have the technique down and I plan on making some clamping jigs. I think this pattern with green burl block and possibly light inlays would be sharp.