Well yesterday I got to spend the day in Houston, Tx. at the All Star blank manufacturing facilities, complete with a full guided tour, given by the Plant Manager and Production Manager! (Thanks again Mike and Sharon, if you see this, we had a great day!) What a fascinating experience, to say the least. A friend and I were invited by one of our blank and component suppliers to join him for the day in Houston.

We got to see the entire process from the original templates and mandrels to pattern cutting, layout, tacking, rolling, cooking, cutting, sanding, finishing and quality control testing of the blanks in process. After that we got to see some of the actual rod building in process. They even have automated diamond wrapping machines. ...lol

What an incredible day! To top it off, we were able to see and handle blanks of any model... many of which I never knew All Star even offered.

And the best part of all... we picked out a bunch of bunch of blanks "for the supplier!!" And subsequently "acquired" them in the parking lot, before departing!!

I am the proud owner of 22 new rod blanks!! ;D ;D ;D ;D

The only problem now is figuring out how to pay for all those reel seats and guides!!!! ...lol

That sounds like a good day to me. I imagine you are going to make a lot of new friends when they found out you won the blank lottery.

WooHoo! ;D ;D sounds like you are about to go into mass production

MAN OH MAN OH MAN!

WOW, FLECH,  i was away yesterday & didn't get to log on to see what was going on, but, MAN, what a day you had.   ..talk about a "kid in a candy store!"   and..."aquiring"  blanks  Wow ....i haven't even built my first one yet, & am envious of all those blanks.  

just think of the fun you're going to have building & having the opportunity to "pick & choose" the blank you think will be approriate.  that is going to be cool.  

..and, think of the joy your wife is going to have reminding you that you can't spend 10 thousand dollars picking guides, reel seats, cork, etc., etc., to build all those rods!  Wheeeeeeeeeeeee

anyway, congrats.  that was cool that you got that opportunity (and those blanks   :))  ,,,now, if reelmech & i lived close by, we would certainly pay you a "social visit!"  ...Oh Yes We Would!   Heee Heee

Have Fun Bro --- you deserve it.

flechero,

Did you go with Andy?

22 blanks that is quite a bundle, what powers and actions did you get?

Now the hard part is storing them and keeping them straight.

Looks like your going to be getting busy.....

Tight Wraps!  

I was worse than a kid in a candy store, I was like Raul in BPS!!

now, if reelmech & i lived close by, we would certainly pay you a "social visit!" ...Oh Yes We Would! Heee Heee

I'd let you guys each have a "pick of the litter"  ...almost!   ;D

Did you go with Andy?

22 blanks that is quite a bundle, what powers and actions did you get?

Now the hard part is storing them and keeping them straight.

Yes, Andy was kind enough to arrange it all for us. He's a great one to do business with... always goes out of his way to take care of us.

What did i get... well, almost a few of everything! ...lol I got a pretty big selection of blanks ranging from a mega swimbait (back bounce) blank down to a light spinning blank (for the wife to catch schooling white bass) A big assortment of 6'6" - 7'6" med, med-hvy and hvy, mod-fast, fast and ex-fast blanks. And not all of them are "All Star" brand. They did a bunch of production for other companies in the past. Although we were asked not to mention any brands. We ended up with some current production and some past production blanks.

Really a smart move on Andy's part though... I wouldn't have ordered more than 5 or 6 blanks at a time... and can you imagine what I'll end up spending on exotic cork by the time it is said and done!!

I really think I will be using these blanks (except the 4 or 5 that I already pulled aside ) as stock for friends and family that want rods built for them and a few as loaners for people I take fishing.

Andy had been telling us about the CTS (Tournament series) blanks, and he brought a couple for us to inspect... all I can say is WOW!! They are impressive!! I believe they are lighter than GLX and they have a backbone that is just shy of a sign post! A super light and responsive tip... needless to say I bought it too. ..lol It will be the first blank built, and will be the replacement for my MBR784IMX, which is/was my t-rig rod.

Haven't had any issues with storage yet, I keep them upright and supported in the middle... so none of the tips are flexed. (so far, so good!)

Now I need to order tips and reel seats in a few of the common sizes so I can build in any order.  Luckily there are only 5 tip sizes in all the combined blanks, which makes it easier on the wallet for now.  A much bigger variance in reel seats but I already have about 5 sizes so will only order a couple more of those for now.

I guess this will have to count as my "mid-life crisis" since I can no longer afford anything that would count as a mid life crisis!  

flechero,

Well according to my wife when I had my MLC, the shop ate up every dime I had saved. So I figure I'll have to wait until Sept. when I turn 60 and call it My Over The Hill Crises, and go on a buying spree at Bingham's.

Really a smart move on Andy's part though... I wouldn't have ordered more than 5 or 6 blanks at a time... and can you imagine what I'll end up spending on exotic cork by the time it is said and done!!

Yea and he know's were you are going to get that Burl......LOL

Well I see your going to be real busy, just think every time you go out now, you'll be thinking about how the next one should be built.....

Tight Wraps!  

how the next one should be built.....

Yup, and I'm hoping to see a tutorial thread on marbling epoxy!!  (hint, hint)  

flechero,

That's funny because the wife and I just finished putting flames on an old Rainshadow IFS766, 7'6" Hvy.Modfast, split, spiral I have been working on...

But I thought that I had posted the Marbling Article I did awhile back.

Tight Wraps!  

But I thought that I had posted the Marbling Article I did awhile back.

Exactly what I needed, THANKS!!

Of course the last thing I need right now is to have to order more stuff!  ...lol  But a few pigments will only amount to a drop in the bucket compared to the cork, guides and reel seats!  (I can only afford to order for about 5-6 rods right now.)

I'll keep you posted as I start new rods.  I expect the cork to arrive on Monday and the rest of the stuff probably not for a week to 10 days, so I'll turn some grips and get them ready to glue while waiting on the big order to show up.  

I can't wait to get the CTS built and on the lake, it is so nice!  Going all out on it, with Ti framed SiC's!!