The latest build thread...

[Lead Head]

I have smoothed that seam on a finished rod in my rod drier before. It's tedious because the drier is slow and can't handle much pressure, but it did work. 

[Mbirdsley]

Here’s my update.  Everything is wrapped.  Turned out pretty good I’m happy with it.  Surprised to how light it is for being a big fiberglass rod.  
 

I’ll probably put color preserver on tonight still. the epoxy on the threads next Sunday.  Hopefully be ready to fish next week. 

[Mbirdsley]

Rod geek fiber glass deep cranking rod is done.  I had an issue with one air bubble near the hook keeper so I had to sand it out. When I re applied the epoxy I messed up by trying to only using a light coat onbig wrap with the hook keeper.  Well that left ridges.  So i had to sand the ridges down the best I could and then re-applied a third thicker coat and it came out pretty good.  I’m only 3 regular rods on but, my epoxy job is is better this time on the guides.  
 

if the winds cooperate I can go to the lake I want I should be able to tear it out Tuesday.  If I have to go to the other shallower lake I will not be. 
 

next up I want to build a 7ft light t-rig/jig bait casting rod somthing like 1/8-3/4.  That will replace my 6ft 9 carbon light combo which, I’ll move to my spinner bait /  chatter bait rod. After the worm/jig rod I’m thinking Carolina rig rod.  It never stops and farther into the rabbit hole we go haha 

[KCFinesse]

9 hours ago, Mbirdsley said:

 After the worm/jig rod I’m thinking Carolina rig rod.  It never stops and farther into the rabbit hole we go haha 

 

 

It is a very pretty rabbit hole with lots of shiny things ?

[Mbirdsley]

First one on the rod 

[Dwight Hottle]

On 3/16/2023 at 10:55 AM, Logan S said:

Got to fish a few times with all the rods I've built so far, very happy with all of them.  I think the Point Blank 7'MH/F is the most impressive of the group, it's an amazing jig rod...Power and action are perfect and the sensitivity, balance, and overall feel are the best I've ever used for how I fish a jig (lots of skipping and casting).  The Point Blank 7'ML/F is also impressive but I think it's just a little more powerful than I prefer for what I built it for originally, hence the 2 builds below which are slightly lighter in power.  I'll use the 7'ML/F for heavier shakeyheads and tubes.  

 

I finished two PB691MLXF spinning rods the other day.  Still learning with every build, my decal troubles are behind me I think ever since I started sealing the edges with color preserver before finish.  

 

 

I also snagged two NFC Delta Hybrid CB blanks, the 705 and 706, to try for squarebill, lipless, and chatterbaits since they were having one of their big sales...Hopefully they don't take forever to get here, I've heard NFC shipping is questionable at best.

 

That Point Blank spinner looks very well done & understated elegant at the same time. Well done. 

[MickD]

On 3/16/2023 at 10:55 AM, Logan S said:

Got to fish a few times with all the rods I've built so far, very happy with all of them.  I think the Point Blank 7'MH/F is the most impressive of the group, it's an amazing jig rod...Power and action are perfect and the sensitivity, balance, and overall feel are the best I've ever used for how I fish a jig (lots of skipping and casting).  The Point Blank 7'ML/F is also impressive but I think it's just a little more powerful than I prefer for what I built it for originally, hence the 2 builds below which are slightly lighter in power.  I'll use the 7'ML/F for heavier shakeyheads and tubes.  

 

I finished two PB691MLXF spinning rods the other day.  Still learning with every build, my decal troubles are behind me I think ever since I started sealing the edges with color preserver before finish.  

 

 

I also snagged two NFC Delta Hybrid CB blanks, the 705 and 706, to try for squarebill, lipless, and chatterbaits since they were having one of their big sales...Hopefully they don't take forever to get here, I've heard NFC shipping is questionable at best.

Very nicely designed and executed.  I like the simplicity. 

 

Some comments on Point Blanks.  They have the highest True Natural Frequencies of any blanks I've tested, and I've tested a good number of premium blanks.  This means that their recovery from deflection is faster.  Theoretically this should mean longer casts, and it surely gives a crisp, clean,  feel.  I believe it indicates higher sensitivity as well, but cannot objectively prove it.  If anyone wants to know how to test for TNF, let me know.  All it takes is a way to mount the blank, wrapping rollers do fine, and an Android device.  Quick and clean.

 

I prefer Point Blanks also because they are smooth and don't have the ridges that are sort of a PIA when wrapping and trying to slide nail knots down the blank.  

 

 

[KCFinesse]

Finished a carbon wrap Revelation last week- they certainly look sharp!

I was a little disappointed in how heavy the blank was for a medium but it came together nicely.

 

-Jared

[MikeK]

Good job on the cork!

[Mbirdsley]

I just ordered a mhx mb843 in light blue metallic from lureparts online .  It’s a 1/4-3/4 oz rating 7ft mh.  I’m hoping it’s a a good lights worm and jig rod.  Also in the description it says it will be a good spinner bait rod.  Which, will be the back up plan if I don’t think the tip is  fast enough for worm and jig fishing. 
 

I rarely throw anything heavier than 3/8 oz worm or jig.  I’m fairly positive I’m going to throw my slx dc 150 on it. 
 

I already have a seat and I’ll be using cork with light blue speckled in it.  I did order a crb elite casting guide set and a tip top for it.  
 

it’s amazing once you build 2-3 rods.  you realize your factory rods are not going to cut it any more. 

[MikeK]

The MHX MB843 is the swiss army knife of bass rods.  It will do a lot of different techniques well.

[Munkin]

On 3/16/2023 at 10:55 AM, Logan S said:

Got to fish a few times with all the rods I've built so far, very happy with all of them.  I think the Point Blank 7'MH/F is the most impressive of the group, it's an amazing jig rod...Power and action are perfect and the sensitivity, balance, and overall feel are the best I've ever used for how I fish a jig (lots of skipping and casting).  The Point Blank 7'ML/F is also impressive but I think it's just a little more powerful than I prefer for what I built it for originally, hence the 2 builds below which are slightly lighter in power.  I'll use the 7'ML/F for heavier shakeyheads and tubes.  

 

I finished two PB691MLXF spinning rods the other day.  Still learning with every build, my decal troubles are behind me I think ever since I started sealing the edges with color preserver before finish.  

 

 

I also snagged two NFC Delta Hybrid CB blanks, the 705 and 706, to try for squarebill, lipless, and chatterbaits since they were having one of their big sales...Hopefully they don't take forever to get here, I've heard NFC shipping is questionable at best.

 

Looks like I now have a local guy to help me even if he put the spinning reel seats on upside down.

 

Allen

[Logan S]

12 hours ago, Munkin said:

 

Looks like I now have a local guy to help me even if he put the spinning reel seats on upside down.

 

Allen

Yea I've already got some heat from some other buddies about down locking...I just prefer it that way.  With up-locking, I always seem to accidently loosen the nut from fishing, casting, etc.  

 

I got a few more builds done in the last month and half I'll post up soon, been busy fishing .  I've got the 2 NFC Hybrids on the bench now and these have been a challenge with how thick the butt sections are...I'll post them up when I finish.  

[MickD]

With Fuji DPSSD seats installed up-locking, the nut stays tight.  If in doubt one can use the jam nut that is available.  I prefer uplocking so I can get a smooth transition to a small ramp off the front hood of the up-locking seat.  

[Logan S]

Getting back to posting builds, long post incoming because I've built quite a few since my last post...Been fishing a lot lately .  

 

OK so a while back I post in another thread my first ever build, which was the Hydra FL955.  Well now that I've got my style and preferences down for my personal rods I didn't want this one to be an outlier...So I stripped everything off (which was good practice in general) and redid it more in line with my 'theme'.  While I was at it, I decided to try out a spiral wrap since this is my punching rod - I've yet to fish with it because we are at least a month away from that pattern.  

 

Next - I built a spinnerbait rod on a Point Blank PB691MHXF, I had a red Daiwa Salamandura I wanted to use for this so I built it with red accents to match.  I absolutely LOVE this rod, it is (IMO) the perfect spinnerbait blank...It has the tip for close quarters accuracy, the backbone needed for hooksets and big fish, and the sensitivity to feel exactly when the blades stop turning on subtle bites.  I've caught a ton on this rod already, but this past weekend I stuck a 7lb 7oz monster on it to sort of put the exclamation point on how much I like this rod.  

 

Next up, I built a pair of Rainshadow Immortals.  First is a 7-6 MH that I build with gold accents as sort of a 'do everything' heavy power (It measures 1000g IP so it's definitely a Heavy power, not a MH).  The other one is a 7-6 H that I trimmed down to 7-4 and made with purple accents to match my Tatula HLC for a frog rod.  I haven't actually used this yet as it's early in the season still, but in test casts I feel like I am going to like it a lot.  I really like the look of these blanks, they go great with contrasting accents like the gold and purple.  

 

Finally, I ordered the two NFC Delta Hybrids during their sale, a CB705 and CB706.  These were probably the most difficult I've built so far because of the thick diameters and the ridges on the blanks.  Burnishing the thread wraps was much more tedious on these with those ridges.  I accidently split the cork handle on the 705 because I had to ream it so much, but a little wood glue, tape, sticky fingers, and some sandpaper I was able to fix it and still use it....Another good practice item .  These will get a workout when I head to Gaston next week, I've only made test casts with them so far.  The 705 will be for squarebills and the 706 will be for bladed jigs. 

 

I've now done 17 builds and I'm getting better with each one.  I've really been enjoying this and it's accomplishing exactly what I wanted - Which was the ability to pick different blanks for different applications if want something specific, but keep the same ergonomics and style I like.  I'm probably going to be slowing down a bit now because I have most of my primary techniques covered.

[thunderblack]

Great job Logan. Looks like you have the building game figured out!

[RipHair]

Finished building my long overdue BFS casting rod today:

 

Specs are:

SB781-3 blank

ECSM seat

RV6 to 3 4mm BAGs to 8 TAGs all alconite (or SIC I forget)

Sunburst size-A thread

Forget the tiptop but it's one step down from the Fuji Arowana, I think it's SIC.

 

Funny this supposedly lighter build weights the exact same as my much heavier SB841-3 build. I guess it's mostly due to the ECSM instead of SK2s. I was really hoping for a sub-3oz build but it seems to be quite elusive!

 

I won't be able to fish this for another few weeks at least but I was reading up on some of the popular BFS rods and a lot of folks are recommending the Dobyns Sierra Ultra Finesse 700. That rod has a lure rating down to 1/16oz while this has 1/8oz. I should probably compare the CCS rating once I test this one out. I may be due for a new build if this rod is too strong.

 

Pairing this with a 2022 Shimano Aldebaran rigged with Tatsu 6lb FC.

[MikeK]

I don't have a SK2 casting seat to weigh, but if the handles are what you posted in the ECSM reel seat thread then you also have a lot more cork with the ECSM than with the SK2 both in length and thickness.

Everything adds weight so if lightest is most important, get a scale and weigh each component and the cumulative build as you go and then use that info for parts for future builds.  FWIW the ECSM average weight is 0.85 oz.

 

Found weight for SKTPSM-16: 0.6 oz without arbors.

Edited May 15, 2023 by MikeK
Add info

[Mbirdsley]

This is how far I’ve made it with my mh843 blank.  I cheated on the handle this time and just a pre made cork handle from LPO.  The reel seat is a R3080 American Tackle Colored Blank Exposed PVD Coated Hood Casting Seats.  I have a silver winding check to finish it out. 

 

 

[papajoe222]

I just finished up two builds for friends. One spinning with plenty of bling for my Italian buddy. Gold framed guides, gold thread bands on the guides, and a diamond wrap at the base. The casting rod was a patriotic red, white and blue, three thread guide wrap.  It was my first multiple thread wrap and I surprised myself with the finished wraps. The base decoration was a fairly simple chevron design, again red, white and blue. Both blanks were MHX. 
I didn’t think I could post pics, but here ya go. 

[Chris Catignani]

@Logan S Dude...those rods look great.

[Mbirdsley]

here is what i have for my mhx sj843.  i did my first butt wrap on the split grip and i think it turned out good.  not flawless but, good. i think im going to really like that vssm reel seat. I bought 2 with the extra for a possible future walleye build.

 

i bought the bottom butt piece from picasso.  i picked the cork and the composite bottom piece.  glued them together and then sanded it down chucked into a drill. 

 

im putting one layer of epoxy down before i epoxy the reel seat.  after the reel seat and split grip is epoxied i’ll give the split grip area another coat of epoxy.  i think next time i’ll just epoxy the split grip when i do the guides. 

 

better angle of the butt grip 

[Mbirdsley]

handle is built.  i’m hoping to have the guide wraps done this weekend.  i’ve been binge watching mud hole lives the last 2 weeks. 

 

[BassinBrett]

I just started building a BFS set up.  I am using a NFC DS 760-1 (HM) for the blank and Fuji 9 inch rear grip with a Fuji ECSM real seat.  I think the blank is a little stiff for a true BFS rod but I think I am going to like the rod when done.  

[Mbirdsley]

my sj843 is done.  this is definitely my most complete build yet.  i used fuji alconite Kl-H high frame guides.  i really like the look of the high frames.  the green on the cross wrap and on the guide wrap is actually the same color which, is pro wrap nylon cool mint.  only difference is that i put color preserver on the cross wrap.  the epoxy on the guides and the sticker is perfect which, i did in 3 thin coats instead of 1 heavy coat.  preatty pumped about it and a actually excited to show people it. zero footballs any where.  binging on the mud hole live videos really helped. 

 

my next build is going to be a vertical walleye jigging rod.  for the blank im using a 6ft rainshadow medium 1/4-5/8 fast rx6. so far it feels very similar to my 7ft ml st. croix premier that i have been using to jig walleye with.  i’m getting ready to put the seat and grips on tonight. for the ex build i am trying out the high SSR match guides from mudhole.