Rod gurus...

[DarkShadow]

TJ,

As I've found out with Loomis blanks, they have a small selection, compared to their full rod offerings.

For example, they make a few 7'2" GLX rods, but they no 7'2" GLX blanks. A few guys buy the full rod, strip it, and have it rewrapped.

[Red Fox]

DAIWA DRAG ALERT!!! TJ, this problem isn't that uncommon with Daiwas. The main way to fix this is to buy a set of Carbontex drag washers. The other way is to grease them with Cal's Drag Grease and see what happens.

LOL, you do understand hes talking about a spinning reel right???

Be careful of peeps jsut regurgitating what they hear, youll end up missing on some good stuff. Imagine if I listened to everyone saying Shimanos Handles have backplay, Id never have a Shimano..

[Red Fox]

TJ,

As I've found out with Loomis blanks, they have a small selection, compared to their full rod offerings.

For example, they make a few 7'2" GLX rods, but they no 7'2" GLX blanks. A few guys buy the full rod, strip it, and have it rewrapped.

Better be quick about it too as I heard a rumor that Loomis is exiting the Blank market..

[calico killer kevin]

True, Loomis is exiting the blank market, but I believe they're gonna sell it under an alias to focus on getting more worldwide with their existing rods.

The places I shop for rod building supplies are Mudhole.com or Acidrod.com which has a store out of San Dimas called C&M Custom Tackle. If youu're thinking about wrapping a rod, get that power wrapper. It will get things done tons faster. I introduced myself to rod wrapping earlier this year and to get started with the blanks, guides, epoxy, etc cost me $350. Mind that I didn't buy a power wrapper. I would highly recommend that you drop by C&M because they have books, guides, anything and everything you'll need to get started.

I found that when I wrapped my first rod, I was going for all this bling, but halfway through, I realized that all this hardwork doesn't really help the performance and if anything, raises the weight of the rod a few grams, so from then on almost all my rods have been pure black haha.

I'm right where you are right now. I've been researching for a good blank to wrap a 4-6lb rod on and I'm still searching haha. I highly recommend that you check out the Rainshadow blanks that C&M carry. Very few retailers sell these blanks are some of them are spectacular.

[tacklejunkie]

so from then on almost all my rods have been pure black haha.

That's exactly what I was planning to do.
A simple short All black beginning rod as leight weight as I could get it. Guides, guide thread finish, tiny split handle and pretty much just a blank to grab on to. Like a little ninja sword, only a fishing rod
Maybe one green or purple or orange thread on the rod at the ends of the black guide wraps for a hint of style.

I got a few ends on it already. Little bit more and I'll be wrapping.
You really think I should get the power wrapper?
That might set me back quite a bit as far as materials and costs but if it's really a PITA to hand spin one maybe I should?
How many rods will I be building? That's my main question which I guess I'll never know.

DS,
I noticed all the loomis blanks I want in 7' 2-6 or 4-8lb max weight 3/8ths oz for shore casting w/jigs are two piece! Oh no! lol
One piece for certain. I may have to look at another company for blanks. I notice St Croix had a blank that fit my bill..

Also, P.S..

I would highly recommend that you drop by C&M because they have books, guides, anything and everything you'll need to get started.

Thanks a grip. I would be very interested in a taking a hands on approach with this and driving to a shop to purchase my goods.
Sometimes doing everything over the net isn't the best way to go. Specially I would imagine when it comes time to feel out your blank.

[tacklejunkie]

LOL, you do understand hes talking about a spinning reel right???

Be careful of peeps jsut regurgitating what they hear, youll end up missing on some good stuff. Imagine if I listened to everyone saying Shimanos Handles have backplay, Id never have a Shimano..

I don't think he meant put carbontex in the spinner.
I think he was just saying that Daiwa drags normally have similar issues, and the fix is either carbontex, Cal's and or both.

Oh yeah,
I returned my 50MG cause it had backplay in the handle and spool.
I really did like it though. I was kinda disappointed about that. It didn't feel so good when jerking.
From what I've seen though, Shimanos spinners have very smooth drags as far as my Sahara and Saros.
Although the old low end Sahara is also a play monster, I have not tried the new version.

[tacklejunkie]

Nice!
The Shimano "star drag grease" cured my drag problem.
Caught a lil piggy at Fairmount this morning that took the drag for a short couple runs. Nice smooth start up and very consistent pull!
Didn't feel like I had to adjust the drag at all during the fight as compared to adjusting the drag the whole fight before the grease.

I thought the grease would actually be a bit thick, but that's how it's supposed to be. With the grease, you can run your drag screw looser than without it to achieve the same amount of pull, but the pull is much more smooth with the grease!
$5 fix and my drag is golden again!

Now to get back on super tuning the Sol and wrapping some rods!

[calico killer kevin]

If you plan on wrapping a few rods or more, than yeah, invest in the wrapper, but for my first one, I just made a few V's out of spare plywood and it's working fine. It's not a necessity. I would actually recommend that you hand wrap the first rod so you know all the odds and ends and then when you get the wrapper, you can make little adjustments here and there. After the first rod, the second will be much, much easier.

You will need some type of motor to slowly turn the rod while the epoxy dries though. I just made a few adjustments to a rotisserie and it works perfectly.

[tacklejunkie]

So many decisions
Last time I saved up half way and bought something else. I think I'm really gonna do it this time.

I was thinking of getting something like this. Just for personal use really. I'd probably want to add $100 worth of tools to it alone, and then like another $100 for the blank and a few more for the rest of the parts.

Of coarse there's always this way and I could wrap a simple rod.

With buying a wrapping machine, I might go well over $600 easily adding all the rest of the supplies.

I think it might be a good idea to buy all the supplies first in like that big starter kit. Later if I get sick of the wood wrapping stand I can upgrade to a power wrapper and already have the rest of the materials.

I think I kinda like the idea of "hand rolled rods". Like tying a fly or carving a crankbait. I'll try and say that again after I roll one though and see if I still don't want a power wrapper. A drying motor will be a must.
Spinning the epoxy urethane while it dried on my home made hard baits for four to six hours was no fun.

[Red Fox]

I don't think he meant put carbontex in the spinner.
I think he was just saying that Daiwa drags normally have similar issues, and the fix is either carbontex, Cal's and or both.

My reply had nothng to do with the Carbontex. It is widely assumed Daiwa BAITCASTER drags are crap, while at the same time, the same people believe the Daiwa spinning reel Drags are far superior to you know who.. LOL Point is, try it for yourself, youll discover a ton of misconceptions abound..