I posted a thread about rod dryers awhile back and have had time and research to figure out what my plan is for getting back into this. I think I am going to buy the rod dryer from Mudhole for $40, and then start with their CRB split grip kit. It comes with a $30 reel which is a little kicker. I have two questions about this kit. Is it actually cork or foam cork; and then I would like to not have a foregrip. What would be a good alternative winding check to replace the foregrip?

I also have a cabelas 6' MH spinning rod that was my first custom build. I skip flukes n senkos with it, 20# braid and 8# fluoro leader. Should I go the KR concept or would the NGC concept be okay? I was thinking about just getting Fuji alconite guides.

I don't want to spend A LOT of money quite yet, so I'm trying to keep it relatively inexpensive. Any input would expect great!

I built the full handle version of that kit last year, for my friend's Dad.
In my opinion it' a great all-around rod.
The cork was okay. I think the the guides were Pac-Bay Hialoy, but whatever brand they are, they were more than good enough.
The free reel has a lot of plastic parts, but "Dad" used it all season with 15 pound braid, and it's still going strong.

Miles,
Sounds like a plan.
For the reel seat, if you have an arbor inside, just insure that the arbor comes to the front of the reel seat. Then, put a winding check in front of that and do your wraps. Simple and easy.
You can use any guides that you like. Standard Fuji Alconite guides work well.
If you want to go with anything else, go for it. All of the different types and styles will all work.

Another alternative that many folks including myself have used are the pac bay minima guides. they work well and are inexpensive.

Be safe

Personally I like the PacBay minimas. I have used the alconite before and had no issues at all but I ended up going back to the minimas. For the price, weight, and durability I love them. I am guessing you are building a bass rod so I would at least take a look at a micro guide system. There are also specific winding checks made to go flush with your real seat.

I will look into the pac bay minimas, I have heard a lot of discussion about them.

I should of mentioned this earlier, but I have always used basic vinyl/rubber winding checks. I ended up using two, one on top of each other since there was such a big gap. Out of the four rods I have made as a rod builder, they have worked great but don't look clean. Is there a way to know what ID and OD I need so I can purchase it at the same time as everything else?

I'm sure I just haven't done enough research so I do apologize, thanks for all the help though. It's greatly appreciated!

The winding checks I use are the tapered vinyl ones from Mudhole that sit flush with a size 16 seat and the one from Jann's that sits flush with a size 17. Might want to check them out

From Ben's comment.

[www.jannsnetcraft.com]

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[www.jannsnetcraft.com]

or
[www.jannsnetcraft.com]

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[www.mudhole.com]