Guys,

I'm building my first popping rod- it's a 2-piece Mudhole blank with just the handle section comprising one of the sections to facilitate transport. My question is this; Should I complete the handle right up to the butt joint or should I stop about 1 to 1-1/2 inches short so that I can complete a thread wrapped section for reinforcement? I've seen commercial rods done both ways but I wanted to get advice from the expert rod builders on this forum. Thanks for your advice!

Dan

Dan,
Personally I would recommend leaving enough space to include a ferrule wrap. When you do wrap it make sure the tip section is seated fully in the ferrule. I recommend doing ferrule wraps on all multi-piece blanks.

Kind Regards,

Brook Oliva
Mud Hole Custom Tackle, Inc.
brook@mudhole.com
(866)-790-RODS

Thanks Brook! Hmmm, I guess I could have called the experts at the source of my rod blank....

Dan

Just make sure there is a piwce of blank inside where you are wrapping, you won't believe how much pressure wrapping puts on the blank. Personally I would go a little more than i.5 inches as this will be a critical part of the blank especially with a big tuna on the other end. Stand up tuna fishing is really fun when you finally get one of them hooked..

Thanks Robert...good advice!

I like to hide the ferrule under the fore grip. Just looks better to me. Having said that, I do wrap the ferrule first. Put a coat of epoxy finish over it and let it dry completely. Then I put the fore grip on over the wrapped ferrule leaving just enough space for the winding check. You cannot even tell that this is a two piece rod when it is assembled.

That's a very interesting idea Mel- that will leave me a little more fore-grip to grasp. Since this joint is critical, how many wraps of thread and what size would you recommend? Thanks

one wrap of c thread is plenty

Thanks Mel.