Forum: rodboard

Thanks Chuck and James. James, the only reason I haven't yet tried any batson blanks is because of the exorbitant costs of posting blanks to Australia. As far as I am aware (and I might be quite naïve about what's available), mudhole is the only supplier that has reasonable shipping costs using fedex. So when it comes to blanks, I feel like I'm restricted to mudhole's range. I would be very ha
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Thanks Chuck. I don't doubt that wade and co. are putting out a quality product, but I am very much wondering why they charge over 170% for the equivalent eglass? What benefits can I expect from that extra money that a calstar can't provide? And there are subtle but important differences between the action of calstars and the equivalent seeker blanks, so I'm wondering how the action of the cousin
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I've been a big fan of Calstar's 6455XH blank for a long time now. But with the current issues with Calstar's supply output, I'm looking for alternatives. I noticed that Cousins tackle has a 6455XH in their range, but haven't heard any reviews for this blank. Has anyone had any experience with this blank, or any of the other fiberglass tuna blanks that cousins offer? If so, how do they compare to
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I need to emphasize that the specification inconsistencies are not just in regards to the tip size. The differences or 'errors' are found across the board - e.g. blank action, blank weight, lure weights, butt diameter, tip diameter, etc. And as I mentioned before, I do NOT believe that these issues are really to do with sloppy errors on the Mudhole website (i.e. Mudhole are NOT at fault here)
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Thanks for clarifying Brook. I was pretty much convinced that Mudhole had the same specs all along and instead, the specs on the phenixrods.com website had been modified some time during the past year or two - obviously without also notifying you guys at Mudhole or us customers. However, since I obviously never recorded the specs on the phenixrods.com website from 2 years ago, I have no evidence
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Please be aware that there are a large number of inconsistencies in Phenix blank specifications between the phenixrods.com website and the Mudhole website, particularly within the UMBX range. I have alerted both companies to this issue, but for some reason both seem unbothered (or reluctant) to do anything about it. Although most discrepancies are minor, there are some differences that could
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My measure of the efficacy of the masking tape method is when I'm glueing on the ferrule for a 2-piece aluminum butt for an 80lb game rod. Never had a failure with two bands of tape and good epoxy and I've got rods that are 15 years and still going strong. Like Terry said, just make sure the tape is 100% encased in epoxy and smother everything - the more glue the better.
Forum: rodboard

Mark Newcombe Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Because they sell is not as weak an argument as > you may think most companies are not going to risk > brand rep by using inferior products unless it is > purely based on trying to achieve a certain retail > price point, when I found out that some of the big > industry players are going to be u
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I agree, this is an interesting, lively discussion and I thank everyone for their contributions. But I would still like to hear more objectivity from those who don't stand to benefit commercially from one system or the other. With all due respect, the whole 'because it sells - it must work' argument is a pretty weak one. One only needs to look at all the different 'revolutionary' additives t
Forum: rodboard

jim spooner Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Dane, > I’d love to see that done as well, but unless > someone could (or would) design and build a > mechanical device to replicate a person’s > casting motion, it’s not likely that we’ll > ever see comparative tests done. Even if there was > sufficient capital to fund such an effort
Forum: rodboard

jim spooner Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > And, I guess most of us would agree that most well > set up guide systems (27x, NGC, KR Concept, Fast > Choke, Microwave) are pretty much comparable and > would out-perform the old “cone of flight” > system. There seems to be a lot of different ideas and claims as to which system perform best,
Forum: rodboard

I'm currently building up a Phenix UMBX-S700MH (7ft, approx. 4-7kg) and this is an amazing blank. I have pacific composite blanks lying around that have comparable specs to this one and they just don't compare. The blank weight is under 50 grams and I should be able to keep the total build weight to under 100 grams. Perfect estuary to light saltwater rod that not many commercial rods could mat
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Hey Owen, Are you sure you want to go with the #4 butts for standup? Even the 'short' models are considerably longer than the #2 equivalents, and I've heard a lot of talk about the #4's just being too big for standup. Have fitted 80W reels to both the Aftco and ATC #2's, and even though it's a very tight fit, they do lock into place just as well as a 50W. Much better option in my opinion.
Forum: rodboard

Seeker or Calstar for sure. My first look would be at the 6455XH (for 50lb) or the 6455XXH (for 80lb).
Forum: rodboard

Penn may have found a way to do it on the quick and cheap without using thread, but the majority (if not all) of epoxy ramps are covered in thread. It's certainly a good indication of how glossy the black thread comes up once epoxied.
Forum: rodboard

Are they winding checks or are they epoxy ramps that you are referring to?
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Check out the Phenix Elixir range. I don't think blanks get any smaller or lighter. Great blanks and pretty much tick every box you've listed.
Forum: rodboard

Hi all, Have a customer who is after a 10 foot blank to match to his Stella 8000 for casting and high-speed spinning of 1-4 oz metals (and some hardbodies) off the shore. Ideally this would mean a faster action blank in comparison to the traditionally moderate action surf blanks. And it needs to be 2-piece. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.
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Thanks for your quick responses lads. Time to bind away!
Forum: rodboard

I've heard that one of the advantages of blank exposed reel seats is that the increased sensitivity due to the casting hand being directly in contact with the blank surface. But my question is, how much would this sensitivity be decreased if I was to apply a coat of epoxy or even a small bind across this small section of exposed blank?
Forum: rodboard

Mudhole's international postage on blanks is so much better than any other vendor in the US, so much so that I can't really justify ordering a blank from anywhere else. This is a pity, since there are some awesome blanks out there that MH don't stock (e.g. batson, united composites, etc). Yes, I could buy these other blanks locally, but the prices here in Oz are astronomical compared to the pri
Forum: rodboard

Nice neat experiment Owen. Maybe worth a test on a few other thread types. Unfortunately for me, it wasn't so much the fading that was the issue with Speed thread for me. Too much twisting, knotting, fraying, and getting caught on that silly little cut on the spool that is supposed to be a tag holder. Too many problems for my liking.
Forum: rodboard

Nice neat experiment Owen. Maybe worth a test on a few other thread types. Unfortunately for me, it wasn't so much the fading that was the issue with Speed thread for me. Too much twisting, knotting, fraying, and getting caught on that silly little cut on the spool that is supposed to be a tag holder. Too many problems for my liking.
Forum: rodboard

Hey Chris, Yep, I think I know which supplier you are talking about - advertising Gudebrod but posting Fish Hawk. Is that legal?
Forum: rodboard

Just wondering what's the best matching metallic thread colour (ideally in ProWrap) to match the anodized gold of Aftco components? Thanks in advance.
Forum: rodboard

Hey Owen, I think I was the last person to ask the same question along these lines. I took onboard the advice given on this forum and I've since built three 37kg Calstars with Aftco bigfoots or wind-ons, and have reduced (not omitted) the cracking significantly. The best way I found was to complete only one overbind and then apply the first coat of epoxy, making sure the epoxy is thin enough
Forum: rodboard

Have a customer who wants 2x 80lb standup game rods (bent butt) built and was wondering what differences of the standard E-glass 6455XXH (which I've built before), vs the equivalent Grafighter 7455XXH? I know the graphite composite gives you a thinner and lighter blank, but that advantage is a bit redundant once a unibutt and an 80W is strapped to it. Can anyone describe the real advantages of
Forum: rodboard

Great discussion lads, thanks for your help!
Forum: rodboard

Just wondering what is everyone's preferred method for shipping their completed custom rod/s to the customer? My major concern is with posting very thin-tipped graphite (i.e. ultra expensive) rods. Also, has anyone experienced any problems when doing this (i.e. broken rod upon arrival, unreliable courier, etc) and if so, who did they resolve it? Thanks in advance, Dane.
Forum: rodboard