Thanks to all. Very good article, Tom!
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Bill, this is for a customer. It's an MHX 6-1/2', med, med-fast inshore baitcast trout rod.
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To All......Is there a generally accepted +/- tolerance in degrees off the spline centerline when mounting the reel seat? I realize that 0° off center is the goal, but how much off-center, (left or right), would be acceptable?
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Thanks guys....I read you loud and clear!
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As a fan of using Hypalon for my grips, I've not had any experience with EVA grips. Question: Which is preferred? Shimming the blank to mount an EVA grip or reaming the i.d. of the grip to fit the blank? Is there much stretch/compression like there is with hypalon? Any help would be most appreciated..... Mike
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Thanks Barry! I've tried all kinds of stuff and nothing I've tried has worked out too well....I'll give the Stabilo a shot!
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I hate china markers! At best they leave a smudge that's 1mm wide. Does anyone know of a marking pen, pencil or device that can precisely mark the blank when trying to set up the cross points on a decorative wrap?
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I'm blown away with all this killer-good advice from y'all.....again, I thank you!
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As always, you guys are GREAT! Thank you for the advice! I've only ever built baitcasters for inshore saltwater fishing and I'm pretty good at it.....But I have a customer that wants a spinning rod, which I've never built before. Fortunately though this site, I've got how to get the guide placement all sorted out...........again, I thank you all!!!
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This may sound like a silly question, but is there an ideal point on the blank where the center of gravity should be on a 7' 6" spinning rod relative to the reel seat placement on a rod that I'm about to start?
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Much appreciated! Got it and have printed it!
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Does anybody know if there is any general rule of thumb on how much tension to put on the tip-top when trying to align guide placement, so as to avoid the line from touching the blank? I use an inline digital scale to measure the the tension from the tip to a heavy weight. My rods, for example, are generally 7 to 7-1/2 ft baitcasters, med-fast action designed for fish in the 3 to 12 lb class. But
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Beautiful! Great advice Mathew...thank you.
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BTW, I'm very aware of line slap issues, so I would have to take that into account when mounting the 1st guide closest to the reel.
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Hey folks, I've only ever built bait cast rods for light to med saltwater fishing. But I have people that want to buy spinning rods. My question is are any technical differences, aside from the reel seat and guide sizes, to keep in mind when building a spinning rod?
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Brilliant answers, one and all......thank you much!!!
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Thanks Norm....great idea about the dry wall tape as well!!!
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Ok...let me throw this up for advice and opinions: I have a reel seat with an I.D. of .610" and the blank where it is to be positioned is .520". That leaves me with a gap of .09". Is that too great a distance to use masking tape arbors to shim up the seat? Further, what are y'all's opinions on what is the max gap to shim up a reel seat relative to the rod dia?
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Nope, I don't do shock leaders, Don. No issue.
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Let me thank all of y'all for your help and suggestions! And yes, Mathew, I have seen that video before. Most informative, but not very aesthetically pleasing with the ring sizes of 10, 5.5, 4, 4, 4, 4,4. I'm an inshore/bay fisherman here in Texas, primarily targeting speckled trout, flounder and redfish. Here Garcia Ambassadeurs rule as opposed to spinning stuff like in Florida. Aside from the 1
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Thanks Mathew...that was my 1st choice as well as this is a casting rod. For me, it's seems to be a bit more cosmetically preferred as well! I'm not too concerned about rod slap as the double feet won't, (or shouldn't), interfere. I'm using a 25" distance from the reel to the 1st guide on a 7'6" popping rod.
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Ok folks, I'm completely confused about which way to orient guides where the ring is off-centered. Specifically the ATC Virtus RingLock guides. Which is the tip end and which is the butt end? From pics I've seen of wrapped guides they can be oriented either way. Which is preferred? or does it matter? This is the 1st rod I've built using off-centered guides.
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Can anybody recommend a glossy clear coat type of aerosol spray to spruce up a blank before beginning the assembly? I've got a 30-yr old Fenwick Rawhide blank in mint condition sorely in need of some new shiny-ness.
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Vic - I'm new to this website and that was a great read you posted about Fenwick 4 yrs ago! I ran the purchasing dept for a seismic equipment manufacturer in Houston that used the Fenwick "Rhino" series blanks to make antennas for our telemetry gear back in the '70's and '80's. Our engineers were always getting sample blanks to evaluate new antenna designs. We used to buy thousands of
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