In the interest of casting light jigs and yet still having the power to fight powerful fish (think bonefish) how 'bout a 7 foot 2 or 3 inch 3 piece travel blank with an ERN of 15 on one side and 20 on the other? Strong spine oriented right, it would load well with light jigs on the casting motion yet have more power to handle the fish on the fighting mode. Does not seem impossible, but the sta
Forum: rodboard

I have been building for a few years and always used the same technique for finding the rod's spine. However, I have been wondering if my method is correct. I have read a lot of ways to spine and watched many YouTube videos, but something doesn't seem right to me. Most of the discussions about spinning the rod say to roll the rod until it jumps/pops etc. Then mark the rod. So here's my que
Forum: rodboard

There is always a lot of discussion and debate about building on or off the spine and how it affects the finished rod. I checked a graphite 7.5 foot blank today and this is what I found. First of all finding the spine was a piece of cake, obvious without any special tool. THIS IS ONE BLANK. I DON'T ARGUE THAT THESE RESULTS WILL BE THE SAME FOR EVERY BLANK. But I do believe that they are a
Forum: rodboard

I stripped an old Fenwick 6'-6" rod. I checked the spline. I was surprised to find the spline was off by almost 90° . Back in 1998 this was an expensive rod. I thought Fenwick was a good rod. I can't believe Fenwick skipped setting the spline.
Forum: rodboard

Whether a 1-4lb UL trout rod or a 100lb stand-up tuna stick, I ALWAYS perform a 2-line static load test to ensure that the guides are positioned at their optimum location along the blank, PERIOD. There is no other method, difficult or easy, quick or time-consuming, far-fetched or logical, and certainly NOT as precise as the tried-and-true 2-line static load test!!! I have never, nor will ever, us
Forum: rodboard

Anyone know how to get to page 1876? Tried to hit the “last” tab but that’s taking me back to page 1. I can go back five pages at a time and stopped at page 121. Have read lots of great and informative threads and interested in checking out some of the older ones. Thanks. Jeff
Forum: rodboard

Hey guys, I’m having a small dilemma on something I can’t find an existing thread on. I build all my rods on the straightest axis and haven’t had any problems until now. The current rod I’m building, a 9ft 7wt fly rod, i oriented in a way that the bend in the top section was belly down tip up. After wrapping all the sections and lining up all the guides, my rod is slightly curving towards the
Forum: rodboard

I wanted to show y’all a pic of my current build and show how nice this Fuji SBPULSMPS17 reel seat is. The grips are NFC 3k soft touch and the rod is the NFC Fast Glass APFG745-1. The reel seat and grips have the same soft touch coating that feels like velvet in the hand.
Forum: rodboard

I’ve seen several people talk of placing guides on straightest axis of blank vs finding the spine. What are the pros and cons of each and why one way or another? Thanks
Forum: rodboard

In the now infamous thread "Has NFC gone downhill?", there was some discussion by some pretty experienced people regarding the preferred placement of guides on a blank. As is often the case, there was also some disagreement among the participants in the discussion related to this. Because it has been bugging me, I decided to address it. First off, I agree with Ed Rose who in the di
Forum: rodboard

Ive tried to stay a fan but blank quality is dropping lately and customer service is non existent. I was promised a Gary signed COA for one of their new blanks months ago… nothing. I guess the Shimano teet is still warm enough that we don't matter. The last blank I received a week or so ago looks like a broken finger off a melting snowman.
Forum: rodboard

Ok, so I'm sure the first question might be why? It's a rod I've used for several years and it's beginning to show its age. One eye is damaged and needs replaced. When I first learned about rod building and the importance of the spine. I decided to check my store bought ones. Shocker, this one isn't on spine. There are other issues and I'm sure it would be more cost effective to pitch it and star
Forum: rodboard

Hi all, I've never built a rod before, but I'm making four 5'6 spinning rods as Christmas gifts for kids (4rys-9yrs). I have some practice rod kits on the way, but was hoping for some input on materials. How much epoxy do you think that will burn through (wraps and grips etc. using separate epoxy)? I think I might grab some cheaper epoxy (since I got a little bit more expensive epoxy for m
Forum: rodboard

I'm trying to find the best, most accurate way to find the spine across multi-piece blanks? Thanks very much! Craig Snapp
Forum: rodboard

Hi all you rod building addicts, Im looking at purchasing a power wrapper and would love some feedback between the two? The slip clutch on the Flex Coat seems very nice and the fact you dont have to move the motor belt for various speeds. The Flex Coat power wrapper has a very DIY look to it vs the Alps and I want to invest in a product with long life to it. Any opinions regarding the plus/min
Forum: rodboard

As the title suggests, how do you align the guides on your rod builds? There must be pros and cons to either / both methods to be considered while developing a personal preference. Personally, I position the guides of my builds in the straightest, line-of-sight alignment because when sighting down the rod (as virtually everyone does, including customers), the guides are in perfect alignment with
Forum: rodboard

I recently finished a NFC 703-1, and I love it! I used a 20-10-5.5 reduction, and ultimately 5 more 5.5 running guides plus the tip top. The blank is 7' long, and so it took 8 guides plus the tip. Not long after I purchased the 703, I decided to try to put one together that was a little heavier, and ended up with a MB 765-1 Neo. This one is 7 1/2 feet long. I saw no reason not to set
Forum: rodboard

Hi all, I have finally decided to build my first rod. I plan to build spinning rod on NFC SB 683 blank, I would like to keep it as light as possible and pair it with new vanford 2500 (6.3 oz). Thinking of fuji vss hidden thread reel seat(size 16) and fuji titanium frame sic-s guides. I think to trim foregrip cork a bit to reduce weight. Will I achieve a minimum rod weight with this set up?
Forum: rodboard

I love NFC blanks. My wife just ordered a couple blanks for my birthday that arrived yesterday and upon inspection, saw a few concerning things. First, I had ordered an 8 weight gamma beta blank and received a 10 wt? (At least according to the decal that came with it.) I can’t find any measurements online of tip and butt sections to confirm but compared to other rods I own, the rod sent to me is
Forum: rodboard

Want help with Spine finding/ guide spacing on NFC 805-4 Iconoglass Fly Rod Haven't built one of these before. Is finding the spine important? And what about guide spacing/ size for this 8' 5 wt. fly rod? Any suggestions for guide sizing, spacing? And wrap thread sizes. And difference from usual graphite rods, or go silk and lighter? Any help is appreciated. Thanks.
Forum: rodboard

Hi Mates, what is the best solution, when my rod blank has a misallignement mistake? After finishing the whole building process, I have recognised, that there's a misallignment between the top two sections (fly rod, 4 pcs). The female part of the ferrule is not coaxial with the blank axis, so the top section stands sideways. It looks as if it was cracked. The deviation is roughly 3 mm (cca.
Forum: rodboard

Hello, I bought a NFC blank (SWB807IM) and checking it for the spine, I noticed that it is not perfectly straight. For about 1 feet, from the TIP, it bends to the left with respect to its spine (I don't know how much, compared to the tip line maybe 1/2 inch). What can I do? Is it possible to straighten it? I've read that some builders straighten crooked blanks using heat. What could be the co
Forum: rodboard

Hey all, I'm wondering if decorative wraps on graphite fly rod blanks will have a huge effect on the performance of blank? I recently built a 10'6 Sage ESN for myself and I managed to scratch the bejeezus out of the blank just above where the grip ends and decided to cover it up with a 6" ish cross wrap design. Just wondering if I messed up the action? Thanks! Chris
Forum: rodboard

I acquired an older Calstar 6465 XH-B that I thought would make a great rail rod. It's so stiff that finding the spine the usual way by having the butt on the floor and applying pressure against the blank while supporting the tip just wasn't getting it, so I used the straightest axis to find it. That worked well. Everything was going smoothly until I glued up the aluminum reel seat. It required v
Forum: rodboard

Getting started into the world of rod building. Mudhole has been the one that more or less showed me that you could even do this as a DIY project. I was set to take a class with them in order to learn the process until COVID put a halt to that. Here I am a year past that and I still have the itch to learn how to build my own rods. Some may or may not agree, but the proper tools can have a larg
Forum: rodboard

After 18 years building rods, I am giving up the craft. Like anyone who spends time doing this, I have accumulated much equipment and a lot of components. I am looking for someone just getting started that would like an opportunity to equip their shop for very deeply discounted prices. I am located in NC, and can send an inventory list to interested parties. Items include a power wrapper, dryer
Forum: rodboard

Dear sir, I have read as much as I can find on the KR system setup, rod templates and guide pairings etc. I am presently building a special purpose KR system, micro guide, 10', spinning rod. I think I understand guide size and basic placement. I have measured my 2500 size reel spool and multiplied this by 27 to calculate the choke guide location. Option A. Most information I have found sa
Forum: rodboard

I'm working on a Calstar BT6460XH. The blank is short and stiff and my attempts to "find the spline" are getting inconsistent results. I've never been very confident on my ability to find the spine via the "bend it, roll it, and mark where it stops" method. As I was sighting along the blank, I noticed that there's a distinct white line running the length of the inside.
Forum: rodboard

Hello All, I stumbled across the video linked below where Gary seems to contradict popular opinion on guide placement: He seems to state that guides should be placed on top of the bend for casting setups and below for spinning. Am I interpreting this wrong? If no, what are everyone's thoughts on this? I suppose i get the casting distance argument, but wouldn't this put the rod under inc
Forum: rodboard

Hello, I’m building a my first rod for inshore use. Currently I have several rods, a Loomis, Kissler , and Waterloo. They all have small guides, I’m not sure if they qualify as microguides, but they are very small. At first I did not care for the small size, but over time I have actually gotten used to them and prefer them. I have a medium heavy, fast action, 7’6” blank from NFC for the build
Forum: rodboard