# Rod build from start to finish.



## shfishinsticks (Jan 14, 2010)

This is a photo journal of a rod I built for a friend a few years ago.

The components consist of:
_St. Croix_ Tournament Bass 6'9" ML/XF blank
_Fuji_ Alconite guides in black
_ Reel Time Designs _ Drop Shot Weight Keeper (not pictured)
American Tackle Aero reel seat (shaved)
_Lamar Manufacturing_ exotic burl cork
blue burl cork
rubberized cork butt cap
vinyl winding check
_Bill Mar_ smallmouth decal
_Bill Mar _"Made in USA" decal
custom decal by _Decal Connection_


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## shfishinsticks (Jan 14, 2010)

This is the development of a cork checkerboard inlay:

1/4" burnt burl and blue burl rings.




The 1/4" blue and burnt rings were glued together and let set-up overnight.


Cutting the _pie_




Using a checkerboard jig and a coping saw, the rings are cut in to _pie_ pieces.


_Pie_ anyone?




The cut _pie_ before glue-up.


Rough checkerboard rings




Right out of the clap, the rings look pretty rough, but will clean up really nice on the lathe (actually a drill press with a live center mounted on the table.) This was done prior to my acquisition of a real lathe.


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## shfishinsticks (Jan 14, 2010)

Boring the cork rings to a diameter close to that of the blank. This makes the process of fitting the grip to the blank much easier.

Rear grip in cork clamp.





Butt grip in cork clamp.




All the rings were glued together on a mandrel, then placed in a cork clamp.


_Shaved_ reel seat and rough grips




Cut down the barrel of the reel seat to fit the reel foot when locked down. Also removed the grips from the clamps tonight. Gonna fire up the lathe tomorrow and give them some shape.

Note: Reel shown for display purposes only. Not included with the purchase of a rod!


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## shfishinsticks (Jan 14, 2010)

Finished the grips this evening. I had to employ the services of my wife to take the pics so as to not loose any fingers trying to do it myself.





I started by boring the urethane arbor in the reel seat.


Rasp





Sure form file





Flat file




With the grips mounted on a turning mandrel, I rough cut the cork with a rasp, sure form file and flat file to make it concentric







Dust fills the air




Working through different grades of sandpaper, the grips start to take shape.






Measure twice.....cut once!







The reel seat and finished split grip on the mandrel.


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## shfishinsticks (Jan 14, 2010)

Tape was applied to protect the finish while the blank was prepped for epoxy.











Very fine Scotch Brite was used to degloss the paint for better adhesion.






A reamer was chucked in my drill and the butt grip was reamed to fit.






Test fit.











Next, the rear grip was carefully reamed to fit.






The reel seat was reamed by hand.






2 part epoxy was then mixed....






....and applied


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## shfishinsticks (Jan 14, 2010)

My trusty assistant, Tiffany, observed and made sure everything was done right.






The butt grip is installed.






Epoxy is applied for the rear grip.






Rear grip is installed.











Reel seat is installed.






The finished grip installed on the blank.


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## shfishinsticks (Jan 14, 2010)

There are many schools of thought for laying out guides. I chose to use a modified version of Fuji's _New Guide Concept System_. An overview can be viewed here: https://www.rodbuilding.org/library/newguide.html





rod and reel layed out on the table edge.





Guides taped on in their approximate locations.





A batch of 5min epoxy was mixed to install the butt plug





A reel foot from a broken reel makes a great tool for aligining guides and installing tops.





The top was also installed with 5min epoxy.


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## shfishinsticks (Jan 14, 2010)

Guide prep is a step that many rod manufacturers overlook. Guides have a blunt edge at the end of the foot. The thread will not readily climb up the foot while wrapping if the blunt edge is not removed. Using a Dremel tool with a cutting wheel, I create a _ramp_ for the thread to transition from the blank to the guide.





Prepping a guide





Prepping the hook keep.





all the guides and hook keep are prepped and ready to be wrapped.


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## shfishinsticks (Jan 14, 2010)

With the epoxy set-up, the butt plug needs to be trimmed.





With a razor blade, the excess rubberized cork is removed.





This leaves a less than appealing plug in an otherwise smooth cap.





This is rectified with a few passes of an orbital sander.





An virtually seamless butt cap is the final product.

A Static distribution test is the next step. You want to have the line follow the curvature of the blank with the fewest guides possible.

Using the guide placement acquired the other night, the guides are placed on the rod with small vinyl bands. The reel is attached and the rod placed in a holder. Some Dacron is tied to the tip and attached to the bench. This is used to load the rod during the test. More Dacron run through the guides and a small weight is hung from it (just to keep tension on the line).





light load.





moderate load





heavy load.

If there would have been any flat spots in the line path, the guides would have been added or adjusted to eliminate it.


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## shfishinsticks (Jan 14, 2010)

Got a lot accomplished tonight, however, my photographer was at work. I did the best I could, but it's hard to snap pics with one hand turning a rod and the other hand packing thread.





Guide ready to be wrapped.





Beginning of a wrap with inlay thread added.





half the wrap with completed inlay. It's a single thread spiraled around the rod 5 times (like a barber pole).





Trim bands all in place and tacked down with a dot of color preserver. Once dry, I can trim the _whiskers_. 





_Made in USA_ decal in place





Smallie decal in place.





A coat of color preserver is applied to the threads and the rod is set on the dryer. The color preserver will seal the threads, allowing the them to retain the _off the spool_ color once the finish is applied.


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## shfishinsticks (Jan 14, 2010)

I only wish my pics would do the rod justice.

Here's the pics from lunch, 1st coat of epoxy applied on the above mentioned areas.





1st guide.....1st coat.





Smallie decal & inscription area....1st coat.





USA decal....1st coat.

When I got home from work, epoxy was applied to the remaining guides and a second coat applied to the hook keep and 1st 2 guides.





2nd guide.....2nd coat. The best use I've found for credit cards yet.....applying epoxy!





rod on dryer


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## shfishinsticks (Jan 14, 2010)

I applied the rod labels tonight. They are waterslide decals.

*Simple version*
Dip in water, they release from the backing, and you place them on the rod. 

*Long version*
A surface prep solvent (Micro Set) is applied to the area where the decal is to be placed.
The decal is dipped in water for a short period of time (5 secs.) and placed face down on the bench.
After about a minute, it will release from the backing.
It is then slid into position on the rod.
A damp paper towel is used to squeegee the excess water from under the decal.
A decal setting/softening solution (Micro Sol) is then applied to the decal. This, for lack of a better word, _melts_ the decal in to the rod. (not really _melt_, but more like soften and allow to conform to irregular surfaces.

Enough geek talk..here's the pics just after they were placed on the rod.





My logo.





The rod info.

In the morning, a FINAL coat of epoxy will be applied over the decals.


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## shfishinsticks (Jan 14, 2010)

Got Matt's rod all waxed up, line spooled & reel mounted and it's ready to do some serious smallie chasin'! Didn't notice til I posted the pics......please ignore the bird crap on my tonneau.





Inscription area and smallie decal





Split grip


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## dyeguy1212 (Jan 14, 2010)

Very, very nice. You do some quality work!


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## njTom (Jan 14, 2010)

All I can say is WOW. Great job on the rod build. You do some quality work =D> =D>


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## Jim (Jan 15, 2010)

great post! =D>


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## xiong-tech (Jan 15, 2010)

wow! it's beautiful! great job you did their.


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## russ010 (Jan 15, 2010)

umm... WOW =D> 


needless to say, I'm JEALOUS!!!! Great job man


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## Bugpac (Jan 15, 2010)

Very very nice, I to am jealous...  If you get a chance, will you please post some pics of your other work, Then two rods hanging from the back of the truck in the picture look like they got some really cool butts on them...


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## shfishinsticks (Jan 15, 2010)




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## kbkid (Jan 15, 2010)

The rods are amazing. It is obvious you take passion in what you do, because the quality is remarkable. 

Can you give a little more information about the blue reel seat?


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## shfishinsticks (Jan 16, 2010)

The blue seat is a 16mm Alps triangle. Batson offers them, but only in 5 colors. https://batsonenterprises.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=213&Itemid=276

I got mine from the Rodworks in Australia.....they offer it in 17 color combinations. https://www.therodworks.com.au/index.php?option=com_phpshop&page=shop.browse&category_id=305&keyword=&manufacturer_id=&Itemid=1&orderby=pshop_product.product_name&limit=50&limitstart=0

If you're interested, I have 5 left. 2 Frosty Titanium/Pale gold, 1 Lite TiCh/Red, 1 SIlver and 1 Frosty Titanium.


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## shfishinsticks (Jan 16, 2010)

This one is destined to be a smallie catchin' machine in the hands of a guide on the Lower Niagara River.


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## poolie (Jan 16, 2010)

Very, very nice! I've been getting the itch to build a rod or two and this thread just makes that itch almost unbearable.


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## countryboy210 (Jan 16, 2010)

Two Things Show Up All Through These Pics. . .

A Pro At Work Doing What He Enjoys,
Having All The Right Tools For The Job.

Equals - *WOW* =D>


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## FishingBuds (Jan 16, 2010)

Beautiful work, YES i AGREE WITH THE QUALITY, nice  

I got my 12yr son into building rods and we only have a few under our belts, We have yet to do cork layouts like yours, we want to add that skill in this year, I do have a question on wraps, your inlays, I'd like to do that, how is that done?, do you have steps of the pics for it by chance?

Truly great work


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## shfishinsticks (Jan 17, 2010)

Thanks for the kind words. I am by no means a pro....just a hobby builder that likes to have the right tools for the job. Mattman is a pro when it comes to building rods.


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## shfishinsticks (Jan 17, 2010)

I don't have any pics of my inlays....I'll try to take some better ones when I get to that point on jiggy's rod. I just start the wrap and trim off the tag. Do a couple more turns and place a length of metallic thread (about 5" long) under the wrap. DO a few more turns and trim the tag end. Then I hold both the main thread and inlay thread tight and do 3-5 turns depending on the size on the inlay. I place the inlay thread under the main thread and do a few more turns. Trim the tag end of the metallic and finish the wrap.


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## jigster60 (Jan 17, 2010)

WOW....JIGGY


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## VA Bassin (Jan 18, 2010)

very nice!! great work!! =D>


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## basserjim (Jan 27, 2010)

Great work as usual Scott. Do I get play by plays on my rod?


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## shfishinsticks (Jan 27, 2010)

Welcome aboard Jim. I may snap a few pics for you. You might even get to witness _live_, the forming of your grip.


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## basserjim (Jan 27, 2010)

Why don't we just make a weekend of it and build the whole damn thing? :LOL2:


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## shfishinsticks (Jan 27, 2010)

I could almost do that......everything but the finish. Glue up the rings on Friday, turn them & glue the grip & seat on Saturday morning...wrap the guides and put the first coat on Saturday night. All while consuming some adult beverages.


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## shfishinsticks (Jan 30, 2010)

You could come over and watch me finish building the TinBoats rod while oogling your parts :lol:


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## basserjim (Jan 31, 2010)

I'll be there in...... 2 and a half hours? will you still be up? :lol:


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## mephitic (Sep 2, 2010)

Those are pretty sweet, look great, and superb craftsmanship. Love the color combo on the accents on the rod and reel. Great job. I want one LOL


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## BaitCaster (Sep 2, 2010)

Bloody brilliant!


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## ihavenoideawhattoput (Sep 2, 2010)

basserjim said:


> Why don't we just make a weekend of it and build the whole damn thing? :LOL2:



Live web cam? [-o<


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## fender66 (Oct 14, 2010)

Very BEAUTIFUL work and great post.


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## pelagicbldr (May 9, 2011)

Great set of photos. You sure know what your doing. I have over 20 St. Croix rods....best foundation you can have!! These should be available in stores!


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## swcr (May 9, 2011)

I've been building rods for 15-20 years now and I agree those look real nice.

Eugene


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## countryboy210 (Feb 23, 2013)

BUMP. Bringing This Back To The Top For Any Newer Members That May Have Missed It.


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## bobberboy (Feb 24, 2013)

Really cool. Did you make the jigs you're using? Very ingenious.


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## txninja (Dec 11, 2013)

Good work there!! Keep it up


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## PSG-1 (Dec 17, 2013)

Very nice work! =D> Love the checkerboard cork grips, that's a neat touch.


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## shfishinsticks (Mar 25, 2014)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=301597#p301597 said:


> bobberboy » 24 Feb 2013, 08:43[/url]"]Really cool. Did you make the jigs you're using? Very ingenious.



No, those jigs were purchased. I've since upgraded to some nicer ones that cut the ring in to more pieces. The slots for the saw are much thinner too, allowing for much straighter cuts and better checkerboard alignment.


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## icepounder (Jun 2, 2014)

Awesome job ! =D>


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