.ghoti.

One lure to catch them all, One ring to slay them. One lure to bring them all, And in the live well weigh them. T-Mac worm on a jighead.

I use a Dremel tool with the largest size cutoff wheel I cab find. Put the rod in my power wrapper, get it spinning at about 100rpm and slice it right off. You can ream out a new butt cap to slide on over the cut end of the rod, but you will need to build up the blank at the front of the butt cap due to the taper of the blank. A little masking tape will do the trick, or even a wrap of thread if the taper is shallow.

Four Alphas SV and four Tatula rods.

WOW can't think of anything else to say.

No hotdogs for me thank you very much. Don't much care for the idea of eating snouts and sphincters.

I've been using something similar for about seven years, and have seen no problems; even in 100+ degree heat.

Pitching is easier and much more accurate with a moderate-fast action rod. For flipping, you want a broomstick, but for pitching, some give in the tip section makes it all work much better.

Looking forward to seeing this.

It's hard to make a locking wrap look good on the larger spinning guides. There's always a fairly large gap at the base of the guide foot. I've taken Scott Hovanec's advice, and left the locking wrap off of the larger spinning guides. Those guides have much longer feet, requiring much more thread, and finish. They have enough securing them to the blank that a locking wrap may not be necessary. I'm taking that approach with my next spinning build. Take what I say with a grain of salt. I'm a rookie at this.. Maybe Scott will chime in, and give you the pro's take on the subject.

The only thing I can say is, I wish I had one to review. It's on my list.

Roundup has mix made specifically for poison ivy. It works.

By blue water, I assume you mean the stuff that comes out of the porta-potty.

For what it's worth, I have the original version. I've used it hundreds of times and never scratched a spool. I don't know where that myth came from. Tackle Trap has them now, so you won't need to pay overseas shipping to own one. They are well worth the money.

Most people just buy their gear and go fish with it. Some of us are crazier than that. I'm one of those guys. I "tweak" all of my reels; once I've decided to keep one, that is. When I get a new reel, I fish it like I stole it. If it passes the test it goes to the bench. Internal polishing, new drag washers, spool bearings, and a four bearing handle. I'm going for smooth and quiet. As far changing out parts for the sake of appearance goes, I don't. It has to make a performance difference or it doesn't get done. I see nothing at all wrong with bling. Looking at the "show off your stuff" thread is something I do on a regular basis. There are some guys here who've assembled some truly sweet looking reels. Bling, for bling's sake, is not for me, but it's also not for me to judge. We all enjoy different aspects of this game, and it's up to each of us to determine just how we go about it. I have a few friends who think I'm nuts for buying expensive reels, and them tearing them apart to upgrade and tune. That's OK. It's a harmless sort of lunacy.

A St Croix medium is equivalent to most other medium-heavy. If you get it for a good price, jump on it. You will like it. The Avid series is the place where St Croix start making really good rods. The rods below Avids are just OK. Avids and above are excellent tools of the trade.

I like all of mine, so you could say they are all favorites. If a new reel is not a "fav", I get rid of it. Mine are all Daiwa with one Abu Record.

My thoughts exactly. I'm not in this to save money. I'm in this to build rods better for myself, and friends and family, than what I can buy off the shelf. I haven't done the calculation, but, off the top of my head, I'd have to build a lot more rods than I currently have to recoup what I've spent so far outfitting my rod building shop.

I have two Tatulas and one Kistler Helium. I'm pretty sure the Helium is a better rod than the Magnesium. One Tatula is a 7' ML-R. the Kistler is a 7' ML-mod fast. Very comparable in terms of power, action, weight and sensitivity. When I have room for only one of these, I take the Tatula.

Roadwarrior's post on cutting down his arsenal has made me put on my thinking cap. He will be trimming down for 20+ combos the 8 customs sticks with top shelf reels. I like this idea a lot. I also have better thn 20 combos; 28 reels and 22 rods. After some thought, I don't think I can get it down to 8. I'm shooting for a dozen. Three spinning and nine casting rods. That means I will need to build a few rods for myself. I have a pair of Steez spinning rods. I don't think I can build a spinning rod better than these. I have some casting rods that will be difficult to top as well. Still in the planning process at this point, and I will not be building any top shelf sticks until I get a lot better than I am now. This is going to be fun, and I'm quite sure what I end up with won't be quite what I have in mind at this point in time.

In the middle of winter in the midwest, you really need something to do. I build rods for myself, friends and family. I do not solicit any outside business. Yet. I'm retiring at the end of this year; leaving my full-time teaching job, and keeping, for now, my part-time consulting gig. I'll have a lot more time next year to spend doing something. I'm in the process of making mistakes, learning new procedures, and generally getting better at this craft. Am I a "professional" at this point in time? No, I most certainly am not. But, I'm getting better. Every new project is an adventure, and a learning process. My friends and family like the rods I've built, and the ones I've built for myself fish well. The fit and finish is not up to professional standards, but will be soon. I haven't used any high end blanks; more mid-level stuff so far. I have some high end blanks, still in the shipping tubes, waiting until I think I can do them justice. Some time in the future I will likely hang out my shingle, and start looking for customers. I have several regular customers for whom I service and tune reels. I will be expanding that next year as well. Adding the rod business should keep me well occupied. I won't make a living at it, but I don't need to make a living at it. I've seen too many guys retire, plant their butts in a recliner, and die soon thereafter. I do not intend to do that.

Wow, you screwed it together by hand and stripped the threads on both the chuck and adapter? If and when we ever meet, remind me to NOT shake hands with you.

Mine too, and after looking at it, I'm glad I bought it that way. Doesn't look like an easy swap.

UH OH, what did you do, amigo?

Thanks for the advice Scott, on the lathe and chucks. You probably saved me some time, cash and aggravation. I'm hoping to put up pics of my work that you will like as well as I have liked yours. May be a while, but I'll get there eventually.

The blanks I've used so far have been St Croix SCIII, MHX and Rainshadow Immortal. All in the same price range. Not top of the line, but not el cheapos either. The jury is still out, but if I had to pick one right this instant I'd go with the Immortal. I have a K2 and an SCV waiting in the wings for time to build. These two will be for me, and it will be interesting to compare the two on the water. I'm thinking of adding a Rainshadow Eternity to the list, just to get their top of the line offering into the mix.