New to Rod Building...Please Help Pick First Blanks

[spartyon8]

Long story short, I have been into fiberglassing and epoxy work for a few years now through woodworking, car audio, restoring a bass boat, etc. I broke a guide on my Omen rod and never gave a second thought about replacing until recently when the reel seat broke. As one who loves the learning process, I have replaced the guide and am currently taking off the handle and reel seat to replace. This got me thinking about a recent rod order that was canceled due to low inventory and no rain check on the sale. I am wanting to dive into rod building. Currently, I am compiling a list of materials and tools to jump into this hobby and am getting excited but overwhelmed as well. North Fork Composites (NFC) is having a sale right now and I thought it might be a good idea to get in on it for my first few blanks. My problem is that I "think" I picked out rods that would be a good starting point but wanted some help double checking my mental work. The power and action ratings I listed for my groups are open to suggestions. I am not planning on purchasing all of them, more likely 3-4 blanks to start. Here is what I have so far:

 

Small Crankbait Rod (MH - Moderate)

CB 704-1 (SM)

MB 736

 

Deep Crankbait Rod (MH - Moderate)

CB 704-1 (IM)

 

Jerkbait Rod (M/MH - Fast/Extra Fast)

MB 664-1 (IM)

 

Worm/Jig/Carolina Rig Rod (MH - Fast)

MB 705-1 (IM)

MB 805-2 (IM)

 

Chatterbait/Spinnerbait Rod (M/MH - Moderate Fast)

MB 765-1 (X-Ray NEO) 7’6”

 

Thanks in advance for any and all help.

[MickD]

I'm not going to look into those models, NFC has so many and so many materials it's just very confusing.  To check on power and action you might go to https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1r3zv1ygtuUjPBa-c5LT9RTYeDR_pnCDIkVIdDv0YoeQ/edit#gid=1592691333

 

If you are unfamiliar with CCS go to: https://www.common-cents.info/

 

You can do searches on line for videos, just search "video then subject" and you'll find a lot.

 

Mudhole.com and FlexCoat.com have a lot of good tutorials.  Anglersresource.net has a good tutorial on the two line method of determining guide spacing and good software for locating the reduction guides on spinning rods with their KLH guide series, which is all I use for spinning rods.  For that series of guides make sure you use the KR software only

 

In general the best way to determine the power of a blank without having CCS info is to use the recommended lure weight numbers.  That's my opinion anyway.  You'll find a lot of divergence in opinions on rodbuilding so you'll build and learn and come up with your own.  

 

One can never have too many rods, so don't get too hung up on nit-picky specs.  Whatever you build will find a use.  

[Chris Catignani]

In addition to @MickD 's suggestion....
Checkout the Fishing Hobby on YouTube...the tutorial are great.

The Fishing Hobby - YouTube

[spoonplugger1]

Tackle Tour tested the MB 705-1 years ago, you'll find it in the review archives along with hundreds of others. The CB 704-1 would be my choice for a deep divers at or under 3/8 oz. Be advised that blank has an XF tip just like it's GLX counterpart did that it was derived from. The MB 705, MB 664, and MB 736 aren't that far apart in power, the tips are where the biggest change is, the 664 being the slowest, than the 736, followed by the 705. The MB 805-1 is the same power as the MB 736-1 but the tip is much faster. The MB 765-1 X Ray NEO is the monster of the group, and XF tipped, I've used it to catch Albacore Tuna, it's up there with the SW NFC rods people would use. Bass class I would put it in the MB 808 - 809 power range. There was a valid reason why it has been described as the "One" as far as versatility. 

Remember for the same power, the faster the tip the lighter the tip.

[KCFinesse]

I'm not a big nfc fan. The blanks are super sensitive but I've had a lot of durability issues (personally); their shipping can be brutal too... 

 

Me personally - I would hedge my bets to some extent on the blanks. I think there are awesome for sensitive applications but you may or may not like a whole mess of them for everything 🤷‍♂️ (my opinion only)

 

Also the rods do have little ridges that may be difficult for your first builds.

 

-Jared

[spartyon8]

30 minutes ago, KCFinesse said:

Me personally - I would hedge my bets to some extent on the blanks. I think there are awesome for sensitive applications but you may or may not like a whole mess of them for everything 🤷‍♂️ (my opinion only)

 

Also the rods do have little ridges that may be difficult for your first builds.

 

-Jared

Thanks for the information. I was just thinking a couple from the sale would be a good way to get into making my first couple. I wasn't planning on them for every rod. I was confused by the sheer number of options they had and wanted a second opinion to see if I was reading the models correctly. 

3 hours ago, Chris Catignani said:

In addition to @MickD 's suggestion....
Checkout the Fishing Hobby on YouTube...the tutorial are great.

The Fishing Hobby - YouTube

I am enjoying some of his videos. I like to stablize scrap wood for knife handles and he had a video of making wood trim rings. That might be a neat way to merge my two hobbies! Thanks for the link!

[MickD]

Some NFC blanks are offered in mirror finish which does not have ridges.  I personally won't build the ridged models after building a couple of them.  One thing to consider is buying an inexpensive blank or a kit to get you oriented and learning without investing a lot of money.  There are a  lot of good blanks that don't cost that much.  Also look for sales.

[1984isNOW]

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[1984isNOW]

I@spartyon8

I think you're moving in the right direction. The same issue with buying rods exists with buying blanks, you really don't know what you're getting until you actually get to handle it.

 

I'm with you on the overwhelming selection, but that will eventually become a benefit in building, you can really nitpick power and action. I have no idea about those CB rods, but I've heard that 765 neo is, like @spoonplugger1  said, unbelievably versatile from deep cranks to half Oz chatterbait and lipless cranks and spinnerbait. Some evin jig with it

 

You could split the difference of the 2 worm and jig blanks you listed and go with x-ray SJ736 if you like faster, or MB736 for a bit slower. I know people who make custom rods for tournament anglers, the SJ736 is their number one seller for bottom contact, makes converts out of doubters.

 

I actually grabbed the 804 delta to throw spinnerbaits from the bank, haven't handled it yet but looks good on paper.

 

I've heard the zentron blanks and APFG make good moving bait blanks.

 

Spoon, Chris, and mick pointing you in the right direction.

[Lead Head]

I love the Delta blanks! Best bang-for-your-buck out there when on sale (IMO). They do have ridges, but smoothing them with a burnishing tool where your guides are going makes them almost a non-factor. 

[MickD]

8 minutes ago, Lead Head said:

smoothing them with a burnishing tool where your guides are going makes them almost a non-factor. 

I would ask NFC if this would void the warranty before I did it.  I would think making the transition from the "burnished" area to the ridged area would be an issue, too.  Before doing this I would wrap over the ridges.  PIA, but not impossible.  Some builders don't even see it as a PIA.

[Lead Head]

Just packing the wraps smoothes the ridges quite a bit. Noticing this is what gave me the idea to just burnish them down a little before I actually started wrapping.  Maybe I should add a some clarification. 

 

I'm not suggesting you grind the ridges off with your burnishing tool, just lightly smooth them. 

 

As to the warranty, I won't speculate. That's a question for NFC. Delta blanks are pretty darn tough and while I'm not personally worried about voiding any warranties with some targeted burnishing, that's just me. I advise anyone to reach out to the manufacturer before doing anything they think could void a warranty.  

 

 

[spoonplugger1]

If you are hand wrapping or have a reversible wrapping motor none of the ridged blanks are a problem. In the hand wrapper if you build with your grip to the left, just 180 and wrap grip to the right and you won't notice them a bit. Is your thread following or opposing the spiral is the issue. The NFC blanks aren't the only blanks with ridges we have wrapped before. The old UglyStiks, for instance.

[spoonplugger1]

Just had a bench rod building session, old off-road bike riders know what I mean, 3 hard ciders in and I had a bit of info on NFC rods that I hope will help.

Lighter Jigs or TX rigs, blade baits, larger Z-Spooks, or stick baits, the MB 735 or 705.

Jerk baits heavier than 1/8 oz., loves 1/4 oz. MB 664 Delta. 3/8 is max.

Treble hook rod for small cranks and jerks, CB 704.

1/10 oz. Ned, weightless Senko, small Pop-r, soft jerks, 110 jr, SJ 703.

Large cranks, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, or jerks, MB 765-1 Neo.

 

[spartyon8]

1 hour ago, spoonplugger1 said:

Just had a bench rod building session, old off-road bike riders know what I mean, 3 hard ciders in and I had a bit of info on NFC rods that I hope will help.

Lighter Jigs or TX rigs, blade baits, larger Z-Spooks, or stick baits, the MB 735 or 705.

Jerk baits heavier than 1/8 oz., loves 1/4 oz. MB 664 Delta. 3/8 is max.

Treble hook rod for small cranks and jerks, CB 704.

1/10 oz. Ned, weightless Senko, small Pop-r, soft jerks, 110 jr, SJ 703.

Large cranks, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, or jerks, MB 765-1 Neo.

 

Awesome! I'm glad I am on the right track. I am also thinking of a basic, all around bfs build as well. That might have to wait a bit. 

[MickD]

19 hours ago, spoonplugger1 said:

If you are hand wrapping or have a reversible wrapping motor none of the ridged blanks are a problem. In the hand wrapper if you build with your grip to the left, just 180 and wrap grip to the right and you won't notice them a bit. Is your thread following or opposing the spiral is the issue. The NFC blanks aren't the only blanks with ridges we have wrapped before. The old UglyStiks, for instance.

I must be missing something.  I have to wrap up the foot of the guide towards the ring, and the ridges are what they are, so how do I change the direction of my wrap with respect to the ridges?  I concede that many don't have a problem with the ridges.  My opinion is that they offer no functional advantage, and can impede me in wrapping, so I won't contend with them.  But help me understand how to change the direction of the wrap with respect to the ridges without wrapping down the foot.  Thanks

[Chris Catignani]

I've wrapped both ways (forward and backwards) over the ridges with no issues (using "D" thread).

But...the one "kinda" issue I have is why have ridges in the first place?
So many builders will pee and moan about saving weight on this and that part of a build...and then build on an unsanded blank.

I get it from the manufacture's standpoint...they have completely cut out several steps.

What am I missing?

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

On 12/11/2023 at 7:10 AM, MickD said:

I would ask NFC if this would void the warranty before I did it.  I would think making the transition from the "burnished" area to the ridged area would be an issue, too.  Before doing this I would wrap over the ridges.  PIA, but not impossible.  Some builders don't even see it as a PIA.

The part that annoys me is a skipped step in manufacturing being sold to me as some kind of tech breakthrough and advantage. Raw blanks used to be sold on clearance for discount. 

[Huckfinn38]

I would think the reason people are having issues with the ridged blanks is they are using size A thread which a lot prefer.  I use size B and had no issues with the ridges on my Zentron I built last fall.  Its a great crankbait blank.

They gave me this for free as I had an issue of getting grips I ordered for 9 months.  I am grateful for their generosity but issues I have read here and my own experience with the grips turned me off.

I build on Rainshadow and RodGeek blanks only. 

I have had some Raindshadow RX8 blanks (Current Immortals) for 10+ years with no problems.

I have built on their current Immortal blanks, Bass & Inshore popping, and Eternity blanks.

I have had no issue with the immortals and I love the inshore popping series.  I did buy 8 eternity blanks over the last 24 months and 4 of those broke.  I bought them all together so maybe they were damaged when shipping or from the factory but I wont use that series ever again.  Rainshadow typically only warranties their blanks if the breakage happens quickly after the build as they told me defects happen quickly so if breakage happens after several times using they consider it user error.

So from now on I use RodGeeks primarily Carbon 2/Bass 2, Carbon 4/Bass 4, Bass 3, Bass 5, and inshore.  I will continue to use the Rainshadow Immortals as well.

The Rainshadow Immortal Inshore Popping series are great multi-use blanks as they have a moderate fast action and are available in heavy, medium heavy, medium, medium lite, and ul blanks. 

Huge fan of Rodgeeks Carbon 4 and Bass 3 series. Only issue I have with RodGeeks is there are not enough moderate/moderate fast action.   

[spoonplugger1]

For a very long time now there has never been a way to safely sand the tip on the high end fine tipped blanks, they are having to be hand sanded by people who know what they are doing. The high-end rods that push the envelope as far as weight, performance, and blank wall thickness have to sooner or later see the writing on the wall and have to make choices. If you design a blank with twice the diameter using the exact amount of carbon or glass, you increase the stiffness by a factor of nine and change. 3.1416 X 3.1416 (pi). This is the reason glass blanks are all larger diameter, compensating for lower modulus with larger diameter to bring on the power and stiffness we want.

Now though you have a blank with thin walls that when put under extreme stain would fail faster than then a narrower, heavy wall blank, but looking at the above, the small diameter blank to compensate for its diameter must use more carbon, this obviously make them heavier. An analogy, if you had a brandy snifter made with the same amount of glass as say your shot glass and dropped them both, which is more likely to survive?

As modulus goes up you have to use less to keep the same power and action, this finer build can't be processed the same way as a lesser, heavier, lower modulus blank. It took NFC a considerable amount of time to find a way to not sand, but buff their high-end blanks to smooth the ridges, I can see the possibility that even this can't be done on some finer powered/walled blanks, it all involves a certain amount of pressure and movement to accomplish any kind of material removal.

We of course have the option of not using the new materials and fishing sanded blanks if we choose.

[MickD]

I have "tons" of A thread and have no interest in starting over with D to accommodate this gimmick of marketing. There are plenty of blanks out there that are as good and don't have ridges.

[spartyon8]

MickD and DVT, does this mean that you two tend to avoid NFC solely for the finish quality then? I am a firm believer in setting one up for success rather than failure. With that said, failure is a part of the learning process. I would hate to fail because of struggling with a "quality control" or lack there of and fighting it. Would you suggest I get one cheaper blank from them before purchasing a bunch to see how it goes or just look elsewhere?

 

I was planning on starting with D or C thread solely to learn wrapping techniques. Would you suggest I start off with the finer A/B sized thread instead? I know it gives a tighter weave and a better looking product but was reading it is not the best to begin with as it isn't forgiving like the thicker diameters.

[Huckfinn38]

39 minutes ago, spartyon8 said:

MickD and DVT, does this mean that you two tend to avoid NFC solely for the finish quality then? I am a firm believer in setting one up for success rather than failure. With that said, failure is a part of the learning process. I would hate to fail because of struggling with a "quality control" or lack there of and fighting it. Would you suggest I get one cheaper blank from them before purchasing a bunch to see how it goes or just look elsewhere?

 

I was planning on starting with D or C thread solely to learn wrapping techniques. Would you suggest I start off with the finer A/B sized thread instead? I know it gives a tighter weave and a better looking product but was reading it is not the best to begin with as it isn't forgiving like the thicker diameters.

D is easier for sure but it wont provide that painted on look. A is somewhat difficult but all u have to so is file your guide feet down for the thread to stack how u want. I prefer B and C. I think Mudholes Pro thread is the only one offered in B i think. Even with B and C ur still going to need to file the guide feet down and burnish. Knowing what i know now id go with B or C

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

45 minutes ago, spartyon8 said:

MickD and DVT, does this mean that you two tend to avoid NFC solely for the finish quality then? I am a firm believer in setting one up for success rather than failure. With that said, failure is a part of the learning process. I would hate to fail because of struggling with a "quality control" or lack there of and fighting it. Would you suggest I get one cheaper blank from them before purchasing a bunch to see how it goes or just look elsewhere?

 

I was planning on starting with D or C thread solely to learn wrapping techniques. Would you suggest I start off with the finer A/B sized thread instead? I know it gives a tighter weave and a better looking product but was reading it is not the best to begin with as it isn't forgiving like the thicker diameters.

I won’t say I avoid NFC , but they are not a go to for me.

[BassinBrett]

I am 2rod builds ahead of you, so I am still learning.  I built my first rod on a MHX blank.  The rod came out okay.  My next rod was built with a NFC Xray 662.  The ridges on the XRay blank take some extra care to get good wraps with.  Slow a steady with backing up once in a while will get a good wrap.  I have used the X-ray 2 time now and I like it.  
 

I would say get an X-ray in their mirror finish.  I think it would be easier the build with. 
 

I ordered 3 bass blanks.  I think they have a smooth finish.  
 

good luck