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

[MickD]

10 hours 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 will not build blanks with ridges.  There is no reason for the ridges other than to save some money in the blank process.  I also don't see any other advantage for an NFC blank over many other blanks, and I am not fond of how they are managed.  Contrary to what many believe, I don't think there is any magic any longer in the name Loomis.  Others have caught up.  I do like their carbon fiber grips and will buy them.  Most if not all of their ridged blanks are available in a mirror finish as mentioned above which has no ridges, so that is an option if you want NFC but don't want ridges.

 

I suggest you buy a little of both A and D and see what you prefer.  Both work just fine but D might be easier and A might work better for really small guides near the tip, like Fuji KT's.  There will be an appearance difference, but I don't think it's a major consideration.  See what you think by trying them both.

 

These are my opinions.  Keep in mind that all you get for the most part on forums are opinions with little or no real data.  We all have our own specific expectations, and differences in them often affect our opinions.  Also, opinions are often biased in other ways. 

[casts_by_fly]

13 hours 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.

 

grab a spool of D thread to practice wrapping with on a dowel or practice blank.  Get it in the same color you're planning to do the main wraps with and you can see what the finish will look like with and without color preserver (unless you've made a decision one way on that).  You can get practice with wrapping techniques.  Then when you build the rod for real, use A.  Aside from a couple specific really thick saltwater guides, I've not found a guide where proper sanding on the foot can't be wrapped up over with A.  Heck, I've used 00 on a bunch of rods before too and while its tricker and I wouldn't want to do it all the time you can still get it smooth up over a guide foot if you taper the foot nicely.

 

if you want to build a rod for practice before you do your 'good' rod, I'd pick up an MHX with the specs you want for your BFS rod or another lower priority rod for you.  You can get one for $50 and with grips and guides you'll be around $100 for a 'starter' rod.

 

rick

 

[spartyon8]

28 minutes ago, casts_by_fly said:

 

grab a spool of D thread to practice wrapping with on a dowel or practice blank.  Get it in the same color you're planning to do the main wraps with and you can see what the finish will look like with and without color preserver (unless you've made a decision one way on that).  You can get practice with wrapping techniques.  Then when you build the rod for real, use A.  Aside from a couple specific really thick saltwater guides, I've not found a guide where proper sanding on the foot can't be wrapped up over with A.  Heck, I've used 00 on a bunch of rods before too and while its tricker and I wouldn't want to do it all the time you can still get it smooth up over a guide foot if you taper the foot nicely.

 

if you want to build a rod for practice before you do your 'good' rod, I'd pick up an MHX with the specs you want for your BFS rod or another lower priority rod for you.  You can get one for $50 and with grips and guides you'll be around $100 for a 'starter' rod.

 

rick

 

Thanks for the info. I was actually thinking about doing the cheaper bfs as the first rod to practice with. I am going to rebuild my omen rod first to practice with guide wrapping as it needs 1 replaced anyway along with the reel seat.