# Latest Build....



## Brad King (Sep 30, 2007)

Here is the latest rod I have completed. It's a 6' 6" St. Croix with Fuji guides and a St. Croix handle kit. Very light rod with a 6-12lb rating. I'm very pleased with how this one turned out. 










Guide wraps are Blue fading into green then yellow



















I really shortened the fore grip. I tookit down from 3" to around 1 1/2". It works really nice. Your fore finger lays just right directly on the blank. I feel it gives better sensitivity being in direct contact with the blank... LOL ( just my theory)














































Tanks for takong a look. All comments are welcome..... I take critism well....LOL

:letsdrink :letsdrink :letsdrink :letsdrink :letsdrink :letsdrink :letsdrink


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## bluffman2 (Nov 22, 2007)

LOOKS GREAT............wish i had the time and patience to do that .............


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## jigslinger (Sep 30, 2007)

Nice work! What size seat did you use on it?


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## Brad King (Sep 30, 2007)

It's a 16.....

Thanks for the nice comments guy's!!!!!!!!


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## JoeZ (Sep 30, 2007)

Nice job. Sorry I missed you yesterday on the trip. Try again soon.


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## Brad King (Sep 30, 2007)

> *JoeZ (7/22/2009)*Nice job. Sorry I missed you yesterday on the trip. Try again soon.


No worries Joe... Been looking forward to fishing with you for a while... Well get it together one day I'm sure.


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## -=Desperado=- (Jun 19, 2009)

nice rod.i have a couple rods i need to put together.do you have a machine i can use for a few hours?maybe we can exchange pointers and stuff.


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## Brad King (Sep 30, 2007)

> *i ?!u?d ?uop (7/22/2009)*nice rod.i have a couple rods i need to put together.do you have a machine i can use for a few hours?maybe we can exchange pointers and stuff.


.

We may be able to work something out bro. We're in the process of packing to move down to the EAST a little bit. Once we are settled we'll hook up.


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## d45miller (Oct 2, 2007)

Nice work. :bowdown


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## Brad King (Sep 30, 2007)

> *d45miller (7/22/2009)*Nice work. :bowdown


Thank you!!!!! Can't wait to se it bowed up on a nice RED...


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## wrightackle (Oct 29, 2007)

I like the short foregrip. Can't stand some of the rods with no foregrips. Only thing I would have done different would have been to use split grips versus the full cork. That gives you an area to be creative without having to do your threadwork above the foregrip. That would help with the balance. Which St. Croix blank did you use? Another blank you should check into are the pacific bay rainforest blanks. They are green and when you use the green woven insert reel seat they make one pretty rod. Nice work.


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## -=Desperado=- (Jun 19, 2009)

> *wrightackle (7/24/2009)*I like the short foregrip. Can't stand some of the rods with no foregrips. Only thing I would have done different would have been to use split grips versus the full cork. That gives you an area to be creative without having to do your threadwork above the foregrip. That would help with the balance. Which St. Croix blank did you use? Another blank you should check into are the pacific bay rainforest blanks. They are green and when you use the green woven insert reel seat they make one pretty rod. Nice work.




if its for the boat a full grip would be best.sticking half grips in the holders can stress the blank or damage it depending how far up the reel seat is.i dont think the added weight of a couple ounces will make the difference in balance.



all my rods now are built with full grips unless its a pier rod.


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## wrightackle (Oct 29, 2007)

Agreed a split grip in a rod holder=scarred blank. But since it is an inshore rod I don't think just being in a rod holder while you are running to a spot will hurt anything. I haven't made a rod in a while but the last extra select cork rings I bought were a 1.25 each. So making a real pretty 12" grip is pretty sporty. Saving weight wherever you can on a rod that you will be casting for hours is pretty important. Split grips are cool on inshore rods. Thats why you are seeingLamiglas, St. Croix and otherrod companies offering them.


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## -=Desperado=- (Jun 19, 2009)

> *wrightackle (7/24/2009)*Agreed a split grip in a rod holder=scarred blank. But since it is an inshore rod I don't think just being in a rod holder while you are running to a spot will hurt anything. I haven't made a rod in a while but the last extra select cork rings I bought were a 1.25 each. So making a real pretty 12" grip is pretty sporty. Saving weight wherever you can on a rod that you will be casting for hours is pretty important. Split grips are cool on inshore rods. Thats why you are seeingLamiglas, St. Croix and otherrod companies offering them.




i believe the grips he used were prefabbed .notice the 1 cut in half on the foregrip.i think he did it by accident.the prefabbed grips are alot cheaper than the original rings.where do you get them so expensive.i can get em straight from portugal for peanuts and just pay the high dollar shipping but more than worth it.


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## wrightackle (Oct 29, 2007)

The last component wholesaler I dealt with was merrick tackle. Until they went out of business I always used Heads or Tails in Kenner La. I don't build rods anymore so it doesn't really concern me that much. Just out of curiosity though I checked Mudholes prices and they range from forty cents apiece to 2.20 apiece for their extra select grade. I imagine those forty cent rings are pure crap. If you can get that extra select AAAAgrade for pennies good for you. I did enjoy working with cork rings and making grips. It is a lot of work especially on rods with large I.D.'s.


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## -=Desperado=- (Jun 19, 2009)

> *wrightackle (7/24/2009)*The last component wholesaler I dealt with was merrick tackle. Until they went out of business I always used Heads or Tails in Kenner La. I don't build rods anymore so it doesn't really concern me that much. Just out of curiosity though I checked Mudholes prices and they range from forty cents apiece to 2.20 apiece for their extra select grade. I imagine those forty cent rings are pure crap. If you can get that extra select AAAAgrade for pennies good for you. I did enjoy working with cork rings and making grips. It is a lot of work especially on rods with large I.D.'s.




i met the owner of mudhole and discrussed the cork rings with him and looked at all he had.he told me the cork quality has gone to shit over the past few years and i was looking at all the rings from a thru triple a select and there really is not much difference.when you start grinding and sanding there is not much of a difference.he even told me they have a very hard time seperating the rings.


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## wrightackle (Oct 29, 2007)

I imagine as cork supplies diminish the quality of the rings is getting worse. The rings I was buying ten to twenty years ago were pristine. A lot of them had almost no pits at all. But to be fair I was mostly building trout rods that didn't require a large O.D. On ling rods I switched to foam especially when the EVA foam replaced the hypalon. You could shape that stuff and it felt firm like cork. Of couse the purists didn't like the foam but I hated the reaming involved to get a cork ring on the butt of a Fenwick or Lamiglas pier rod. Plus the large O.D. cork was the worst quality.


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## Brad King (Sep 30, 2007)

Hey guy's the cork handles we're pre-fabbed. It was a St. Croix handle kit. The fore grip was not an accident though. I was looking to do something a little different. The standard three inch foregrip is a little bit to long for me so I decided to experiment by shortening and reshaping it. I am REALLY pleased with the way it looks and REALLY REALLY pleased with how it feels.



Thanks for the comments on the rods. I appreciate any constructive critisim I can get. I am looking to go into serious production with my rods next year and I'm trying to find something to set myself apart from other rods. Weight is an area I am trying to focus on as well as having a distinct look and having a VERY affordable product.... 



Thanks again for the comments and keep em' coming!!!!!!!!!!!!


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