Crooked blanks on high end rods?

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jlb
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Crooked blanks on high end rods?

Post by jlb » Mon Sep 22, 2014 1:37 am

What do you guys think is acceptable for $500 plus factory rods in terms of the blanks being straight?

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Re: Crooked blanks on high end rods?

Post by Chode » Mon Sep 22, 2014 2:19 am

jlb wrote:What do you guys think is acceptable for $500 plus factory rods in terms of the blanks being straight?
with that kinda price tag, EVERYTHING better be perfect

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Re: Crooked blanks on high end rods?

Post by spookybaits » Mon Sep 22, 2014 2:53 am

Chode wrote:
jlb wrote:What do you guys think is acceptable for $500 plus factory rods in terms of the blanks being straight?
with that kinda price tag, EVERYTHING better be perfect
This ^^

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Re: Crooked blanks on high end rods?

Post by vinnieb729 » Mon Sep 22, 2014 4:11 am

That's THE main reason I looked into then started building my own. Granted there are many other benefits too but even small blemishes on my Megabass/NRX/Legend Xtremes/DX's (numerous others) freaked my tiny pea brain out. What I spent on return shipping looking for flawless rods was painful…but worth it to me at the time, fully aware flawless factory rods are rare and not to be expected.

If it's crooked and you're thinking about it now, it will always bother you…return it and ask that someone double checks the next one for straightness…most places will. Depending where you ordered it, I wouldn't expect them to pay for the return shipping though. Be polite and explain that straightness is very important to you and you appreciate the extra effort involved for the person to look over a few extra rods.

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Re: Crooked blanks on high end rods?

Post by MondayMonkey » Mon Sep 22, 2014 6:54 am

I've sent back three "not straight" rods in the last few years. Two to Tacklewarehouse one to AmericanLegacyFishing. Every time they were more than happy to accept the return, pay for shipping, and double check my replacement. Never settle for less than what you paid for or expect. If they don't provide a return shipping label with the original purchase contact them. Most will provide you one via email and cover the cost. As was said above if it bothers you out of the box you will never get over it so don't hesitate to send it back.

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Re: Crooked blanks on high end rods?

Post by njbasscat » Mon Sep 22, 2014 7:02 am

Return it. Fot that price it should be flawless.

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Re: Crooked blanks on high end rods?

Post by jlb » Mon Sep 22, 2014 7:31 am

I have returned several to the same manufacturer for being crooked (clearly crooked) I do not want to say the name of the manufacturer because their customer service on the replacements has been top notch. Recently I had a reelseat failure and they sent me a replacement rod and it came in crooked so I called and they had the person in charge "hand pick" a replacement since they have my record of replaced rods (several) and guess what, it came in crooked. Im sort of at a loss of what to do, say, or expect. How many crooked blanks are out there and why do they not have someone checking this before it goes out?

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Re: Crooked blanks on high end rods?

Post by dragon1 » Mon Sep 22, 2014 8:32 am

While unsightly, these blanks will most likely fish fine...but yeah, for any price over say $150, let alone $500 - "perfection" is an expectation.

One detail that most do not check, is whether the line will touch or "cross over" the first 1/3rd of the blank when under medium - heavy loads. That bothers me every bit as much with factory rods, which is why I fish nearly 100% custom spiral wraps.

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Re: Crooked blanks on high end rods?

Post by Mattman » Mon Sep 22, 2014 8:50 am

jlb wrote: How many crooked blanks are out there and why do they not have someone checking this before it goes out?
Actually, perfectly straight rod blanks are rare. Most times, guides and wraps and finish hide that fact very well. Even your "straight" rods have a curve to them most times. I've held hundreds and hundreds of rod blanks, and even made my own, and "perfectly straight" is a lofty goal.

There also needs to be a definition of "crooked" put out there. I've seen some call a long gentle curve crooked. And that is overly critical. I've seen stuff that veers off axis in multiple directions at different times by over 1/4". That's crooked.

When you see how blanks are made and see the materials used to make them, you'd believe that perfectly straight blanks are actually flukes. The variability of tooling, materials, and process coinciding in an anomaly of straightness.


dragon1 wrote: While unsightly, these blanks will most likely fish fine
Yup. I doubt that even the most astute hand could hold identical builds, one perfectly straight and one horribly crooked, and feel the difference.

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Re: Crooked blanks on high end rods?

Post by jlb » Mon Sep 22, 2014 9:44 am

Im not that picky to expect the blank to be perfectly straight but these are pretty far off and it is noticeable to me when holding the rod in one hand off to the side not looking down it for straightness. I have several of the same model rods that are straight or at least not noticeably crooked so its hard to keep crooked ones.

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Re: Crooked blanks on high end rods?

Post by SteveSchmelzle » Mon Sep 22, 2014 9:50 am

dragon1 wrote:One detail that most do not check, is whether the line will touch or "cross over" the first 1/3rd of the blank when under medium - heavy loads. That bothers me every bit as much with factory rods, which is why I fish nearly 100% custom spiral wraps.
St Croix blanks are famous for this....

I had two that when under load the line would drop below (underneath) the blank....

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Re: Crooked blanks on high end rods?

Post by dragon1 » Mon Sep 22, 2014 10:24 am

SteveSchmelzle wrote:St Croix blanks are famous for this....

I had two that when under load the line would drop below (underneath) the blank....
Two parts to this...improper placing of guides, or sometimes there is no way to avoid it unless a spiral wrap design is used.

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Re: Crooked blanks on high end rods?

Post by Mattman » Mon Sep 22, 2014 9:05 pm

dragon1 wrote:
Two parts to this...improper placing of guides, or sometimes there is no way to avoid it unless a spiral wrap design is used.
Yup.

Guides belong on the underside of the rod. Not on top.

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Re: Crooked blanks on high end rods?

Post by Crankbaitmaker » Tue Sep 23, 2014 8:32 pm

Rod blanks that are not straight drive me nuts as well. However, it is very hard to find them. I usually will not buy a rod without seeing it for this reason. I spend a lot of time making crankbaits perfect for folks and I expect the same care to be taken when someone (or company) builds a rod regardless of the price.

So are spiral wrap guides better on a flipping or pitching rod as well?

Crankbaitmaker

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Re: Crooked blanks on high end rods?

Post by Bantam1 » Fri Sep 26, 2014 4:49 am

Like Mattman said most blanks have some curve. A rod is made out of a bunch of triangle sheets wrapped around a tapered mandrel, shrink wrapped with cellophane and baked in an oven. As you can imagine there are several parts that can shift and change once it has been removed from the oven and mandrel, or could heat/cool faster than other parts resulting in a curve of the blank.

I have seen all the steps they take at G.Loomis. The ridiculously high cost of better ovens with more accurate temperature control and the custom bake racks designed specifically to help reduce any curvature of the blanks. Then there is the cool down time and controlling of that. Then to take it a step further all of the rods are hung vertically in racks at our warehouses. Even with all of this control, blanks can still curve. Most manufacturers have a QC limit for it, while others may not.

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