economy blanks?

[Jason Penn]

the more i search on this section the more i read "i would start with a cheaper blank for the first few rods".

so what's the best economy blanks to start on and learn on, that could still be fairly decent rods to fish with and not just lean in a corner and forget about?

[BucketHunter]

Someone correct me if im wrong, but i think alot of guys that say this are building on 200-250 high end blanks.
I think anything from Mudhole in the MHX line, Batson rx-6/7 from Get Bit Custom tackle will give you a blank that you don't have to be afraid to build on, but will still give you a great finished product that you can still fish.

[Mattman]

Bing-SHX from Bingham Enterprises. Mudhole MHX. Jann's Netcraft JMX. There are a fair number of house brands.

Some suppliers even get hold of seconds or blems. Years ago I bought a handful of sanded blanks for $7 a piece. Each one of my nephews and my wife still fish with those. For $7 its an outstanding blank the rod is a lot better than a $60 - $80 off the rack rod.

Especially for your first rod...don't use a high end blank. You'll learn right away what you should have done to make it a better build and then the rod will sit because of your butcher job on it. I don't even pick up my first couple of rods now. I still have them, but I rarely use them. They weren't high end, but higher than I should have done at the time.

[BucketHunter]

It was a huge pain in the butt, but my first rod that I'm going to wrap is an older Croix Premier.
I hope that it is fishable, I have technique plans for it in my repitoire, but If i do butcher it, it really isn't the end of the world.
The stripping was tedious, but was a good winter project when I had no rods to build yet.
To be clear, the guides and epoxy weren't the worst part, that was easy in comparison to cutting off and cleaning up cork epoxy, and stripping the actual blank paint down to bare graphite.

[Bigs|ick]

I don't even pick up my first couple of rods now. I still have them, but I rarely use them. They weren't high end, but higher than I should have done at the time.

Amen to that. Luckily my first rod (SC4) broke a few years back but I still resent my second one. After 3 or 4 you start building fishable rods. I'd go even cheaper than what's been mentioned before for the fact that if you do take up rod building as a hobby, you won't care much for your first few builds. I love MHX rods and I think you'd enjoy fishing with them, but not your first few builds.

[5poundhooker]

As long as you take your time and learn as much as you can, your first does not have to be a dud. As long as the guides are placed correctly or the way you want them, wraps are tight enough, guides are straight, handle is the right length, action and power of the blank are what you want, and you wait to epoxy after everything is set up the way you wan't you can't mess it up that bad. It is tedious at times, but not super difficult to do. Patience and attention to detail are key. Try it out on a cheap $20 blank if you are worried about the cost. The CRB blanks from Mudwhole are Lami. blanks (44 million modulus) for the money they may not be too bad, all though I have never used them. My first was a re-wrap on a Shimano Volteous 6'6" M/H used it for top waters for a few years. Wrapped it with cheap Batson micro guides. It doesn't get much smaller as far as guide feet go.
Good luck Jason,
5#

[smalliesteve]

check out this link.

http://www.utmostenterprises.com/UTMOSTBLANKS.htm

They only have fly blanks right now, but they will most likely pick up some spin/cast blanks sooner or later. These are factory seconds. No warranty but cheap as you could hope for.

For the record they can't tell who makes these blanks, but they're located right next to Batson and Pac Bay. Also if you drop the UE off the beginning of the blank model number you get a model number that looks suspiciously like Batson's numbers. But then, I have no idea what any of that means.

[Jason Penn]

sorry to bump up an old thread, but i finally took the plunge and ordered a hand wrapper, and drying motor yesterday. lance @ swampland told me he had a lot of blanks that were cheaper that's not listed on his site. i told him i would really appreciate it if he would email a list so i would have an idea about what i might want. i may start out with a couple of those and see how it goes for me.

so far my only experience has been cutting off and wrapping a few guides on a bps rod that i haven't used in a while. i only had sewing thread available and some hard as nails clear to cover it up, but i've been fishing it a few weeks and nothing's come loose yet. this was all done with me sitting in my chairt in front of the computer with thread run under me. i'm almost positive i can get much better results with the hand wrapper.

this may sound kinda stupid to you guys, but the mhx hm is kinda hi end to me i may want to build on a nfc or st croix in a few years, but right now i'm scared to spend $150 on components with my lack of knowledge. the bad thing about it is i really need a couple of good rods for plastics and jigs and not cheaper rods that will probably only get used for reaction baits.

i'll check with utmost on the batson blanks. i'm actually interested (after reading a couple of different threads) in the cb70h blank. it sounds like it might just be what i'm looking for for spinnerbaits and topwaters.

[btune]

My first rod was done on a StCroix SCI glass rod (6''6" glass, ML power). I still fish this rod! It turmed out great for all medium and smaller cranks. I wish I had picked up more at $15 each! You can probably get some close out blanks from most of the big manufacturers and I like the MHX blanks which are not too much.

[Bigs|ick]

Check out these 18$ blanks Mudhole is blowing out. It would make a great first rod or two and you won't cry once you realize your first few builds suck and don't want to fish them anymore.

[smalliesteve]

the mhx hm is kinda hi end to me

Most guys can't afford to spend $100 on a completed rod. From my own experience I have to say that TT will skew your mindset on fishing gear. My first "good" rod was a premier and it rocked my world. After about 5 years I upgraded again to a crucial. Again, redefined "good". Then I got on TT and now all I want is a rod built on a $200 blank, oh yeah I need 6 of them.
Don't get hung up on price, just have fun with what you can afford. They all catch fish. EXCEPT for ugly sticks.

FWIW, you may find (like btune and myself) that your first rod turns out fine. This will most likely depend on how much experience you have with detailed "hands on" work. There's nothing technically difficult about building a basic rod. It's just a matter of taking your time and paying attention to detail.
Don't go into it thinking "this rod is going to suck". If you do, it will. just take your time and do as good a job as you can. Do a lot of research and and make sure you know what you're going to do before you start. You can always strip off wraps/guides and redo. But it is easier to fix/redo thread work before it's coated in epoxy. (AKA a stitch in time saves nine ) All that said, use reasonably priced materials as defined by YOU. Think of it this way, buy good enough materials that you won't mind fishing the rod when its done, but don't spend so much that you can't afford to shelve it if it doesn't turn out.


Put a little effort into it and you'll be fine. Also, have fun. This is a hobby not a job.


I guess 5# said all this already.

[Snyder Rods]

Especially for your first rod...don't use a high end blank. You'll learn right away what you should have done to make it a better build and then the rod will sit because of your butcher job on it. I don't even pick up my first couple of rods now. I still have them, but I rarely use them. They weren't high end, but higher than I should have done at the time.

- Listen to the voice of experience - I could not have said it better myself.

[Koldkut]

Especially for your first rod...don't use a high end blank. You'll learn right away what you should have done to make it a better build and then the rod will sit because of your butcher job on it. I don't even pick up my first couple of rods now. I still have them, but I rarely use them. They weren't high end, but higher than I should have done at the time.

- Listen to the voice of experience - I could not have said it better myself.

Yup, I keep my very first one around just to show others what kind of work I did on the first one.