Blank comparison

When production rods are not enough, it's time to go custom. Come share your experiences building and/or ordering a custom rod and tell us if you'll ever go back to off the shelf.
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Hobie-Wan Kenobi
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Re: Blank comparison

Post by Hobie-Wan Kenobi » Sun Aug 12, 2018 8:09 am

timinmo wrote:Well I broke down and ordered one of the NFC X-ray blanks. I probably will not get it built in a while but ordered the 736 should be here is a couple weeks. Hoping to save it as a winter project but will probably get antsy before then.
Was considering that blank. What uses will you use it for? I'm looking at using it for 1/4 to under 3/4oz Texas Rigs. Any other X Ray blank you'd suggest it this isn't it? Also do the SJ and MB fish different?
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Re: Blank comparison

Post by timinmo » Sun Aug 12, 2018 1:02 pm

I plan on using it just like you stated, 1/4 to 3/4 T-rigs. Also any other bottom contact in that weight range. I also considered one of the 7'10" models as an A-rig rod. Not for the sensitivity but because I could make a very light rod that could handle A-rigs and swimbaits. That certainly interests me but I have other rods that do that, just not an X-ray blank.

As far as the SJ blanks I will give you my opinion. This is based on light and ultralight rods so it really might not apply to heavier power rods. I have just never built on a heavy power spin jig blank. The spin jigs that I have built on I would rate as extra fast action. They were all great at throwing light lures but still having enough backbone to subdue a decent fish. The MB rods that I have experience with are all medium power or more, strong rods for heavier baits.

If Mattman would chime in he certainly has more experience than most of us hobby builders. I usually only build a couple rods a year, once in a while four or five but I do not have the breath of experience that someone who builds more rods does.

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Re: Blank comparison

Post by Mattman » Mon Aug 13, 2018 2:54 am

ccass wrote: Also do the SJ and MB fish different?
The SJ taper has its origins as an MB taper. A production lot of MB's got over sanded. There were a lot of field failures as too much graphite got removed during the sanding process. But anglers reported really liking the tapers. And so the SJ was born.

Today, most that offer both tapers do design them slightly differently.

From a North Fork perspective, the SJ's are a faster taper than the MB's. Generally speaking, the MB's are in the upper 50's to mid 60's and the SJ's are in the upper 60's to 70.
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5bites
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Re: Blank comparison

Post by 5bites » Mon Aug 13, 2018 7:08 am

Just by looking at NFC’s specs the sj736 should make a dandy pitching/worm/jig rod. More power than the mb apparently and if they follow what Mattman was explaining above it’s faster than the mb too which I’d prefer. I’d really like to see the two measured and compared.

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MardukFIN
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Re: Blank comparison

Post by MardukFIN » Thu Aug 16, 2018 9:47 pm

At Rodhouse pages you can compare flexing of these two. Those are very similar.

https://www.rodhouse.fr/en/x-ray-rod-bl ... 07056.html

SJ 732 vs MB 733

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Re: Blank comparison

Post by mobass11652 » Mon Aug 20, 2018 6:32 pm

Well after reading this I ended up ordering an X-ray mb736, X-ray SJ736, delta 706, 2 delta bb805(Alabama rig rods)and one delta swimbait rod( think it was the sw765). Pretty excited about getting them and building them up!!

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Re: Blank comparison

Post by Hogsticker2 » Mon Aug 20, 2018 6:56 pm

mobass11652 wrote:Well after reading this I ended up ordering an X-ray mb736, X-ray SJ736, delta 706, 2 delta bb805(Alabama rig rods)and one delta swimbait rod( think it was the sw765). Pretty excited about getting them and building them up!!
Go big or go home!

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MardukFIN
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Re: Blank comparison

Post by MardukFIN » Mon Aug 20, 2018 9:32 pm

\:D/
mobass11652 wrote:Well after reading this I ended up ordering an X-ray mb736, X-ray SJ736, delta 706, 2 delta bb805(Alabama rig rods)and one delta swimbait rod( think it was the sw765). Pretty excited about getting them and building them up!!

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Re: Blank comparison

Post by mobass11652 » Tue Aug 21, 2018 4:16 pm

Hoping they will be good enough to start getting rid of some of the other stuff I have.

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Re: Blank comparison

Post by timinmo » Tue Aug 21, 2018 6:29 pm

I have no experience with the delta or at this point the x-ray but have built on the SM,IM and HM was pleased with all of them.

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Re: Blank comparison

Post by mobass11652 » Wed Aug 22, 2018 12:11 pm

I have built several hm and im but only 1 delta. I actually like the delta better than the IM. Although heavier it seemed crisper to me.

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MardukFIN
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Re: Blank comparison

Post by MardukFIN » Wed Aug 22, 2018 1:53 pm

mobass11652 wrote:I have built several hm and im but only 1 delta. I actually like the delta better than the IM. Although heavier it seemed crisper to me.
Agree. I have built just one Delta, MB 795-1 and i like it very much. Surface of the blank is also very cool with those ridges.

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Re: Blank comparison

Post by Hogsticker2 » Mon Sep 03, 2018 8:02 pm

ccass wrote:
MardukFIN wrote:New MHX Elite X is promising. Just got it yesterday. Havent built it yet, but it's 575g power and 11g lighter than new NFC MB 736-1 X-Ray. Also finish is very cool looking. And its 110$ cheaper than NFC.
Here:
Image

I have now Rainshadow Eternity ETEC76MF, HM-MB904-MHX, NFC MB 736-1 (X-Ray LMX), NMB873-MHX and St. Croix 5C70MF-G.
Still missing K2 Phenix, CTS Mag Spin Elite and Point Blank PB75MF
Then i'm satisfied! 8-)
I am considering the new MHX Elite blanks for a new Texas Rig rod. Looking for a true Medium Heavy, as I got burned by rod ratings with my Phenix K2 714. The 714 is MAYBE a medium. It's a great rod but, it's now a finesse rod. I have a Conquest 843c I'm using now but, would like to do a custom.
Anybody built or measured the X-Ray MB 733-1? I'm assuming the top end rating of 3/8 oz. is way off / under rated. Looking at Rodhouse, they say the blank can comfortably handle 20 grams - 3/4 oz up top.

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MardukFIN
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Re: Blank comparison

Post by MardukFIN » Mon Sep 03, 2018 9:01 pm

I swung it last saturday. It's quite crisp and delicate. RDA is 339g with 281cm WL. Guides wasn't on so i couldn't cast with it.

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Re: Blank comparison

Post by Hogsticker2 » Mon Sep 03, 2018 11:12 pm

MardukFIN wrote:I swung it last saturday. It's quite crisp and delicate. RDA is 339g with 281cm WL. Guides wasn't on so i couldn't cast with it.
Nice! I honestly wasn't expecting an answer so quickly. Well, not at all actually lol. So is nfc going to release more x-ray models? 733 has 340 grams of power, 736 has 550 ish. Seems like they need something in between.

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