# My First Custom



## gfactor (Sep 14, 2009)

Hey guys,

This is my first rod ive built up. Fuji sic titanium guides, half wells reel seat, matagi weight balancing butt cap, fuji reel seat, on a Nitro vapor 6 foot blank. Balances PERFECTLY with the reel, soooo happy!
Did a dodgy job of the thread binding and epoxy, but oh well, first shot. The guides are still in solid, and ive loaded it up and all that jazz and it feels great. Getting the guides straight was impossible though, took me so long!

Havent glued the butcap on yet though, still want to put a winding check on...otherwise im done


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## sarod420 (Sep 25, 2009)

looks great, love the reel seat / fore grip.


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## gfactor (Sep 14, 2009)

yeah man they are the most comfortable grips ever. I had one on my graphite leader vigore and i loved it, but I needed cash and sold the rod. So this makes up for it


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## sarod420 (Sep 25, 2009)

Is that the fuji vss foregrip kit? I am looking at building my first soon probably on a samurai bs-101 blank.


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## nicktoozoff (Sep 19, 2008)

Hi Gfactor,

When lining the guides up did you fit the tiptop first or did you work your way up the blank fitting the top last? If you fit the top last, then lining up the guides can be a PITA! I always fit the top first (making sure that it on the spine with the reel seat) and use that as a guide for the other guides.

Love the look of that VSS fuji seat and the half wells grip cork, there is a reason fly fisho's have used that grip for sooooo long, they are so comfy!!

Great build, and one to be proud of!!

Nick.


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## gfactor (Sep 14, 2009)

hey guys,

yep it was a VSS.

To be honest Nick, I did it working my way up the blank! Then realised how easy it would have been if i did the top guide first! The half wells grips are amazing, i absolutely love them, soooooo comfortable!

Im building a rod soon ( when all the gear comes) for my girlfriends 21st. Its going to be sweeeeeeeeeeet! IPS reel seat with a variation of a half well fly grip made out of eva, matagi balancing butt cap, fuji titanium sic k guides, red woven carbon tubing for the split grip, and a phenix elixir ultra light blank, cant wait!


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## nicktoozoff (Sep 19, 2008)

Sounds like you've caught the rodbuilding bug mate, you're stuffed now :lol: !!

Just remember to put the tiptop on first for the next one!!


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## gfactor (Sep 14, 2009)

yeah mate will do!

just built my second one now, currently drying the epoxy. Have done a much better job with the epoxy, the first rod wasquite gluggy because of the thread wraps, but this is much smoother and almost looks production made, only 2 of the guides ive screwed up a bit with the tag ends, otherwise the rest are sweet. Im gonna bling the crap out of it ( the girlfriend likes shiny things, haha). Its such a light rod so i can afford to add heaps of things to it, and so far it feels like its going to balance perfectly with a 200 gram reel.

Quite annoyed though, matagi didnt send me the butt grip after i sent them an email requesting it to be added to the order. My fault as well, as I didnt check which code was for that item, but yeah, now i have to wait another week at least before i can finish the rod.

Took me a while to get used to the rod wrapper but all sweet now.

Definitely have caught the bug


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## nicktoozoff (Sep 19, 2008)

Hi Indie,

Dont be deceived, building your own rod is NOT cheaper than buying off the rack!!! Alot of the time I can buy the same blank off the shelf complete for less than the cost of the blank itself. The reason you build your own is so you can add your own touches, and make sure the rod is actually built on the spine. I would say about 90% of factory rods are not spined correctly, this also includes the high end price range! Plus there is the satisfaction of catching fish on something you built yourself.

Nick.


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## robsea (Apr 7, 2010)

Cool info guys...and a slick lookin set up.


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## gfactor (Sep 14, 2009)

some good info being shared there!

I think it can definitely be cheaper in the long run, this rod here cost me hardly anything and it comes with compelte fuji titanium sic K guides. Phenix make some sick blanks!

All comments welcome, need some constructive criticism. It is for the girlfriends 21st, hence alot of " pretty " thread and red ( she loves red ).


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## Redfish (Apr 25, 2007)

Well done gfactor, that's a very nice build! Looks like you're well on the way to picking up Japanese as a second language!

The satisfaction from building your own is that you can build stuff that the big guys don't stock. Your selection of guides and grips is only found on some very high end rods. Not the type you'll find in the local tackle store, I hope you get a lot of enjoyment our of it. You've obviously hot an eye got detail.


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## gfactor (Sep 14, 2009)

thanks mate, really appreciate it! Might have to make one for myself, haha.

To be honest i chose those guides because a couple of my other rods have them and theyre brilliant. I have a megabass racing condition with them and a jackall bros i-spec 68 with them. They are brilliant rods and the guides are perfect in windy condtions, so line wraps or hassles at all.

My problem is i always want to keep adding and adding, but eventually i will over do it and it will look crap, lol


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## IceManDude (Nov 21, 2006)

nice work G


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## gfactor (Sep 14, 2009)

thanks iceman, so how many can i put you down for? haha


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## Redfish (Apr 25, 2007)

That's it, you can go overboard with too much bling. I had a build last year I got carried away on- I had built up too may trim rings over a couple of orders and put them on a rod all at once.....not the best idea I ever had!


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## eagle4031 (Jan 29, 2010)

excellent work


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## gfactor (Sep 14, 2009)

yeah i reckon i will do the same redfish!
I was about to start putting thread near the end of the rod before i realised how much it would screw up the action! haha. 
I unfortunately need to cutt a bit off the base which is annoying, but i did place the grips a tad too high, but oh well, live and learn. 
Also Redfish, have you built anything on an MHX blank or know much about them? Have heard good things but am unsure as to how good they are. For 50 bucks its hard to say no

Cheers guys


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## Redfish (Apr 25, 2007)

Gra is probably the one who knows about the MHX blanks most. I use St Croix personally (I don't build anywhere near as much as the other guys here!).

From what I know Loomis (Shimano), who were one of the biggest suppliers pulled out of the blanks market. So mudhole, arguably the biggest rod building retailer stepped in and replicated their blanks along with some ex-lamiglas people. From what I've read they aren't quite up to Loomis standard, but keep in mind they're new to the business. In general they're quite highly regarded and are great value for money, I wouldn't have a problem building on them. If you go to the forums page on the mudhole website, the whole story is in there- an interesting read (if you're a rod building dork like me!)


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## gfactor (Sep 14, 2009)

basically sounds like a cheaper, but still great version of a loomis blank? Nothing will be like the originals, but if they can get close then im sold. The blanks on the Loomis GLX SR842-2 are one of the best ive ever felt. I just sold one of those rods because I hate the grips, but have bought a couple of the MHX versions. I am hoping they are similar. I dont expect them to be as crisp, but so long as it has a similar action ill be stoked! They certainly are very light weight too!


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## Redfish (Apr 25, 2007)

I think the intent is that they will be a direct replacement of the loomis blanks.

My understanding is they are pretty close to loomis (as a generalisation), just remember they're relatively new and they'll improve with time as they get more batches under their belt. The differences may only be cosmetic, it is a big range of blanks they are trying to replicate and some models will probably be better than others. The loomis brand has a fantastic reputation, but there are a lot of horror stories out there of them dropping the ball in their final years (part of the reason I use St Croix). MHX as a company is a lot more invested in making the blanks business a success and there'll continue to be great things in that space.


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## gfactor (Sep 14, 2009)

ive heard great things about st croix rods however i am yet to find a rod that suits what im after. Keep looking around i guess!

One thing i hate is that they put the detail of the blank, on the blank, which doesnt look good if your building a custom. The phenix rods are good because they put it on the base of the blank where a carbon tube coveres it anyway, but i am unsure as to where they put it on the MHX blank.

But yeah ill keep in mind they are still new to it all and arnt loomis, but i still expect a decent blank. Its only 50 bucks so im not expecting the greatest thing since sliced bread.


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## Redfish (Apr 25, 2007)

All the St Crooix blanks I've had have the sticker on the butt, under where the grips go, never been an issue.

For $50 I'd definitely give it a crack! Might have to get online and have a look myself! How much is it to ship the MHX blanks?


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## gfactor (Sep 14, 2009)

i am unsure on shipping at this moment. 
Last blank i got shipped coz a crapload because i got the rod wrapper at the same time, so extra length and weight.

This shipment has a couple of blanks, guides, epoxies, thread etc. Nothing heavy. so we will see how much it costs


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## gfactor (Sep 14, 2009)

Hey Gra,

Cheers for the information mate. Sounds like MHX is the way to go! Have you used CTS blanks at all?

I paid a heap for the postage, but as i said, it was due to the rod wrapper included. If i knew more blokes i would definitely try to order a heap of things and combine shipping, but unfortunately im the only one i know who is into building customs. Plus i dont really mind paying the postage, so long as i purchase enough items to make it worth it!

I reckon i might have to get me a couple of st croix blanks after i finish these 2 MHX blanks.

Thanks again for the input


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