rwp Posted November 12, 2020 Report Share Posted November 12, 2020 I started a thread about this a few weeks ago, but I had issues getting a blank. The thread got way off topic, so I am starting a new one. I have two blanks from Black Hole, and I will be building both of them up as dedicated swimbait rods. I will try to post as many photos as specs as possible. Ignore the factory specs on the rods, they will both be different when they are finished. Rod number 1 is the purple one. It's a striper 96. I will be cutting this rod down about 8". Finished length around 8'10" (depending on what I choose for grip length) Full cork handle 18-22", 8" foregrip Fuji PLS reel seat Fuji Torzite guides Optimal lure weight should be 2-3.5oz, with a 1-5oz rating Rod number 2 is the black one. Surf II 1002 Heavy. This rod will be cut down closer to 12". Finished length around 9'0" Full cork handle, 22-24", 8" foregrip Fuji PSS reel seat Fuji CC Fazlite guides Lure rating on this guy is unknown. It's rated 3-10oz, but from the initial feeling of the blank I would expect this to handle 16-18oz lures easily The parts for the striper 96 are on the way, of course, delayed with Fedex Smartpost (thanks for shipping $300 worth of parts the worst way possible Mudhole....) I still have a bunch of tools to buy, as well as the parts for the surf II. I am hoping to get these put together by the end of the year. Jon P and Bmurr7 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwp Posted November 13, 2020 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2020 Parts are starting to show up! Waiting for the foregrip, as well as the correct ring to go between the 2 sections of cork. Those parts, and the rest for the other rod should be arriving next week. I also still need to order some tooling. Jon P 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon P Posted November 13, 2020 Report Share Posted November 13, 2020 Gotta love those palming grips, wish more rods came stock with them. rwp 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwp Posted November 13, 2020 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2020 Few more. Just because these guides are sexy. Jon P 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LUV-2-CATCH'EM Posted November 14, 2020 Report Share Posted November 14, 2020 Very cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwp Posted November 15, 2020 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2020 More parts coming tomorrow. Also picked up a drill for doing the cork work. Need to get a dremel and some sand paper next. Hopefully starting on these during the week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwp Posted November 16, 2020 Author Report Share Posted November 16, 2020 Well... There's $50 of cork in the trash..... But we're making progress. Learning is fun..... Anyway, here's a few photos. As you can see, these are 2 piece rods that split at the foregrip. I ordered some smaller sized reamers, so I need to wait for them before I screw up any more cork. Trangalang 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwp Posted November 18, 2020 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2020 Undecided if I am going to keep the split grip or not, but I had the cork, so I turned some down to see how I liked it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwp Posted November 19, 2020 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2020 Slowly...... Still waiting on a few pieces of cork. Started laying out the guides today. Both rods should be set up pretty similar for guide spacing. The purple rod starts with a number 20 and finishes at an 8 tip. The torzite rings are super thin. The black rod is a 20 and goes down to 10, with the thicker fazlite rings, the ID is pretty much the same. Though I may order a 25 or 30 for this rod. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwp Posted November 21, 2020 Author Report Share Posted November 21, 2020 (edited) Back to work on the purple rod. I finished all of the cork today, though I may remake the section right below the grip. It's a touch off center and its bugging my OCD. Got the blank cut and everything mocked up though. I also ended up shortening the foregrip about 1/2". Edited November 21, 2020 by rwp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwp Posted November 21, 2020 Author Report Share Posted November 21, 2020 As a side project, I used the drop of from the blank to lengthen the grip of my wife's curado, which was painfully short. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwp Posted November 23, 2020 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2020 Started assembling the handle of the purple rod. The black rod may end up getting a split grip, undecided on that. I ended up redoing the short section of the cork, I wasn't happy with the fit of the first one. I didn't do the fore grip yet because I will be wrapping the ferrule area with thread. I think I will be wrapping about 1" above the reel seat with some size A thread, and then the top 4" with size D. The plan is to do a very thin coat of epoxy over the threads and let it dry before gluing the winding checks and cork on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwp Posted November 24, 2020 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2020 Wrapped and glued the ferrule area. This has a very thin coat of glue on it because the cork will be going over it. Should take around 18-24 hours to dry. Hoping to have the cork and winding checks done tomorrow night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwp Posted November 24, 2020 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2020 Fore grip and winding check are glued on, currently drying. The tip of the rod will get one more coat of prokote after this is completely dry. Do you think my cork lathe is OSHA approved? Bass_blaster 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwp Posted November 27, 2020 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2020 Underwraps are on and glued. I taped the guides on again for final check, just to make sure I didn't screw anything up. This morning I glued the top guide on, waiting on that to dry so I can start wrapping the guides on. They won't get glued until next week. The end of the handle section needs its second layer of thread and to be glued as well. Hoping to fish this next weekend. tHeINFamoUS 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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