New Handle....Check It Out

[A.W.Wolfram]

Here is the handle for my new Rainshadow XSB822.5(if you have not seen these, you need to get your hands on one)

6-14 LB

1/8-5/8 oz

6'10"

The reel seat is a ALPS triangle 13mm

Hand turned cork

Blank WT 1.65

Yes........the blank is not made in the USA,but this new blended modulus design will give the (big guys) a run for there money.

Great price point and a limited lifetime warranty.

The ALPS RS is sweet, possitave locking and a great feel.

[upnorth]

That is a very nice handle setup, looks good.

I have the same blank in the wrapper right now. Just need to get enough motivation finish it. Just need to wrap one more guided and do the but wraps. Just can't seem to get myself down in the workshop tho.

[A.W.Wolfram]

I have the same blank in the wrapper right now.

What do you think of it upnorth ?

I have not glued it up yet, I want to do a wrap in the split but I lack the motivation.

So, I know the feeling.

[taztrout]

I like the handle setup. nice job

what is the difference between that setup and one where there is all cork. i have seen that style before but never knew anybody who fishes them. Is ther somebody in duluth that sells that blank?

[A.W.Wolfram]

IMO, It comes down to WT. I'm trying to cut every last possable tid bit of WT off to get the lightest finished rod possable.

The other reason I like the split grips is that the handle lockes in to your forarm when its under load. It feels more like a extention of my arm( and it looks cool with a wrap or lable in the gap)

The down fall is they don't work vary well in most rod holders.

[harvey lee]

I built one like that Captain and I love it for jigging eyes. In regards to the rod holder, you are correct there. The blank I used was a Rainshadow but a different number I believe from Al.

[A.W.Wolfram]

Thats what it is for. I hope I have it done before the water gets to the right temp

[Sand Burr]

Where did you get those parts? Blank, seat and handle?

[A.W.Wolfram]

There from MidWest rod and Reel. To add to my first post, the blank is the new RX8 Graphite XSB822.5

The cork I miled my self

[upnorth]

I have a rod in the dryer right now and will post some pics in the forum as soon as it is cured enough to take outside and take a few pics. This one is on a rx7 822.5 and has split grips too. I am anxious to spool up a reel, mount it up, tie on a jig and go fishin

[A.W.Wolfram]

I have a rod in the dryer right now and will post some pics in the forum as soon as it is cured enough to take outside and take a few pics.

upnorth,

Is it dry yet?

[upnorth]

It is dry but I have yet to take pics. I have another one too. Work has been extremely hectic lately and the last rod I did was for a birthday present and the pressure was on, that is the reason I really don't hang out a shingle and make a business of this, takes the fun out of it.

Maybe later today, I worked from 8 am to 1 am yesterday and was back at 6 am checking on things. Kinda falls under the "you wanted to be the network engineer" category

[A.W.Wolfram]

Same here. Between work and the Fall bite (research) its hard to find the time.

The last 2 months have had 3 rods in the works including the one from this post that I just finished the dec rap on.

It needs to get colder, so I stay home more

[upnorth]

OK sitting here waiting for my fishing partner to show up so I have a few minutes.

Here are last couple I have been working on.

Lukes Mom is getting a nice birthday present. St. Croix 6 ft Med Lt. I guess I need to pay attention to my back grounds a bit more, got the darn garbage bucket in the pic Grrrr

The butt wraps, I know nothing new here.

Guide wraps have a little extra trim.

This one is Mine! Rainshadow 6'10 RX7 822.5

The front handle. This is box elder and Birch Bark.

The whole handle

Yep this wrap is getting repititious

And the guide wrap

[A.W.Wolfram]

Nice work. I love the split handle.

[upnorth]

Thanks!! Birch bark is pretty cool, pain to work with but comes out nice.

[Scupper]

Quote:

Yep this wrap is getting repetitious

I envy your repetition...

Is it O K to use words like beautiful?

Your craftsmanship and talent and others on here has inspired myself to try my hand at this craft. I have a respect for you and the others who possess this talent as I will continue to try.

Thanks for sharing...

[upnorth]

Thanks for the kind words!! Glad to hear some others are give this a whirl. If I can be of any help with tips and tricks, post and I will try to help out.

[Iambjm]

I am in awe of the beauty of these rods, where did you learn how to do this?

[upnorth]

Thanks for the compliments. I got started rod building years ago. A guy I worked with built some of his own rods and said it wasn't that tough just to some time and patience. He gave me a little 5 page booklet that explained the basics and said he would answer questions as I went along. I built some way back then mostly Fly rods for Steehead fishing. Kinda gave up the hobby for a while and then took it back up about 7 years ago and got into some real custom stuff. Alot of the ideas came from others off the web.

The fancy stuff, I bought a book that explained the how the wraps worked and had some designs. The last one was a pattern that I found on the web and figured how it was wrapped and made my own changes to it. The handles I did some looking at other stuff and thought why just stick with cork or foam. I picked up a cheap wood lathe and made a few things to help make custom handles.