TackleTour

#3
Phenix K2 7'1 ML-XF

Custom mappa burl grip, carbon fiber rear and foregrip, Matagi components, ALPS reel seat, abalone inlay, holographic spiral wrap finished with Fuji Ti micros.




#4
NFC HM MB 704-1 blank

Custom mappa burl grip, carbon fiber rear and foregrip, ALPS reel seat, Matagi components Fuji Ti Micro guides.




#5 is on another NFC 704-1 blank, but is a bit more extreme. I'll be snapping a few pictures of that tomorrow if anyone is interested!

#1 was an NFC 7'2 UL dropshot rod, and #2 was a Phenix M1 H-XF swimbait rod. I'll also be snapping a few of those tomorrow.

Nice first post. You do good work, no doubt. Welcome to TT!

Thanks! I bought a few things to repair broken guides about 8 months ago, and the hobbyist in me took over. I still have LOTS to learn and each rod takes me quite a while to finish, but it's become a rather therapeutic process for me!

I've been a lurker here for a while and purchased a few things in the classifieds, but I'm excited to get more involved.

Nice dude...I have come to really enjoy carbon wrapped handles.

Holy hell is all I can say, those look phenomenal!

KP Duty wrote:Nice dude...I have come to really enjoy carbon wrapped handles.

Thanks. I love the look and lack of weight they bring to the table, as well as the nearly infinite level of customization. These two got the “raw” finish, which makes them a bit grippier when wet. The one I’m currently working on is receiving a gloss resin finish, so I’m curious to see it it gets super slippery or not.

adam lancia wrote:Holy hell is all I can say, those look phenomenal!

Haha, what a compliment, thank you! I wanted them to be different and impactful without being over the top, and still providing the best performance.

From a broken guide to that........
Beautiful rods man!

biggs wrote:From a broken guide to that........
Beautiful rods man!

Crazy work on the K2. What was the final weight?

WOW

How in the world... just stunning!

Really snazzy looking! They look very JDM(ish) and MB inspired with the purple and gold! Well done and you find the right place to be!

biggs wrote:From a broken guide to that........
Beautiful rods man!

Thanks! Yeah, I have a tendency to go a little overboard. I've been called a serial hobbyist.

papabassin wrote:

I'll take that as a compliment!

ccass wrote:Crazy work on the K2. What was the final weight?

I haven't bothered to weigh it. It's far from heavy and very well balanced, though! Mappa burl is fairly light as far as wood goes and everything else, with the exception of the real seat, is about the lightest stuff on the market. I'm planning on pairing the Conquest I bought from you with the rod I'm working on now, by the way!

Hogsticker2 wrote:WOW

Glad you like it!

Cyacnba wrote:How in the world... just stunning!

Stubbornness, mostly. Thanks!

Fishing4Fun wrote:Really snazzy looking! They look very JDM(ish) and MB inspired with the purple and gold! Well done and you find the right place to be!

I definitely took some inspiration from MB and the JDM market as a whole. Especially some of the older stuff that got a bit wild! I'm still working on how to make my own version of a slant bridge...

As promised, here are the others. Sorry for the low quality pictures, I got home late from work and snapped them quickly with my phone.

All of my rods:


#1
7'6 NFC HM UL XF Dropshot. I actually made all the accent pieces by hand from scrap aluminum. ALPS Waveform spinning seat, birdesye maple rear and foregrips, custom CF butt and thread cover, Fuji Ti SiC guides, (micro runners).



I tried my hand at inscribing my name on the butt... Didn't go well, but I like it.



#2
7'3 (I think...) Phenix M1 H XF swimbait. Fuji SK2 seat, custom CF piece between the reel seat parts (?), custom purpleheart grip, custom cork butt and thread cover, spiral wrapped with Fuji double foot micros. I'm not a big fan of my threadwork above the real seat, so will probably strip that off and redo it in the future. I don't really like the butt cap either, but that will probably stay, because I would have to ruin the cork to get it off.






My most recent undertaking:

#5 7'0 NFC HM MH F

Custom CF grip/handle and thread cover, ALPS MVT Toray seat, custom copper accents, Fuji Ti SiC micro guides.
The grip is still in the works. There are a few bubbles/waves/orange peel, and you can see too much of the CF texture - I want it completely smooth - so there will be a few more sanding and re-coating sessions, (on top of the MULTIPLE it has already undergone). Hopefully it goes to plan! (Who am I kidding, it already hasn't.)




And finally, my embarrassingly messy workstation:


That's it for now!

Thanks again for all the kind words! I strongly encourage anyone to give building their own rods a shot! It's not NEARLY as daunting as it seems, and it makes every trip to the water feel super special.