Updated from an article by Rod Maker Magazine

For all the cutting edge components, the careful work of the craftsman and so many distinctive decorative touches, the rod blank remains the essence of any good custom rod. But how many rod builders and fishermen really understand how a rod blank is made?

Join us now for a behind the scenes tour at Hastings Rod Manufacturing to examine the process that provides each one of us with the core component behind every fishing rod.

Here Will is cutting graphite patterns, commonly referred to as "flags" from a roll of graphite prepeg. Prepeg is the term for the combination of fiber and resin, combined together and supplied to the blank maker in a large diameter roll. The material is pulled from the roll onto the glass-surfaced cutting table and the required pattern is cut from it.

Still not looking like anything resembling a rod blank, here are the graphite patterns, or flags, after they have been cut out. Notice the different shapes and angles of cuts. It is these variances in shape, when combined with a mandrel of a particular taper, that give a rod blank its specific action and power.

A lack of attention in this area will result in measurable differences between blanks with the same model number. The excellent quality control at Hasting Rod Manufacturing assures that verbatim blanks within the same model number are produced each and every time.

Here Edna at the flag tacking station. One side of the flag must be "tacked" along the length of the mandrel before the material can be wrapped around the mandrel on the rolling table. Again, attention to detail is of the utmost importance. Some blank actions and powers require more than one flag, with successive flags being rolled on top of the first. Depending upon the respective manufacturer, other flags, scrim materials and proprietary processes may take place here as well.

Flags are rolled on a pneumatic rolling table (not shown). This machine ensures that the flag is evenly rolled around the mandrel. The top and bottom tables meet and then move in opposite directions which effectively roll the flag around the mandrel. After all the required flags have been rolled onto the mandrel, the unfisnished blank is then run through the cellophane machine. Here Paul is winding the cellophane "tape". The "tape" is spiraled around the soon to be complete blank, securely binding the flag(s) while curing.

Next, the cellophane wrapped flag/mandrel is hung in an oven just prior to "cooking". The oven can be seen behind Paul in the photo above. Numerous blanks can be cooked at the same time. During the heating and curing process the graphite fibers, any scrim material and resin become one unit. The soon to be blanks will remain in the oven for about 2 hours at from 250 F to 350 F depending upon the resin system and the manufacturer. Carefully consider these temperatures. Often, during repair work or tip top replacement on finished rods, rod builders/repairmen use heat to loosen mounted components. Too much heat, enough to raise the blank temperature near the previously listed figures, can damage a blank. Torches, alcohol lamps and even cigarette lighters are all capable of producing temperatures well in excess of 250 F.

After the blanks have cooled and are removed from the oven the mandrels are pulled from the center and the blanks are ready for sanding. Here Paul uses a special wet sander with 2 to 3 different grit sanding belts. Great care must be taken during this operation to ensure that the integrity of the blank is not compromised. Rod builders often debate this process - some feeling that it weakens the blank as outside fibers are removed.

Others believe that "extra" fibers are added by designing the flag so as to allow for some "sacrificial" material on the outside of the blank during the sanding process. Neither is necessarily accurate. Realizing that the fibers furthest from the center (the outermost fibers) carry the majority of the load, blank manufacturers are careful to remove only the minimum that is required to produce a smooth surface for finishing. Normally this constitutes 2 mil thickness or less, and is comprised of the cello wrap and only a tiny amount of outer fibers. These particular fibers have usually been slightly deformed by the compression of the cello wrap during curing and no longer contribute significantly to any load carrying capabilities. In other words, the difference between a properly sanded blank and a non-sanded blank, in terms of stiffness or load carrying, is nil. In fact, a sanded blank may actually outperform the non-sanded blank due to less weight and therefore, greater efficiency!

While a blank does not require any sort of finish in order to be functional, Hastings Rod Manufacturing finishes all its blanks to provide UV protection for its rods. Hastings Rod Manufacturing Blanks are available in a variety of colors, both translucent and opaque metallic. Here, Javier works in the finishing area, applying the final finish to a batch of blanks. This is a "clean room" which utilizes positive pressure to help prevent dirt and dust from finding a home in the final finish.

A few final touches are now added. Ferrules must be matched and properly fit and all blanks inspected before shipping. As you can see from the photos above, a great deal of human labor is involved in every rod blank that rolls off a manufacturer's line. It is the combination of materials, design, tooling and human expertise that maintains the high performance and quality found in each and every Hasting Rod Manufacturing blank.

Note: This article does not show all the steps used to make a blank, nor does it include any proprietary process that are used by Hasting Rod Manufacturing.

Hasting Rod manufacturing would like to express its thanks to RodMaker Magazine for permission to update and reprint the article originally appearing in RodMaker Magazine.