A core is provided for fabricating a blade to include an airfoil. The airfoil includes pressure and suction surfaces, leading and trailing edges extending along the pressure and suction surfaces and a tip shelf with a first sweep configuration and a wall. The core includes channel sections configured to form internal channels within the airfoil by casting processes and tip rods extending from respective portions of the channel sections proximate to a tip shelf location. The respective portions of the channel sections have a second sweep configuration corresponding to the first sweep configuration. The tip rods are configured to extend through the wall at an angle of about 5-12 degrees inclusive relative to a normal angle of the wall during the casting processes to form through-holes angled at about 5-12 degrees inclusive in the wall.