Fly Rod Build

[Shawn Joseph]

The locking nut/hood appears to be upside down. Have you put a reel on there and checked that it works in that orientation?

Good eye. Won’t make that mistake again.

 

[kbobb]

I’m all good buying a new fighting butt. Just want to know how to properly get it off or get it off and salvaging it if possible? If not, ok. Rookie mistake lol.

how did you put the fighting butt on? glued to the blank?

 

[TimMurphy]

I’m all good buying a new fighting butt. Just want to know how to properly get it off or get it off and salvaging it if possible? If not, ok. Rookie mistake lol.

Dear Shawn,

A sawzall will give you a fresh start and let you build an 8'9" rocket launcher, just saying! ;-)

Regards,

Tim Murphy

 

[Shawn Joseph]

how did you put the fighting butt on? glued to the blank?

Yes! Fighting butt is off… a couple teeth marks in it now 😂! Hey it’s a learning process! I’ll sand it down on the blank and putt the fighting butt back on with the teeth marks… it’s a good story!

 

[Shawn Joseph]

Dear Shawn,

A sawzall will give you a fresh start and let you build an 8'9" rocket launcher, just saying! ;-)

Regards,

Tim Murphy

A porta ban might be more gentle 😂😂😂

 

[TimMurphy]

A porta ban might be more gentle 😂😂😂

Dear Shawn,

Go big or go home bragh!

Regards, Tim Murphy

 

[Shawn Joseph]

Dear Shawn,

Go big or go home bragh!

Regards, Tim Murphy

😂😂😂

 

[6xAdams(Jones)]

Yes! Fighting butt is off… a couple teeth marks in it now 😂! Hey it’s a learning process! I’ll sand it down on the blank and putt the fighting butt back on with the teeth marks… it’s a good story!

You can sand some cork off an old handle (or wine cork), mix with epoxy, and fill the teeth marks. GENTLY sand out the bumps. Otherwise, blame it on the dog or a toddler if you have either one running around.
I'm repairing a rod my father-in-law made for me years ago, which developed looseness in the handle where it meets the reel seat. I cut away a couple small chunks of cork from the end of the handle with a razor and dug my way to the butt with toothpicks. This allowed me to flow enough two-part epoxy to fill what was a significant gap (all after taping anywhere I didn't want the epoxy to go). The holes at the end of the handle were smoothed over with cork crumbs mixed with epoxy. I'm waiting on the epoxy to harden before sanding it.
After you make all your little mistakes while wrapping the guides, a dinged-up fighting butt won't be the only flaw on your hand-assembled rod... speaking from my experience with two rods so far. At least you put the reel seat and handle on FIRST.

 

[Shawn Joseph]

First rod build is in the books. It’s on the dryer now. I’m pretty satisfied with the end result. There was some cursing here and there but I got a lot better with wrapping. To the point, yesterday I completely re-did all the guides before I epoxied today. I’m definitely hooked and looking forward to future builds. Decided to keep it simple this build. Thanks for everyone’s help.

 

[JoeE]

I was wrapping a rod today my friend, he is going to be a Grandpa in September so I figured I need to bring something with me for the little guy when he is born a little 4’10 3wt. This is my setup simple, I can control the silk, if I wrapped more than a few rods a year I may invest in something different but this works for me. Joe E

 

[6xAdams(Jones)]

I was wrapping a rod today my friend, he is going to be a Grandpa in September so I figured I need to bring something with me for the little guy when he is born a little 4’10 3wt. This is my setup simple, I can control the silk, if I wrapped more than a few rods a year I may invest in something different but this works for me. Joe E

Great grandbaby gift! Better than blankies (except for the ones my wife crochets).
That setup looks like the tensioner my father-in-law uses (the one I used for my first rod build). It definitely works, even though it's older than most of us on these forums. I wound up getting a kit from H&H (at a small discount) that includes rod cradles, two thread tensioners, 6 rpm dryer, and some other stuff. It worked out pretty well for my second build. So well, that I cut away and rewrapped three guides on the first build. I'm looking forward to building more.

 

[6xAdams(Jones)]

I'll keep this one going by asking for advice from experienced builders.
I intend to start a tradition with my grandkids that may extend to other relatives and friends. I'm going to build a fly rod for kids who are 5-10 years old, the ownership of which will start with my oldest grandson, to his little brother, then to his successively born siblings/cousins.
I like the idea of two handles along a similar line to the Echo Gecko. I don't intend to make this a super-pricy classic since I don't want anyone to feel bad if it's ever broken or lost.
Questions:
1) The Gecko has foam handles that seem to be smaller than typical cork handles (full wells in front and straight in back). As Jann's and others offer nothing shorter than 6.5" long (cork) handles, I expect I can cut out a portion of the middle, glue together, and sand down the diameter to a kid-friendly size. I don't intend to have a fighting butt, since I expect the balance would be off for a little kid.
Is this the correct way to do the handle?
2) I intend to choose an "all-around" blank weight of 5 but may decide to go to 4-weight depending on what blanks are available. Should I go with an available 7' 9" 4-wt, or with an available 8' 5-wt? If I chose the 8-footer, should I shorten it? If I choose 8', I could also lay out the handles to allow a kid to "choke up" higher on the rod. (By the way, one of the Geckos is 7' 9" 5-wt.)
3) Last question... Is a 4-piece blank or a 2-piece blank better for a kid? I've been told that people are typically more careful with 4-piece rods - I don't know if that's true. I do know that nothing is indestructible around little kids.
Thanks in advance for your advice.
- Glenn

 

[JeffK]

1. Glueing pieces together may be an extra step. Check grip diameters against diameter you are sanding it down to. Maybe you only need to cut an end off.
2. Just an opinion, but 4 wt may be better for small children. I start little kids out with sunnies and then maybe small easily caught trout. Don't need much rod for that. Later if they get better it is time for a bigger stick.
3. 4 piece rods are easier to store and transport. I don't think people are more careful with one or the other once assembled, but longer pieces can get caught in bad places in a trunk.

Think outside the box for wrap colors. School colors? Family crest? Cartoon character colors? Make it fun. When my girls were younger I made a Little Mermaid themed one for the younger and a goth themed one for the older.

 

[Millsertime]

My only recommendation is "don't focus too much on the 5-10 year old range" for your build. I would build them a rod they can fish at that age but also once 16, 32, etc years old. My son's don't really fly fish much unless I try to get them to but they like to use spinning rods similar to me at their age.....But once they get older, they'll likely get the bug and they will already have a fly rod ready to use with tons of sentimental value already included.

 

[6xAdams(Jones)]

Thanks Millser and Jeff,
I'll take your advice into account.
A few years down the road, I plan on building an 8' 5-weight rod for each grandchild, to give to them for their 12th birthday - the way my father-in-law did for his (5) grandsons. That plan may be adjusted depending on how interested they appear to be when they reach that age.
The kid-friendly rod is intended to pique interest in fly fishing and also provide something that can be shared with younger sibs and cousins. I expect my kids to try it out, whether or not their kids want to.
Regards

 

[6xAdams(Jones)]

Hello again,
Having successfully assembled a few rods on graphite blanks, I'd like to try out bamboo. Since I'm still likely to make some mistakes, I'm not looking for blanks that will cost more than a completed rod. (It doesn't need to be a Cadillac when a Chevy will do.) Do any of the builders on the board make and sell bamboo blanks? If not, can anyone recommend someone who makes and sells them?
Google found ZhuCHin, which sells blanks at a reasonable price. However, it would be a foreign purchase so I don't know how much shipping cost would be or how long it would take to get it.
Albaugh Rod Company sells blanks in any of the three "Stages of Bamboo Blank Construction" with a cost ranging from $260 to $455 (which I would consider to be reasonable for a domestic purchase). Albaugh makes the blanks after customer contacts to provide specs.
Proof Flyfishing blanks cost a little more than Albaugh and are also custom purchase.
Carlin Bamboo is not currently taking orders for bamboo blanks.
I took a look at Headwaters, but theirs are kind of pricey for a first attempt.
So, does anyone have experience with any of these blank makers? Are there any others that are recommended? Someone local to PA or MD would be great.
There's no hurry on this... I'm just looking to scratch an itch eventually. I won't get started on it until next winter anyway.
Thanks.

 

[JimNovo]

I’m just starting into the world of rod building too. Purchased a Proof Luna fiberglass kit and am waiting for its arrival. I’ve watched all of the videos and am confident I can build it!

I saw this vendor sells bamboo blanks.

Fiberglass fly rod | GRAYWOLF Products and Services

Custom built fiberglass, graphite and bamboo fly rods by Graywolf Products and Services. Builder Shane Gray

www.graywolfrods.com

Maybe rod #2 will be bamboo.

 

[Bamboozle]

I’m just starting into the world of rod building too. Purchased a Proof Luna fiberglass kit and am waiting for its arrival. I’ve watched all of the videos and am confident I can build it!

I saw this vendor sells bamboo blanks.

Fiberglass fly rod | GRAYWOLF Products and Services

Custom built fiberglass, graphite and bamboo fly rods by Graywolf Products and Services. Builder Shane Gray

www.graywolfrods.com

Maybe rod #2 will be bamboo.

Matt Draft of Proof also offers Made in USA bamboo blanks designed on some good tapers:

https://www.proofflyfishing.com/collections/bamboo-blanks

Shane @ Graywolf has cheaper blanks, but they are outsourced like most of his other blanks if that matters to you.

 

[6xAdams(Jones)]

Matt Draft of Proof also offers Made in USA bamboo blanks designed on some good tapers:

https://www.proofflyfishing.com/collections/bamboo-blanks

Shane @ Graywolf has cheaper blanks, but they are outsourced like most of his other blanks if that matters to you.

Thanks Jim and Bam,
I was looking at Proof already and expected additional direction if I were to contact them. (The only way to order is by contacting them directly.)
I'll look at Graywolf.
I'm not worried about out-sourcing, unless it adds significantly to the timeline. As far as I'm concerned, "good" is "good enough" for my first attempt with bamboo, as long as it doesn't look like a broom handle.
Regards

 

[Vtsalmon]

I went down the rabbit hole of building rods about 4 years ago , and got completely addicted to building them . I now have more rods than I can ever use . There is something about catching a fish on a rod you built with a fly you tied . Thought I would share some pics of my latest build . A McFarland tailwind 9’ 6wt , snake brand guides, lemke reel seat , I used man-o-war spar varnish instead of epoxy. I like the way spar looks and find it easier to work with than epoxy + way cheaper also . Keep up the good work everyone I would like to see more pictures of builds by forum members