Rod Build Thread

So I think I’m getting the hang of it.
It’s all about tension, thread angle and a pinch of attention to detail!

Thank you all for your tips/input.
IMG 4465IMG 4466
 
jeffroey said:
Best I can do considering my very overlighted work area. The glossyness of the spar is picking up a lot of glare and makes the wraps look less smooth than they actually are.

View attachment 1641233967View attachment 1641233968View attachment 1641233969View attachment 1641233970View attachment 1641233971

Like I mentioned earlier, I have a few more coats to do on the handle section. After that, all wraps get a very close look, a few touches with 2500 grit sand paper to remove any roughness, and a final swipe of spar. Haven't done that on these wraps yet.

IMO that's one of the biggest advantages of using spar vs epoxy: easy to touch up or make a correction without adding a lot of thickness to wrap.
Click to expand...
How do you make the gold band?
 
JimNovo said:
So I think I’m getting the hang of it.
It’s all about tension, thread angle and a pinch of attention to detail!

Thank you all for your tips/input.
View attachment 1641234042View attachment 1641234043
Click to expand...
That's looking pretty good.

I strongly suggest doing some test wraps on an old junk rod, arrow shaft, or whatever and practicing your finish application before committing to finishing for real.

Practice until you're completely satisfied with the results. I wish I would have had the patience to do some testing before I finished my first few rods rather than just plunging ahead.
 
PennKev said:
That's looking pretty good.

I strongly suggest doing some test wraps on an old junk rod, arrow shaft, or whatever and practicing your finish application before committing to finishing for real.

Practice until you're completely satisfied with the results. I wish I would have had the patience to do some testing before I finished my first few rods rather than just plunging ahead.
Click to expand...
What should I be looking for in my finish practicing?

How thick to apply?
Number of coats?
Drying time?

PS…I’ve been using the rod I bought from you as a reference in my build. You do great work!
 
JimNovo said:
What should I be looking for in my finish practicing?

How thick to apply?
Number of coats?
Drying time?

PS…I’ve been using the rod I bought from you as a reference in my build. You do great work!
Click to expand...
Looking good, Jim.
- Burnish before finishing using a tool that doesn't snag thread. If any gaps are opened, you can usually push them closed.
- Clean off all fuzz and dust.
- Follow whatever instruction or advice on color preserver you want to. You don't even need it if you want the thread to blend in with the blank.
- Have a little torch handy to singe off thread ends, fuzz, and bubbles in the varnish. Passing over any flame like an alcohol lamp or lighter will also work. DON'T OVERDO IT and scorch your wraps. (Don't ask how I know.)
- If using varnish, 4-6 really thin coats with 3-5 hours drying time in between.
- If using epoxy like Flex-Coat, only one coat is needed on a flyrod. Personally, I find Flex-Coat hard to use since it gets tacky before I'm done painting all the wraps. I go too slow.
- If you squeegee excess liquid off the wraps, and turn by hand for a few minutes, you don't need a rotisserie. However, don't rest the blank anywhere it will roll and mess up the finish.
 
JimNovo said:
How do you make the gold band?
Click to expand...
This video is a decent tutorial:


There's a bunch out there. I like this guys stuff.

JimNovo said:
What should I be looking for in my finish practicing?

How thick to apply?
Number of coats?
Drying time?

PS…I’ve been using the rod I bought from you as a reference in my build. You do great work!
Click to expand...
Before you put your finish on, I can say with confidence you've already put it in too thick. Seriously. Regardless if you're going to finish w spar or epoxy, the hardest thing for me to grasp was thin coats. Even when I thought I was laying it on thin, I wasn't. For example, when I'm finishing w spar, I'll usually finish with 6 or 7 coats. Key is putting it onl so thin that I can still see and feel my thread ridges until I'm into the 4th or 5th coat. That thin.

For spar, 24 hours between coats, 5 or 6 coats.

For epoxy, 24 hours between coats, target 2 coats.

For epoxy, this is a great method:


Here's that earlier rod waiting to be brought out to he back yard this weekend. 20240125 190639
 
JimNovo said:
PS…I’ve been using the rod I bought from you as a reference in my build. You do great work!
Click to expand...
That was a pretty early build of mine, and while a big improvement over my first attempts, I would have benefitted from following my own advice and done some tests and practice before finishing that rod. However, I was young and impatient and figured I could "learn on the job."

Again, practicing goes a long way. Finishing is probably the most challenging part of rod building and is the biggest difference between rod builds that look professional and amateurish.
 
Wrapping is coming along nicely now.

IMG 4506IMG 4502

Question for the group:
My glass rod has gaps between the ferrule connections. Should I try to reduce these by sanding the male ferrules? Should I just get used to the gap? Will the gap disappear over time? Right now the gaps are about 1/8”.
 
JimNovo said:
Wrapping is coming along nicely now.

View attachment 1641234196View attachment 1641234197

Question for the group:
My glass rod has gaps between the ferrule connections. Should I try to reduce these by sanding the male ferrules? Should I just get used to the gap? Will the gap disappear over time? Right now the gaps are about 1/8”.
Click to expand...
Leave it be. Totally normal for spigot ferrules.
 
JimNovo said:
Wrapping is coming along nicely now.

View attachment 1641234196View attachment 1641234197

Question for the group:
My glass rod has gaps between the ferrule connections. Should I try to reduce these by sanding the male ferrules? Should I just get used to the gap? Will the gap disappear over time? Right now the gaps are about 1/8”.
Click to expand...
NO!!!

A 1/4" to 3/8" gap is what you want. 1/8" is fine. If the ferrule is bottomed out (i.e. no gap) you run the risk of the fit being too loose and the rod could come apart when you're using it.

Here's a couple of (slightly above beginner) rod building considerations you might want to think about right now as you're wrapping your spigot ferrules:

1. Rule of thumb is the ferrule wrap should be 1.5 times the blank diameter. I usually measure the diameter of the largest section and use that as my wrap length for all spigots. I like them all the same length when I stack the sections up.

2. One thing to you can consider doing is to wrap a 1/8” trim band on the female ferrule that can be easily removed without compromising the main ferrule wrap. This way, when the gap closes over the life of the rod due to wear, you can cut off the trim band and trim/sand back the female side of the ferrule to maintain a gap. Alternatively you can start your wraps about 1/16"-1/8" up from the end of the ferrule to build in a similar mid life correction opportunity.

3. The wrap in the pic looks great! Make sure you're wrapping both side of the ferrule.
 
I second the going very very light on the finish. You can always add more on the next coat.

I made the mistake of way over applying on my very first rod build. Not joking, I ended up with every guide wrap looking like it was encased in a clear glass marble. It was a disaster to look at and added a lot of unnecessary weight into the tip and gave my rod a very bizarre feel. Fun to learn from some mistakes. I did fish with it for a few years. So despite not winning any beauty contests it will usually still be functional.

Funny story, I broke that rod in three places. Was brook trout fishing and stumbled into a hornets nest. Started getting stung like crazy and lost my composure and so I just took off running and swatting. Somehow I got a hook in my leg and the rod and line wrapped up in my feet as I ran. It was done for after that. Seemed a fitting way to go for my first build. :)
 
Quick questions for the experienced builders...
"Locking loop" when winding single foot guides:
Do they make a difference, or don't bother?
Is any benefit based on the size of the guide?
The Flex Coat guys use 2-3 locking loops on micro-guides since throwing heavy lures cold pull the guides out of the wrap/epoxy.
Regards, Glenn
 
I have never used a locking loop on any of the rods I built with single foot guides and never had a problem, I don’t really see a need for them on a fly rod , but if you want put them on your guides go for it . That’s what makes building fun you can try different things and find out what works best for you or doesn’t work for you .
 
Vtsalmon said:
I have never used a locking loop on any of the rods I built with single foot guides and never had a problem, I don’t really see a need for them on a fly rod , but if you want put them on your guides go for it . That’s what makes building fun you can try different things and find out what works best for you or doesn’t work for you .
Click to expand...
Thanks Vt,
I was just wondering. I'm going to build an 8-wt for a co-worker and had considered locking the first single-foot guide up from the second double-foot guide. He plans on tossing heavy streamers with it.
The only time I've used a locking loop was on earlier builds, when I got frustrated after having had the guide slide toward the smaller taper - before I could anchor the wrap - after 2-3 attempts. I didn't like the bump around the ring stem when I did it that way.
Regards, Glenn
 
I use a locking loop on all my single guide builds. It just makes me feel better. 2 or 3 wraps in front of the guide and pack them in and you can't even tell. It just helps reassure those guides don't ever come out!
 
bigjohn358 said:
I use a locking loop on all my single guide builds. It just makes me feel better. 2 or 3 wraps in front of the guide and pack them in and you can't even tell. It just helps reassure those guides don't ever come out!
Click to expand...
Thanks, Big John.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Montana Angler Fly Fishing
Montana Angler Fly Fishing
Harman's North Fork Cottages


Real Time Data From
the USGS Site

Share this page

Back
Top