Rod Building

[wsender]

How hard is it? Is it worth it? What do I need to get started?

Let's hear from rod builders about their experiences.

 

[jayL]

Lots of old threads to read.

It's not hard. It may or may not be worth it. It totally was until this weekend, when I broke the one I built.

 

[jdaddy]

Depends on what you want. I got a guy in Idaho that sells and builds so cheap that there is no way it is worth buying blank, materials and building equipment not to mention time. The only way I would get into it is if I wanted to do it for profit or sell rods where I could get to an incredible rod build quality. I mean I can get a Sage Z Axis or Winston BIIMX built for $400. Those blanks retail for around $350, so really you find a blank seller who builds, he makes $100 on selling the blank and $50 for building it, so he makes $150. Let me know if you want the builder info and how I got to that pricing.

 

[trowpa]

I built one of my rods - my cheap 7'6" 4wt for small brushy wild streams. It was pretty easy. Its not perfect cosmetically, but it is just fine for me. Would I do it again? yes...for a cheaper beater or specialty rod.

For my bread and butter go-to trout rod. No. I bought factory so I'd have the factory warranty and build quality. (I don't want to have to rebuild after getting a blank replaced by the warranty - rather have the full rod under warranty).

 

[bikerfish]

it's all in what you want out of it, for some of us, we just love building them and really enjoy catching fish on something we put together with our own hands. some folks don't care about that.
it's not expensive to get into. best bet is to find someone from this board that is experienced in it and local to you, buy them some beer and have them show you the ropes.
you really don't need any special equipment to get started. a good book to check out is "handcrafting a graphite fly rod" by L.A. garcia. very good pics and very easy to understand.
good luck to you if you give it a go, and if you have any questions, we are only a few clicks away!

 

[FishOnCamp]

Rod building is not that hard but it does take some practice for good results. As bikerfish mentioned, try to find someone that you can sit with and watch how it's done.
Check out mudhole.com for their rod building videos, they will give you a good idea of what's involved.
I would recommend building an inexpensive rod for your first attempt since you will probably make some mistakes.
Good luck.

 

[PennKev]

wsender wrote:
How hard is it?

Not that hard. Probably easier than fly tying for most people. A certain "knack"or touch needs to be developed for thread wraps and finishing, nut both of those can be practiced before wrapping and finishing an actual rod. Particularly the finishing. Epoxy rod finish is quirky stuff and experience is everything. Practicing wrapping and finishing on an old broken rod or carbon arrow shaft is a good way to learn the ins and outs without worry of screwing up your rod. You can also experiment with inscriptions, fancy wraps, and what not without turning your blank into frankenrod.

wsender wrote:
Is it worth it?

Yes. You might not get a bullet proof warranty, but you will save money. You will save even more if you stay away from the ultra high end blanks. (Sage, Winston, Etc.) There are several companies producing very good blanks at more reasonable prices. Batson has to be among the most popular, but also Pacific Bay an others have good products along with smaller companies like Dan Craft. Along with solid, inexpensive offerings, these companies also offer blanks that are comparable to the top end rods of the big name companies. They also offer some blanks that you won't find in completed rods.

It is also a rewarding experience to construct a rod that meets all of your tastes and requirements.

wsender wrote:
What do I need to get started?

Other than the actual components, not too much. Razor blades, rubbing alchol, paper towels, a book for thread tension. All of which you may have or are inexpensive.

You will also need something to ream out the cork grips so that they fit the blank. Specialty reemers are nice and worth the money. A 3/8" rat tail file will also work but not as ideal as a purpose built reamer.

A turning motor is not absolutely neccesary, but is a worthwhile ting to have. Either breakdown and spend the 20 bucks or so, or build one. You just need to get the rod turning smoothly and S-L-O-W-L-Y while the finish cures. Without the motor, you will need to baby sit the rod for 2-4 hours and turn it a little bit every few minutes.


Kev

 

[pszy22]

I think the rod building/ fly tying analogy is a pretty good one. In both cases, it's not that difficult to make a creation that is fishable and effective. It does require some time and practice in order to make works of art.

Again the analogy holds regarding how much money one really saves doing it yourself. It's really a matter of personal satisfaction and if you enjoy doing the craftsmanship.

A long time back, I used to roll alot of rods. Over time, it seemed to me that the savings of doing it yourself became less and less. That may be explained by the fact that as more and more rods were built by cheap labor offshore, the cost saving of spending your own time doing it was minimized.

 

[Fishidiot]

I'll second the previous. I build all my fly rods mainly from cheap Brand X parts and really enjoy it. If you break one, just build another. To try rod building, you don't need a drying wheel (although you'll want one if you keep at it). Just take a cardboard shoe box and cut a bunch of notches along two of the (parallel) sides. You can put the glued, varnished rod sections in these notches and manually turn them every minute or so as they dry. I build my rods for practicality and don't sweat thread rapping details.