rod building

[chstrcntyfish]

How hard is it to build a rod? Is it cheaper than buying one new?

 

[jayL]

If you do a search, you can find my 18 month old attempt. Hopefully it's still there.

It's not cheaper the first time around, but if you build more than one, you'll save money. The first one is expensive because you need all of your tools and supplies.

It was pretty hard, but this winter, I'll probably try again.

 

[JackM]

If you have spare time that can't be turned into money, you can definitely save money. The problem is that your first couple rods aren't going to look like professionally made one's. You may have some mistakes to learn from. That said, if you do have "free" time, buy an inexpensive blank and inexpensive components and make a specialty rod, perhaps a small brook stream rod, or a heavy steelhead or bass rod. Take your time with it and don't be afraid to re-wrap guides if they don't look right before you finish them. Once you are confident in the process, then make your dream rod. Price a Sage for instance and then price the blank and identical components separately. Don't forget to add-in the glues and finishes, thread(s) etc. You will probably find on the $400+ rods, you can "save" a couple hundred, but you have to decide whether 10-20 hours of your time is worth that.

 

[jayL]

http://tinyurl.com/2y99q6

A search for "rod building" will turn up tons of results.

 

[chstrcntyfish]

Sounds like some pretty serious work. I go to school though, so right now besides fishing and hanging out with friends; I have nothing to do. What about the kits?
For $70 dollars I could build a 7 foot 3 weight small stream rod.
http://tinyurl.com/599l7f
Would one of these be worth it or should I buy everything seperate. This kit probably only comes with enough of everything to do one rod, so I don't think I would be ready to build another. Also, does this kit even have everything I would need?

 

[jayL]

That kit looks good. I got one of them and it turned out decent.

It's not enough though. You'll need all of the tools as well. I got this:
http://tinyurl.com/5b9teu

Once you drop the $100 on the tool kit, you'll have everything you need. From that point on, you just need to buy the kits like the one you linked to. In time, you'll probably find it best to mix and match components individually to get a more original and higher performing rod.

Disclaimer: There are tons of ways to go about this. People more resourceful than I have made it by without getting a tools kit like that. You don't need it, but I was impatient and paranoid about messing up, so I went with something that I knew would do the job.

 

[JackM]

That kit has everything you need, but you'll need to improvise the tools and also spend more time with the rod as the wraps dry without the motorized turner. Not putting down that kit at all since I use rods of similar quality exclusively, but you could buy a finished rod of that quality for just over $100 bucks, so the $30-$40 dollar savings may not be worth your time if that's all your wanting to make.

On the other hand, if it is mainly to get some practice for the dream rod, then, in addition to the small savings, you gain that experience. If you want the savings to be large, you would be looking at a higher-end blank and componentry.

I say go for the kit. The worst case is you have fun creating something you can use and can bank the experience for a bigger cost savings somewhere down the road.

 

[MKern]

I'd like to add my 2 cents on this.

Rod building is a great hobby and you can surely save money, but like jay said probably not on the first rod. High-end rods you will save hundreds like jack said -- well worth 12 hours. Not to mention to could take what would be a $200 factory rod, and add all the upgrades and create specialty wraps and it would be twice the price.

The cabelas kits are nice, and I often use them. I would like to add that buying your own 2 part epoxy from walmart (30 minute) would be better than using the packets they give you (WORK-TIME 3 minutes) -- way too fast even for an experienced rod builder/no room for error. Also, check to make sure your tip top fits when you receive the kit. I often get miss-sized tip tops, but since I replace them with oversized it doesn't bother me. I would also recomend upgrading the kit to single foot guides. They can be adjusted once you wrap them, where as snake guide are extremely difficult to reposition. It's normally more $, but well worth it, plus you save half the time. If you are in good with a local fly shop, they may let you exchange your guides for single foot (hillie's does for me, but I used to build rods for the shop).

Also, the smaller the rod the harder it is to work with near the tip.

Rod building takes some practice to become good, but if you are a fast learner, and have the goal to put out top quality the learning curve is fast. My second rod came out perfect -- once I knew what I was doing.

I recomend a class, which is something I usually don't do for other fly fishing related things. But there you can see first hand what to do, as well as have someone critique your work before it's set in stone.

The directions that come with cabelas rod kits suck, but are better than a year ago and give better pictures and directions.

The $100 rod building supply kit from cabelas is awesome. I have the wrapping maching only, but that is only because they didn't offer it in a total package when I got it -- wish they did though. Many will tell you to use a box with slats cut in it and place your thread in a bowel --- stick with the kit.

 

[MKern]

If you decide to build your first rod.

Triple check your allignments and measurements before they are final. Especially alligning the reel seat with the rods spine.

And, pack your wraps tightly with your thumb nail or the tool, if you get the kit. Tighter the wraps, the better looking the rod.

 

[chstrcntyfish]

Jack, ya I plan on going with the cheap rod for practice and then eventually building a nice rod. If I really wanted a cheap rod like that I would just buy it. If I do build it I'm sure it would get alot of use though.

Mkern: I don't think I would be able to take a lesson, but if I did it would probably be on casting first lol.

Thanks everyone for the info. I'm still trying to decide if I should do it or not.

 

[Padraic]

Flyanglersonline has a rod building section http://www.flyanglersonline.com/rodmenu.php It's definitely worth reading before you take the leap.

Bear in mind that there are no unconditional guarantees on rods you build yourself. So if you snap a rod you built, you have the joy of making another. Good luck!

 

[afishinado]

All great advise above. Give it a try; it’s really not that hard. It’s a great wintertime project, and like others wrote, you can save money building your own rod after you buy the supplies and rudimentary tools needed. You really don’t have to spend a lot of money on this stuff unless you want to, or plan to build more rods. Here is a great link to the “Fly Fisherman” site that gives you instructions from start to finish. BTW, Cabela’s kits are fine, but here are some other places for kits, blanks and supplies, and also some RB forums to check out:

http://flyfisherman.com/rodbuilding//index.html

http://www.hookhack.com/outfits.html

http://www.acidrod.com/index.html

http://www.flyrodcrafters.com/servlet/StoreFront

http://www.dancraftent.com/

http://www.mudhole.com/

http://www.fishsticks4u.com/?src=overture

http://www.jsflyfishing.com/

http://www.shofftackle.com/index.htm

http://www.rodbuilding.org/list.php?2

http://www.rodbuildingforum.com/


Good luck.

 

[Fredrick]

Jay was there anything on the rod building kit from cabelas that you didn't like ?

 

[MattBoyer]

I learned to do it and got my first supplies from mudhole.com. Their rodbuilding 101 section is quite helpful, although I've had at least a half dozen blanks from them be on backorder, so I would probably buy from cabela's, where I've never had this problem. As an aside it never hurts to have a girlfriend(wife now) that will get you a power wrapper for Christmas. I built my first rod with a fly tying bobbin and I'm pretty sure my left hand will die several years before I do because of it. If you decide to do it and have any questions whatsoever, feel free to post them here and I will try to help, as I've made a few mistakes in my day, and learned from at least 25% of them.

Boyer

 

[tabasco_joe]

Just like buying a built rod the quality of the rod is no better than the blank it's built on. For small streams the cheap blanks are OK. I'm talking about the $25 Rainshadow etc. But if you want to build a 5 or 6 weight for heavier fishing you need to do a little checking before running out and buying the cheapest blank. I'm not saying you need to go with a Sage or Loomis blank. Just that the low end blanks have no backbone and bend like a noodle with even a 14" trout.

 

[JackM]

Tabasco, I don't disagree with the concept that the finished rod will be as good as the blank, but I disagree with the notion that all cheap blanks are noodles. I purchased a fast action 5-weight blank (generic tiger-eye brown) and it is like a broomstick to me now that I have fished with better-quality medium fast blanks. Unlike finished rods, you can't test cast a blank, though if you buy them "in person" (can that be done anywhere?), you might be able to waggle it and get a feel for the true action.

One thing more I want to mention and that is to spend some time finding and aligning with the spine. The greatest blank in the world could throw a mean curveball if it is misaligned. On the other hand, if you aren't good at finessing a curve cast....

 

[MKern]

Boyer is right about XMas gifts too. That's how I got my rod wrapper. Don't forget about birthday's, anniverseries, Passover, National Rod Building Day; what ever it takes to squeeze stuff out of parents of significant others.

I would like to add, that for me, I only work on a rod when I feel 100% committed to the quality aspect of building. If I don't feel like building, or am going to be interupted, I don't bother starting at that time. Basically mentally ready.

If the rod takes you an extra day to complete, but comes out perfect; isn't it worth it.....

 

[tabasco_joe]

JackM wrote:
Tabasco, I don't disagree with the concept that the finished rod will be as good as the blank, but I disagree with the notion that all cheap blanks are noodles. I purchased a fast action 5-weight blank (generic tiger-eye brown) and it is like a broomstick to me now that I have fished with better-quality medium fast blanks. Unlike finished rods, you can't test cast a blank, though if you buy them "in person" (can that be done anywhere?), you might be able to waggle it and get a feel for the true action.

One thing more I want to mention and that is to spend some time finding and aligning with the spine. The greatest blank in the world could throw a mean curveball if it is misaligned. On the other hand, if you aren't good at finessing a curve cast....

I should have said "many" of the low end blanks are noodles.
That's why (IMHO) starting out on a small stream rod makes sense. One advantage of Cabelas blanks is you can check out the built rod and then buy the blank. Same with TFO.


Agree on the importance of splining correctly. Two piece rods are easier to spline than four piece. If you don't get the spline right you just carry two rods, one right hand curve and one left hand curve! Of course maybe a on a four piece rod the miss splines even out?

 

[Padraic]

Jack,

Wiggling a blank may give an idea, but I don't know how accurately you can judge action. The guides (number, weight, placement) and the line will really change the action of a blank. That's why I wouldn't recommend a beginning builder experiment with novel guide choices.

 

[jayL]

Fred,

Nothing aside from what MKern suggested. I should've gotten single foot guides, and the epoxy dried too quickly. The directions were sub par, but I got most of them from the internet anyway.