considering building a graphite rod

now, I got me a wild hair with the new year coming up, and have tentatively added another new year's resolution to my growing list.

I have been looking for a 7'6" - 8' 3 weight rod, and I thought this might be a fair opportunity to try my hand at rod building. I have never built a rod, seen one in any stage other than in a completely finished state, nor do I have the tools necessary to accomplish such a task.

However, I have built complete racing engines top to bottom, and knowing how much patience, measuring, remeasuring, and investment in appropriate quality tools it took for that, I ask you all:

Is it reasonable to think that I can build my own trout rod?

I will set my budget at $250. So again I ask you all:

Is it reasonable to think that I can build my own trout rod?

Thanks for any and all advice.

Marty

Most certainly you can get a good rod for that price. Here is a list of materials off the top of my head.
Blank
Reel seat
Cork handle
guides
tip-top
thread
color preservative
varnish or epoxy.

The last rod I made I did most of the guide tying freehand with my thread on a bobbin. It worked nicely and gave me good control. I used a dental threader to whip the end of my wraps.

There are plenty of good books around and this site has a good forum whee you can always ask questions. I would say that you might end up with a rod that has more imperfections than one you bought already built but it should perform as well and well.. its yours so its better.

jed

One of the pressing questions I have is this: Do I need some sort of special jig for assembly? I.e. do I need something (other than a common bench vise) to hold the blank while I position and wrap the guides? And for when I assemble the butt/grip/reel seat?

Thanks for the reply. I definitely knew I could get good components well within my budget, just hoping I don't need expensive specialty tools (er.....yet).

Marty

Look for Al Campbell's rod building lessons here in the features section
That will give you a good idea of what you'll need to do.
I often wrap sitting in an arm chair, with the thread under my leg for tention. Basic tools are minimal. You mostlikely have everything you really need

Build your own rod is very feasible and in fact not very difficult to do. I was in a similar position a few years back and now have about a dozen rods under my belt. If you go to rodbuilding.org, you can look in the photo's section at tools that folks have made when they don't want to spend the extra money on rod building tools. The folks there are also extremely talented and very open to helping folks at all levels of experience. Be fair warned that it can become a very addictive "hobby".

Good luck and please post some photos of your rod if/when you're completed.

Jim Smith

For the first dozen or so rods you can get by with a cardboard box, a phone book and maybe a coffee cup. After that you might want to look at a rod wrapping station of some permanence.

Check out the kits offered by Hook and Hackle (one of our sponsors here) and see if they have a rod you'd like to try.

Also, as Dudley mentioned, read through Al Campbell's series of articles on building your own rod. It will be time well spent.

REE

No need for a lot of special equiptment or special tools.

I built my first rod using a cardboard box with two "V" shaped notches cut out of the sides as my 'rod wrapper/rod holder" I still use a bowl of pennies and a phone book as my 'thread tensioner'.

You probaly already own most of the tools you will need, the rest you can easily make.

Check out the rodbuilding articles on the left side menu of FOAL and they will get you started. If any questions come up post them here for a quick response.

You might want to check out the Cabela's Stowaway 5 piece, the blank runs about $30 and the 3wt is a real sweet casting rod.

If you can tie a fly or handle an improved clinch knot on a size 20 hook you can easily build a graphite rod. Your first rod may not have the cosmetic appeal of a factory rod, but each fish you catch on it will feel better.

If you can tie a fly you can wrap a rod :D I made my first three rods with a cardboard jig,coffee cup and a telephone book. Worked fine but nowadays I don't have a few extra hours to hand turn the rod while the finish dries so a drying motor comes in handy.

For $250 you should be able to get a nice blank, guides,cork,reel seat and all the adhesives, thread and tools. And still have $$ left over for a drying motor.

Good luck. I'll be wrapping a couple of blanks myself in the near future. :)

You might want to look at this Dan Craft blank. Excellet blank.
http://www.dancraftent.com/detail/index.cfm?nPID=210

reel seat and hardware
http://www.insertbyles.com/

Then all you need are the guides and tip top
http://www.dancraftent.com/category/ind ... id=7&lvl=1

And a grip
http://www.anglersworkshop.com/cgi/aw/F ... ly%20Grips
It's all about customizing. Good luck

RTJ