practice build advice needed

[hugefish_80]

Ok, now that school is over for the summer I would like to build myself a rod. however I am a bit nervous about starting straight away with the H&H 3wt kit as I tend to be a bit picky and don't want to end up kicking myself in the bum for silly first timer mistakes. I saw something somewhere about building a fly rod on an inexpensive (glass?) spinning rod blank. If I remember right it was the equivilent of a 2-3 wt but it might be a little heavier. can some one point me in the right direction of this or a similar el cheapo blank?
Thanks,

Fish

[Joe Valencic]

Yo, Fish. Don't worry about making mistakes, just take your time, follow the directions and make sure to dry fit everything before committing anything to epoxy. If you take your time you'll come away with a fine rod. BTW, I built that same rod in one day, and since you have the whole summer to build it, just keep posting pics for our inspection and input, and we'll tell you when you're ready for glue.

Joe

[shorthaul]

The 2 hardest parts of embarking on a new project is Starting and Finishing---it will be great---its a fun project with nothing difficult or intimidating. Post some pictures!

[kengore]

I built a 5pc Cabala's 'Stowaway' blank for my first rod. At about $30 a blank I figured I could use it for learning before I worked on a more expensive project. It has turned out to be on of my favorite rods, blemishes and all.

[JohnScott]

Fish -

Jim Flamming did a "Reader's Casts" article Aug 6, '07 on the topic of using e-glass spinning rod blanks, Forecast blanks from Batson, for fly rods. The rods, as I recall, were between 6' and 6'6" and were for 5 wt. The blanks cost about $12-$15.

There is another thread going right now where someone was inquiring about guide spacing on such a rod. Jim just replied on that thread.

John

P.S. Let me know if you can't find the article. Or you could PM Jim, I'm sure he would be glad to help.

[Joe Valencic]

In a lot of cases the blank is the cheapest part of the build. Guides, reel seats and cork can get pricey in a hurry. The kit you have is the best deal going right now, and if you're nervous, just buy another one and build it first.

Joe

[Gemrod]

Hugefish
You could have a friend with broken graphite arrows...or buy cheap ones at Wal Mart. They are black, shiny, and slick. Perfect for practicing wrapping guides and glueing. Wally also sells cheap snake guides and tip tops. I am not much of an expereienced builder. But I would practice on a $1.60 arrow. You could practice spacing, lining the guides up, wrapping, and glueing. I hear a lot of questions about the glue having bubbles, not being clear, a football effect, the fuzzies.....etc. I think you could gain a lot of practical experience just fooling around with this stuff. It can be just thrown away when you feel you have the confidence to wrap and glue a guide onto a real rod blank.

Gemrod

[Uncle Barry]

Good evening HF80.
There is no need to worry.
As its easy to 'stick all the bits' on a fly rod or any rod for that matter.
The worry bit is making/designing the rod, the graphite tube.

The biggest suggestion would be,
1 to be totally clean,
clean ALL dust from everything possible.

2 use as much light as possible when working on the blank/rod.

3 don't hurry, as you have nothing to prove and the fish will be still there the next day and the day after.

4 file down the feet on all your guides till they are slim and pointy.

5 not sure, ask or read...

its easy, really.

Kind regards,
UB