Thinking about building a rod? Very cheap blanks for beginners to learn on.....

[Gemrod]

Color isn't my favorite. Chartreuse. But...nice fiberglass blank. I think 7'-8" THREE PIECE 5 wt. Don't quote me as going by memory but under $7 each. I think it was $6.66 apiece. I happen to prefer three piece anyway....and three piece blanks getting harder to come by.

Anywhooo....these might make excellent rods....and if not.....certainly economical enough to learn how to mount reel seats, grips, winding checks, guides, tip tops. Heck, try to buy two arrows for less than that!

Just fyi for anyone wanting to give it a go and not spend a bunch of dollars to get to play with rod building.

oh....ebay...search for fiberglass rods

[Kaboom1]

Here is the link folks....

http://cgi.ebay.com/Fiberglass-Fly-R...item4cefae9d67

[kbproctor]

I picked up two of these blanks. VERY slow action but CCS does rate them at #5. They are tip in butt ferrules, not the butt in tip we look at as "normal". I have painted these blanks. The bright lime green was too much for me. I haven't gone much farther with them but will post pics when they are finished out.

My thought is that these would make great blanks to base a rod swap on!

[Midwest Custom Fly Rods]

I saw those awhile back and was tempted to pick a few up just to see how they were. Obviously my first thought was to paint them lol. Kevin how is the paint holding up on yours so far? You use Fusion on them?

Steve

[kbproctor]

I tried Fusion on a Sevier blank and it is holding up well. On these, I tried Rustoleum's Universal which replaced their Plastic. I used the 'Oil Rubbed Bronze' metallic and it looks great. the paint holds up well on the ferrules, too. The paint has been on them for about 2 weeks and I can put the rod together and put a really good bend in it without the paint flaking or cracking. It does not seem to be as hard a finish as the Fusion, but more flexible.

Surface prep is crucial. I used a Scotchbrite pad to remove all shine, wiped down with alcohol to remove oil and dust, and then painted. Once the final coat was dry, I gave them a light once over with a gray Scotchbrite pad to smooth things up and called it good.

I guess time will tell.

[roygpa]

I guess I am one of few who likes that color. I'm tempted to buy one just for that reason.



Roy

[kbproctor]

They are bright! Even brighter than the Featherlite rods from Eagle Claw. I have no doubt that a nice looking rod could be built on those blanks as they are. I seriously considered doing one with bright green wraps tipped with copper. After building a few pink rods, however, I was ready for something a bit less retina searing.

[Gemrod]

I purchased three of them when they were $8+ each. Now he has lowered price to $6+. Anywhoooo.....is there a way to make this a glow in the dark rod? Or...does one NOT want a glow in the dark rod for night fishing? I dunno. I am going to do some night fishing but have never done so. Fixing up my little 8' hard boat with lights and such. I furled a leader out of Wal-Mart glow in the dark thread. Don't do this. It will not turn over. No matter how I, or a friend tried...it just collapses at the end of the cast. Is it possible to be cheap....down and dirty....and just glue the guides on, slip heat shrink over the guide foot (single foot guides) shrink it....and then coat it with rod bond? Or will these either not function well or not last very long?

Thanks for posting link Kaboom. I didn't even think about it. Actually....I was thinking not too many people would be interested in them.

[kbproctor]

Jim,

There is no reason in the world that some sort of glue (CA Gel comes to mind) would not work to hold the guides followed by heat shrink tubing. Not conventional or pretty, but functional. I'm not sure Rod Bond would be necessary. Run over to your nearest Harbor Freight and you can get heat shrink in a variety of colors.

The only reason I can see that you could not make one of these into a 'glow in the dark' rod would be that the glow-in-the-dark spray paint might not be flexible enough once dry. These blanks have a LOT of flex to them. If you decide to try it, scuff the blank with something like the Scotchbrite pad I used so you do not sand too deep. All you have to do is knock off the shine so teh surface has a little "tooth" for the paint to adhere to. Use as few coats as you can to get coverage. The thicker the film, the more brittle it will be.

I did remove the paint from one rod with lacquer thinner when I got heavy fingered and put a couple of runs in the paint. It did not seem to affect the bright green paint at all. I scuffed again and repainted. Whatever those rods are painted with, it's tough stuff.

[Gemrod]

Kevin,

Thanks a lot Kevin for the useful information. I just try to build fishing poles...not beautiful rods. Man some of the creations I have seen online are totally awesome. No way I could come close to that beautiful quality. So I am just anxious to throw one of them together to go fishing with it. Appreciate the opinion on quickie glue and heat shrink. May not turn out too good.....but glad to hear at least one other thinks it would work. I shall give it a go. If doesn't work too good....well I will know.

I can ream out and slip on a TN handle with slip rings and have the grip and reel seat done in a flash. Glue on some guides and I'm ready to go fishing. After all....it is only a $6 blank. And I have two more to experiment with.

BTW thanks for the CCS info on the blank. I know all about the CCS. Read it over and over. But haven't gotten around to making a space to do it, stand, measuring stick...etc.

So thanks for the info. Neat to know it came out as a 5wt rod as claimed. Saves me a lot of "to do" to find out on my own. Nice

Thanks again...