building a rod

[dpenrod]

thinking of getting a kit and trying this myself. are there any tools that i absolutely have to have or can i make do with things i probably already have ala mcgyver?

You can make do with a cardboard box, a t-shirt, a stack of books, and a coffee cup. Cut 2 V notches in the box to rest your rod on, put the shirt over the notches to protect the blank's finish. To wrap, put your spool of thread in the cup, run it through a book and add others to get the proper tension. I also used thread in my fly tying bobbin hanging off the side of the table. It isn't the handiest way, but you can get it done.

dpenrod;
The most expensive thing is good lighting! I have a 4 foot shop light over my bench. Add a cooking timer to you tell when to turn the rod that is resting in the cardboard box (every 15 min.). A sharp knife. Mixing bowl's, I use Dixie plastic coated fancy soup bowl's. Mixing sticks, I've even used swizzle sticks. You can build a thread tensioner out of a mouse trap. Read my post on reaming the cork grip. Print Al Campbell's rod building instructions over in "Features". Denatured alchol to thin and clean up with. Vinigar will clean up uncured epoxy too. A clean work area will give you high quality rods.
And, TOP MOST, if you have a question/problem, etc just post it here or send one of us an email.

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I feel more like I do now than I did when I got here!

Cactus