Can I do this?

[Darryl]

Looking for some advice here. I'm considering building my first rod...but I'm not certain I'll be able to do it. How difficult is it?

I'm a fly tyer and, not to sound immodest, but my flies are excellent. They are as good or often better than anything you would find in a fly shop. Is building a rod at all similar to tying a fly? I'm a machinist by trade, so I work to pretty tight tolerances at work ( +/- .001), so as far as any measuring, I'd be more than capable.

I had a look at the section by Al Campbell about building a rod and it doesn't seem incredibly difficult, but I've been mistaken before. I don't hold any pretenses about saving money by building a rod (like I said I'm a fly tyer and I've spent far more on tying then I ever would have by buying flies). I just wanted to fish a rod I built with my own hands.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Darryl

[rainbowchaser]

You can certainly do it. As with tight tolerance work just make sure everything is right before moving on to the next step. Take your time and this first rod will definitely be fishable. It will have some flaws ( perhaps no more so than many production rods) that you will be aware of but that will take very close inspection for others to find. If you find that you enjoy rod building the ones that follow will be better but I at least have never built one I didn't know could have been improved.

[Bob Widmaier]

I consider building a fly rod easier than tying most fly patterns. Like Rainbowchaser said, take your time and check each step as you go. In building a rod, all steps are easily reversible until you apply the epoxy. The only part that gets a little tight like tying small flies, is wrapping the small diameter section of the rod at the tip top.

I would suggest you consider checking out the book "Rod Building Guide" by Tom Kirkman. It covers the steps and process for building all kinds of rods including fly rods. Also, another way to go, is that some shops offer rod building classes. Depending on your location, you may have this available to you and I would recommend it. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to build my first rod in such a class. It helps to have someone there that can show you things rather than figure them out from pictures. Also, check out mudhole.com. These folks sell rod building supplies but they also have a rod building tutorials on line. You can also come here for help as needed.

I hope this helps.

Dr Bob

[William Fitzgerald]

Darryl as a machinist you should have the tools a rat tail file, flat file, razor blades, needle nose pliers. Just finished a club project with 10 first time builders and it just takes time. Four evenings and they practice casting in the snow the fourth night. I compared two of my catalogs one showing a kit with everything needed to the same rod finished. This is a high end rod price wise---The kit $135 and the same rod finished $315. Most kits that I have seen have all the needed thread ,epoxy, rod finish,and small paint brushes. BILL

Check for a PM------

[Betty Hiner]

Looking for some advice here. I'm considering building my first rod...but I'm not certain I'll be able to do it. How difficult is it?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Darryl

Any advice? DO IT!! Take your time, ask lots of questions, don't be afraid to take apart what you've just done and re-do it, and most of all ... have fun!!!!

[herefishy]

The only thing I remember having trouble with was fitting all the handle together - and now I don't remember why. But like Bob said, you can take it all apart till you apply the epoxy, so dry fit everything on in sequence before you glue it together. The other thing - if you want to practice wrapping your guides, you can do that on the part of the blank that will ultimately be under the grip. It's amazingly easy to do, but I have never done one that didn't have some little flaw I could see, so don't worry about that either.

[hutjensmpg]

Darryl,
as a machinist and a fly tier you can definitely build a good rod right off the bat. I thought the hardest part was wrapping the small guides on the tip section, but the rest was really not hard at all. The only little trip up I had was I didn't realize the epoxy mixes better at the specified temperatures and mixed mine a little cold, so one section ended up with 'tacky' wrap finishes. That was easily fixed with a thin second coat that had been mixed properly. Other than that everything went very smoothly.

[Joe Valencic]

Go for it. You won't have any problems. As far as "flaws" that rainbowchaser eluded to, it's really up to you if you want flaws or not. If you pay attention to the instructions (and they are NOT difficult at all), your first rod can be better than a lot of production rods.

If you have ANY reservations about your abilities, then buy an inexpensive kit for H&H or J.Stockard for the first build. At the worst, you'll end up with a rod that fishes well even though it might not look perfect.

Good luck and don't be bashful with the questions.


Joe

[Jed]

Darryl,
Building a rod is as easy or hard as you want it to be. You can buy handles that almost slip onto the rod and need only glue or you can build your own. You can wind on guildes with a single color thread or multi-color patterns. I love to build a rod every now and then. Because it is only an occaisional thing I do they are never master quality, but they are always very servicable and bring me joy in the making and using.

Go for it and match your expectations with your ability.

A hint - if you want to practice, buy a guide and tie it onto a pencil. It will give you a good place to see what that is about and the cost is minimal.

jed

[bdesavage]

Daryl,
For what it's worth if I can build one Anybody can!