Comparison
You guys all know this I'm sure ...but help me out please....
The little I've garnered out of building your own rod vs buying retail...
Seems to me that if you build your own you will probably save about $100 ...for a quality rod..[of course that will vary a little depending on price range????]...in fact. if you go to really High end components you may not save any dollars????
Note...these are all questions not statements...
Economies of scale to my way of thinking. First one is darned expensive, then as you wrap more you find ways of cutting corners, using up stuff, taking much less time, all of that. I started cheap with a cardboard box, a cup and a book, plus we had an old rotissarie with a busted heating element that worked perfectly for turning the rod. Last spring I popped for those V-boards at $39. I can get several rods out of the epoxy and I don't know how many out of the thread. Hoping somewhere one of these things will end up being free! JGW
comparison
Duckster, To me if you build your own your putting your heart and soul into it. Its nice to save a little green but to me even nicer to catch a feesh on a rod you built, fly you tied, and leader you furled. I know, Im beyond hope
Clyde,
I totally hear you...but at this point I'm not sure I want to "bury" myself in another hobby, project, passion.... whatever you want to call it....so for now I want to approach it from the "green" viewpoint...
Incidentally no one can convince me tying your own flies is cost effective...
comparison
Yep, I think you and PhotoJoe may be beyond recovery
Besides the savings and satisfaction of catching a fish on a rod that you built, you also have the opportunity to build a unique rod.
I built my 4 WT. It's a 7'6" matte charcoal rod with red (medium tone - kinda red wine colored) wraps with a silver accent.I've never seen another like it and have received a few compliments on it ... one came from a guide.
I plan to build a 6 WT this winter. It will be a 9' matte charcoal rod (I really like this blank), with single foot guides and a full-wells grip. I find that I like the full-wells better than the reverse half-wells that are standard on lighter line rods.
FWIW, I took a rod building class, so I had a couple of very experienced rod builders helping to make sure that everything went well. The class is a real bargain, so I plan to go the same route with this rod too.
Respectfully,
Dave Fulton
You aren't going to save any money building your own rod, period. Even if you build a more expensive rod (higher margin), it won't happen. By the time you factor in equipment (even if homemade and minimalist), chemicals, supplies, etc. and the components themselves - you will spend approximately the same amount of money.
If you are looking for a new hobby (a bad one, kind of like crack cocaine) and want the satisfaction of using your own rod - go for it.
If you want something more "personalized" and just don't want to fish with a generic off-the-shelf product - have one custom built for you.
I build for a living and buy products at wholesale versus retail. I can assure you that the margin is just not there to support the theory of saving money, especially if purchasing at retail as you would be doing. I am not trying to discourage you ... you asked a question and I am answering it.
As Tampa Jim has pointed out, the hobbyists MUST be into for the pure enjoyment of building their own or building for friends. Even at buying at wholesale prices the margin just isn't that good. On the other hand, we were comparing something simple in one of the local fly shops the other day, and on some really nice higher end rods made by 3 of the leaders in the business, and what we saw was astonishing to say the least. Variations in the epoxy coatings, very highly visible tag ends on accent wraps, tons of filler in cork grips, misaligned alignment dots (from the
Department of Redundancy Department), glue squeeze out on reel seat components, and bent guides. Now needless to say that you will find these sorts of things on almost any rod. But Custom built rods are usually better than that. My advice would be that you have to want to do it and if you really want to build fly rods, be prepared to invest a lot of time, and be just as prepared for as much disappointment as there is satisfaction...you will certainly get some of both.
As far as costs go...if you build higher end stuff you will spend just as much as if you had bought the rod in some cases...good example..
Sage Z Axis Blank $323
REC Nickel Silver Reel Seat $57
Snake Brand Guides (9 at $1.45) $13.05
Reverse half wells Flor Grade $22
Winding Check Nickel Silver $4.50
Matching Tip top $4.20
Gudebrod #521 $3.25
Quality Stripper Guide $5.45
Tube $24.95
Bag $10
roughly $467
not counting the portions of epoxy, accent wraps, labor, etc....
point is, if you don't enjoy it, forget it!
Quite Frankly, I love it!!
There's a reason there aren't many wealthy rodmakers out there! When you figure the cost of the supplies, tools, and the time it takes for each rod (assuming that your time is worth something), you really won't be saving any money by building it yourself. But that really shouldn't be a consideration if you want to start building rods- you should do it because you enjoy it.
Regards,
Joe Martin
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