New Cane Build

[harleybob87]

Ed you have done it again. What a bueitiful rod. Yes I can't spell. I so admire your work on these.

[jklett]

To answer 2 questions that have come up on this post so far,

First:
I did not make the blank. I had it made for me. I am a "Rodbuilder" not a "blank maker".
Be it cane , or graphite the cost of making quality blanks money wise,is out of my reach to tool up for. As long as quality blanks are offered I will continue to build on them and mark them appropriatley as to origin.

Second:
The cost of this particular rod ..material wise was over $300. Which does not include any labor.

You can definitely make quality blanks for short cash. You're not too far from me so if you're interested I have a set of wooden forms you can have(you just have to come get them). The only tools you would really need are a plane, a dial indicator, and some way to tension the thread for binding. You can use a pipe and a torch to temper the bamboo and ferrules are not hard to fit. You already have the rest of the stuff to take it from there. Not including the cost of the bamboo itself(Demarest sells 3 packs for $160 shipped, that's enough for at least 6 rods), you're looking at under $100 in tools. Ferrules are from about $40 a set(good ones anyways). All of the other tools make certain aspects easier but really aren't needed to get started.

[ET custom flyrods]

I appreciate your comments but......... Not only tools are needed ,but the expertise and time required are not there right nowfor me. I do have a primary job. Maybe someday when I'm retired I might consider "making" blanks. At present I am buying blanks some ferruled ,others I do myself. All use nickel silver. In the meantime, I have two sources of "makers" who will make quality blanks for me. One in the USA another Imported. When I "build" a cane rod, I always place the origin of the blank on the rod so the owner has full knowledge of who "made it" or where it came from.

There are many discussions from "cane makers" on this topic. I have stated before and will again , I am a "rodbuilder" not a "blank maker". I feel I can "build" a cane rod as good or better than most using good quality blanks. I wont get into a debate because I see nothing wrong with using blanks at this time as long as the origin of the blank is disclosed . All boo comes from China. Who put it together and how good the craftmanship is, is the real issue IMO. Just one other note: I am not building cane for the collector, I'm building cane to fish with...........Ed

[jklett]

No problem, I simply misunderstood what you said in the post I quoted. I have nothing against folks building on others' blanks(especially when the work is as nice as this one), I just wanted to point out that rolling your own is only as expensive as you want it to be.

[mr. blur]

largest investment is yer labor, which is significant when yer starting out.
yesterday my rod building mentor put it this way, "my labor is free. I'm working for nothing."

that's the way it is.

[ET custom flyrods]

Well . I sure didnt work fer nothing.......... the above rod sold itself this weekend without my even trying. Local fishing club guy stopped by and away she went.

Guess it's on to the next one..........Ed

[Midwest Custom Fly Rods]

Looks really good Ed

Hey is that S-handle reel one of the ones you can get off ebay? if so how do you like it? I've been looking at I think that same reel for one of my cane builds.

steve

[ET custom flyrods]

Stevearino ....Boy its good to see you back on this board again!!! As for the reel my friend , yes it is an offereing from Mr. Zhu on E-bay. I like the reel , it works fine and looks great. Takes 2-3 weeks to get it (chinese air-dragon). My only complaint is that it is a tad noisy. It's not a case of lubrication though. I can live with it. PS also I'll soon be working on another offering from Bob after he gets though his backlog. Looks like you two had a good fishing trip together......hope all's well with you and stay in touch.....later........Ed

[Midwest Custom Fly Rods]

Thanks Ed.

Got a few more questions about the reel for ya but I sent you a Pm rather than clog up your post with a bunch of questions.

Steve

[jgriz]

Kudos on a beautiful rod!