I am toying with building my own rod but as I research I don’t know if I am ready to invest in a rod wrapper, drying motor etc.and find out I am not a rod builder. Are there substitutes that can be used and still have a good outcome or should I just give up on the idea if I am not ready to totally commit?
Thanks
TaG
you do not need any of that stuff.
a carboard box, telephone book iced tea glass’ll do you just fine.
on the other hand none of that stuff you mentioned is particularily expensive, and can be knocked together pretty quickly in yer own home.
go for it.
I’ve built four rods on a jig I built myself out of some leftover wood fence. Its a 1" X 6" board, cut with an 18" base and two 8" upright pieces. There are 4 notches cut out on the top of each of the two uprights for up to 4 piece rods. I wrap on it using a book as a tensioner, a small bowl to hold the thread. I also use to to apply finish and hand turn during drying.
A rod wraper and drying motor would be nice, but I like the control you get with hand turning. I would say build your own for the first rod and go for the equipment latter.
My first two BAMBOO rebuild was with a “V” notched cardboard box as the wrapper, phone books as tension, and a tea cup to hold thread. Simplicity!
Save your $$$ for the rod components. If you “diggit”, slowly purchase what you think you need from the experience of the first rod. My first upgrade was to a coffee mug 
, seriously.
Now, join us…
In the past I have sat in an arm chair with the thread passed under my leg for tension, rod blank blanced on the chair arms, wraping while watching TV.
If it wasn’t for the poor lighting and my poor eyesight I would still do it this way
As for the drying motor, some times I use one, but just as often I do it by hand.
The guy in the Flex Coat rod building video just used a cup and a metal folding chair (Im not sure how important that part is). He put the cup with the thread in it, behind his seat and brought the thread up under his…backside to the front of him where he had the rod in a cardboard box with V’s cut in place. It worked just as well as the wood ones they sell. Power wrappers are only needed if you plan on punching out large number of rods to sell on a commercial level. I think they are pretty slick but I can’t justify the cost when I’m only making three of four rods a year, or building them one at a time. If you like the wood ones… there easy to make with scrap wood you might have laying around.
If you want to build or buy anything at all…a rod drier is the thing you want to concentrate on. You can find motors out there pretty cheap.
Thanks for all the help, sounds like a cardboard box and a cup it is. Now I have to make up my mind on what I want to build. I was thinking a travel rod would be nice but is that too difficult to start with? In other words is a 2 piece easier than a 5?
Thanks again
TaG
The only difference is time.
As someone said on this forum before, the difference is only three more ferrules to wrap and finish. Everything else is the same. I chose a 4-piece 2wt Forecast from Hook & Hackle for my first rod, just because I prefer travel rods. Have fun.
Joe
There are only a few more wraps on a 4pc so if you want a travel rod go for it.
Remember, if you partially assemble the rod (all but the middle joint) the rod becomes a 2 piece for most building, wrapping, turning, and drying applications…