I have recently expressed an interest in building my own rods, as it may be an excellent way to pass time during the winter, make a little money and build an army of five weight rods of different specificaitons. I have read Al Campbell’s article on graphite rod building but find myself wondering more and more about my personal capabilites at rod building. I do not have alot of money at my disposal, however i am willing to learn properly how to make rods. I have some questions that i hope can be answered by FAOL.
What is a cheap rod blank that will serve as a good learning tool but will hold up as my first ever built rod??
What machinary is required and at what ballpark are we looking at
Same for tools and pieces (seet, cork, blank, guide loops, glue, thread etc)
To buy everything i would need to make a good rod what is a good ballpark???
I would recommend you get a complete kit. That way you won’t have to figure what to buy and what size components, etc.
Hook & hackle has complete kits starting at about $60. This will include everything you need but the tools. You’ll also have glue and thread left over for future builds.
You can improvise on the wrapper and tensioner but you can buy one from Hook & Hackle for about $30.00 and have a good tool that works well and hassle free. You will have it for future projects and the time you save rigging a substitute will be well worth it.
Joe
[This message has been edited by flyfisherjoe (edited 18 August 2005).]
RL;
Joe’s got it right. My first rod was an IM6 9’ 3 wgt. kit from H&H for about $70.00 (Includes shipping).
Now I’m building a 6’6" 2 wgt from H&H that was about 40 bucks!
I use a mouse trap for a tensioner. 2 for 2 bucks. I’ll send you a photo.
A small can of Acetone and Denatured Alcohol some tooth picks and 1/4" masking tape.
I mix my glues in butter tub lids.
I’ll see if flytier still has the rod building video. It’s been traveling a lot!
I feel more like I do now than I did when I got here!
If your going to build your own rods don’t waste your money on all the gizmo’s and gadgets advertised to builders. If your building a H&H kit all you will need is a heavy book as a tread tensioner and a cheap goose neck mag light. 90% of all rods can be made without special tools, and any tool you may need in the future can most likely be made from stuff you already have around the house… Goodluck…FB.
The amount of tools needed sorta depends on the amount of tools you have at home. You do need some tools to ream the handle at least on fly rods which is all I build. A dryer is not needed if you have the time/patience to attend to it yourself. Make money??? save that dream for later… Allyn
To fit the cork grip I use a piece of an old rod, cut sandpaper into narrow strips spray some adhesive on the back and wind it around the rod. Spiral it on with gaps to collect the cork dust. I start with 80 grit then finish the fit with 180 grit.
If you have a lot of cork to remove use a cordless drill to speed the job up.
I feel more like I do now than I did when I got here!
The first rod I built is a Forecast 9’ 4wt from Hook & Hackle for about $75. It turned out great and it fishes great, I like it better than my Legend Ultra for most stream fishing. I am a perfectionist so I took my time and even had to redo one section but it’s a good rod. Be careful on the cork grip, you have one chance. I used a rattail file as a reamer to get the grip started, then wrapped narrow griptape on an old section of rod for the final reaming. I had to dremel out the inletting for the reelseat as the hole in the grip was too narrow and cork will crack if forced to stretch. I just used scissors for a caliper to get all the guide wraps the same width.
I made my own wrapper/drier from scrap pine and used a bobbin from my fly tying to hold the thread. I bought an electric motor from radio shack for $1 , used rubberbands for drive belts and pulleys I made of pine with a holesaw to reduce the speed to 18 RPM, with skateboard wheel bearings and machine bolts for spindles.
So altogether I spent about $5 for tools. I also made a heated drying box from scrap plywood and a couple light bulbs to keep the dust and bugs from settling on the rod while it dries. The wrapper/drier fits in it.
Thanks alot everyone!!! I knew i could turn to FAOL! I went to the hook and hackle site but can’t find any kit under $97.75 US, am i looking in the wrong place???
GregF & DL;
My drier is an old electric rotisserie I found at a garage sale for a buck! A couple of wood “V” blocks added and rubber bands to turn the rod.
Just started a 6’6" 2 wgt. Forcast from H&H and yes you can build it in 2 days!! Or Less!!
Somewhere in here fcch (I believe) told about using a piece of card board to stick the guides into according to assembly directions. I use a scrap of 1/2" foam insulation.
Dl;
When Chris sends the video do practice on some dowel rod first. Winding the guides is the trickiest and most time consuming part.
I’m thinking about Christmas gifts for my flyfishing friends!
I feel more like I do now than I did when I got here!
If your talking about the H&H or Forcast kits, what you missed was the discount to the actual price that appears when you you click on it and go to the individual page. There, under “Special Pricing” you will see "Buy 1 for … "
This is the discounted price you pay. It will be at least 20% less, sometimes 33% or 40% less. The Forcast kits are the lowest priced ones but some of the H&H kits have a special of 40% off.
As it says on the site, “Kits are as low as $46.77 after discount.”
You probaly already own most of the tools you will need. You can buy fancy stuff, but for your first rod you can easily make or jury rig the required items…
sharp knife,like an exacto blade
good fine point scissors.
rod wrapping stand, cardboard box with 2 V shaped notches in the sides. or two block of wood with a V notch
thread tensioner, run the thread thru the pages of a phone book, place a ceral bowl with a hand full of pennies on top. Adjust the tension by adding or removing pennies.
sand paper strip glued to a piece of wood dowel or steel rod to ream out the handle. A rat tail file works great.
some cheap disposable paint brushes for applying rod finish.
a good table lamp, so you can see what you are doing.
masking tape, paper towels, toothpick or popcycle sticks for mixing eopxy.
household vinegar for cleaning up epoxy
any low RPM motor for a home made rod turner. Mine used to be a BBQ rottissorie. Check the electronics section of any thrift store. All kinds of stuff use low RPM motors (electric clocks, can openers, tape recorders etc).
Kengore;
Thanks, I just learned some more about rod building!! Didn’t know or remember the vinegar clean up.
My drier is an electric rotisserie picked up at a garage sale for a buck with some Delrin “V” blocks added to the top. A 3/6 brass bushing, had to drill and tap a set screw to attanch it to the square rotisserie rod. That gives me about 4-5 rpm. A 1" dia pully with a 1/2" bore fits over the bushing to give me a 15-18 rpm. Maybe another 6 bucks!
And the most important item, LIGHTING!! At least a 4 foot shop light over work bench! Maybe a good desk lamp for small area inspection.
I feel more like I do now than I did when I got here!
What Farmer Bob said is right on. It is a common misconception that you need special machinery for rodbuilding. Unless you want to turn your own cork grips (which I highly recommend you do down the road), you really don’t need any special equipment.
don’t need any special equip for turning handles either…Got a cordless drill???..and a handle clamp can be easily made from scrap wood and some all thread…can even turn them right on the rod…but useing a lenth of all thread works extreamly well…It is really nice having the diamiter and shape YOU are comfy with…
“I’ve often wondered why it is that so many anglers spend so much money on,and pay so much attention to.the details on the wrong end of the fly line.If they took as much care in selecting or tying their flies as they did in the selection of the reel and rod,They might be able to gain the real extra edge that makes it possible to fool a fish that has,in fact,seen it all before” A.K.Best