Going to build my first rod

h0ll0whill

h0ll0whill

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Joined
Dec 1, 2011
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39
Did a lot of research but cant decide to get cheap parts for my first rod or spend some money and build a decent one. So for the rod builders out there, what do you suggest?
 
when I built my first rod, I got good components, but I got them on sale, so while I didn't spend alot, I ended up with a very nice rod for cheap.
my advice, pick some rod blanks your interested in, then search, search search, you'll find something on sale somewhere. I've never paid full retail for any blank I've built up. Same with the other components. no law about getting a piece at a time either, I collect components all year long for my winter rod building.
whatever path you take, and I can't stress this enough, take your time, be patient, do not rush the process. If your not happy with a wrap, cut it off and try again, it's only thread. Better to have a well built cheap rod than a hacked together "good" rod.
anglers workshop, janns netcraft, mudhole, hook and hackle are just a few of the places you might want to check out. oh yeah, if you frequent north central pa, check out phil's shop on kettle creek, he carries tons of rod building stuff, but no website, ya gotta buy from him the old fashioned way!
good luck and keep us posted on your progress.
 
i sugest going cheap, i've bought some stuff off ebay from a guy named roger that hardware wise is great for the money. or like bikerfish says, take your time and let it all come together. and one piece of advise i can give you is take an old rod, cutt the guides off of it, and practice wrapping and epoxying the wrapping part is not that bad but the tip section is definitly the hardest(damn wiggly thing). and do the practice rod first for the epoxy, that can be tricky. take your time read, read, read! and it will all come together.

good luck man!
 
Decided to go with a mhx 3wt 7'6" kit for my first rod. Spent the night with my old man building a rod building station. Cant believe they want up to $75 for one. Looking forward to getting the kit.
 
H0ll0whill,
If you want, I have a couple blanks you can use to try out your first build. You can have one. They are 6 foot Glass blanks.
I stopped building a couple years back, but built my buddies a couple of these and they still use them. You are just up the road from me so I can meet you if you want one.
Just let me know.

Schiff
 
You have to figure sone guys are not tgat crafty, or just do not have the tools...

But yeah I built mine in about a half hr. Nothing fancy and there are even guys who use old boxes lol. Keep us posted on your build, n have fun man!
 
Schiff. Thanks for the offer thats awesome you would do that. Im going to try and put the kit i ordered first and if all goes well i will continue to make rods. If you want to get rid of some of your rod building supplies. I will purchase some then (not looking for a free ride). Thanks again for the offer. Not everyday someone is that nice to a stranger!
 
H0ll0whill, go ahead and build you first rod. The kit will take some guess work out of it, but decide on the guide placement on your own...use their placement chart as a strong suggestion. I am not an expert builder or close to one, but fine tuning the guides is something that will make the rod feel better and cast better.

I have found there are always discussions on the Epoxy and how to get it just right and dried well. There are often issues. I found that if I use the Spar Varnish on the wraps, I never had to worry about mixing and bubbles and not drying all the way. I put several thin coats of Spar Var on and let the rod rotate in the drier. If you have an hour free after work some night, drop me an e-mail and I can give you my can of spar, a drier and a blank.
My stuff is all home made. You can stay on the cheap side with home made that works just as well as the purchased items. Just depends on what you want to do. I am in Red Hill and about 20 mins from Quakertown. I won't sell my rod build station in case I ever want to do it again though. The other stuff I spoke of, you can have.

Well, I spoke too soon...I no longer have a drier. I used it for something else, but I can show you how easy it is t make...if you can get a XMas decoration...those deer for the front yard that the head goes back and forth. The motor that moves the head is a perfect speed. Add a spray paint lid to it and a couple pieces of foam to hold the rod handle in the middle and you are done.
 
The way I do it, is I buy the best parts I can afford, because it's going to be with me my whole life. Get good parts and you'll be happier than if you get crap and something breaks and have to replace the rod or the parts. you're also more likely to not have to do extra work making things fit or remove sharp edges, or extra material.
Make sure you know where the spine of the rod is.
 
Chaz wrote:
Make sure you know where the spine of the rod is.

Or not.

Most overblown subject in rod buiding.
 
I am also in the research phase. It seems that the necessity to spine the rod depends on the purpose of the rod. If you're planning a nymph rod, where you won't really be casting, spining isn't that necessary. But if it's a rod for dry fly fishing, where casts will make or break the presentation, the spine matters more. Would you agree, PennKev?
 
KeithS wrote:
I am also in the research phase. It seems that the necessity to spine the rod depends on the purpose of the rod. If you're planning a nymph rod, where you won't really be casting, spining isn't that necessary. But if it's a rod for dry fly fishing, where casts will make or break the presentation, the spine matters more. Would you agree, PennKev?


Every rod manufacturer that I am aware of, builds their rods on the straightest axis, not the spine. Every rod I've built has been on the straightest axis.

I look in on the rodbuilder.org forum. The site is frequented by many of the custom rod builders in the US and abroad. Here is a post from Tom Kirkman, one the moderators, an expert rod builder, and the Editor of Rod Builder magazine:


“Spine or not to spine?? Does it matter?

There has never been any evidence given that offers proof or good reason for mounting guides on the spine or opposite the spine. The whole idea that it was a good idea came from a book written in the early 1970's and which other authors then picked up on. None offered any reason for doing this other than that if you flexed a naked blank by hand (which never happens while fishing - our rods have guides on them which act as small lever arms and overcome "spine") the blank would roll to a certain location. The authors stated that utilizing the spine in the manner they recommended would prevent rod twist while fishing and create a more accurate fishing rod. Both statements have been very much disproven in actual mechanical tests over the years. For the most part, everything written about the importantance of rod spine in the various texts out there has always been based on opinion, not tests or facts. But if you repeat something often enough and long enough, it tends to become "fact." It's a hard myth for many to let go of, but it will die in the next few years. At least one publication actually somewhat recanted on their 20+ year stance on the importance of spine after our test results were printed in a very early issue of RodMaker. They too, then decided that spine has nothing to do with preventing rod twist.

Guide location has everything to do with rod twist, spine has nothing to do with it. For best accuracy, you need the straightest axis in line with your casting plane, only problem being that most of us don't always cast on the exact same plane each time. But you don't want any natural curvature being so far off line from the normal casting plane that the rod tip will travel in an arc (twist around a central axis is fine).

If you do choose to build on the spine, however, you won't hurt a thing. If it makes you feel good - go ahead and do it. That's precisely because it just doesn't matter. The one thing you never want a new builder to worry over is rod spine. Far too many shy away from building a rod because they're afraid or have been told that if they don't get this spine thing correct, their rods will twist, explode, cast to the left, etc. But none of that is the actual case. Try not to worry over it too much - it really doesn't matter.”

 
Thank you all. I'm hoping to get everything together to begin building soon.
 
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