Rod Build Thread

[JimNovo]

Thought it would be fun to show off the progress of building a fly rod, so please show us your your builds…,

Mine is an 8’, 5wt, fiberglass kit from Proof Fly Fishing. It’s my first ever build and I wanted to keep it simple with a grey and black theme.

Today I completed the grip and stint install.
Next up guides…

 

[skeeter bite]

Thought it would be fun to show off the progress of building a fly rod, so please show us your your builds…,

Mine is an 8’, 5wt, fiberglass kit from Proof Fly Fishing. It’s my first ever build and I wanted to keep it simple with a grey and black theme.

Today I completed the grip and stint install.
Next up guides…

View attachment 1641233950

Nice project Jim, I've only built one fly rod (glass) but have built 8 or 9 spinning and bait casting rods (graphite) over the years. It's the perfect winter activity. Please be sure to post some pics as your project progresses.

 

[jeffroey]

Good stuff. Putting the finishing touches on a 9' 5WT 7PC this weekend. Still needs a few more spar coats on the grip section wraps.



Nothing crazy special about this build. I was intrigued by the blank - a matte green finish, decent quality. Went with single footers, a short snub nose grip and an unremarkable Alps all metal seat. Thread was a deep green ProWrap without color preserver that finished almost black.

 

[JimNovo]

7 pieces?!! So many ferrules to wrap!

Care to show a few close ups of your guide and ferrule wraps?

 

[jeffroey]

Best I can do considering my very overlighted work area. The glossyness of the spar is picking up a lot of glare and makes the wraps look less smooth than they actually are.



Like I mentioned earlier, I have a few more coats to do on the handle section. After that, all wraps get a very close look, a few touches with 2500 grit sand paper to remove any roughness, and a final swipe of spar. Haven't done that on these wraps yet.

IMO that's one of the biggest advantages of using spar vs epoxy: easy to touch up or make a correction without adding a lot of thickness to wrap.

 

[Bamboozle]

I give you rod builders all the credit in the world!!

Good work!!

 

[Millsertime]

I've built only one fly rod, couple spinning rods, and one ice rod.

WRT the fly rod....All of my other fly rods (purchased) have snake guides, my home built fly rod was built with single foot Fuji alconite insert guides = way faster/easier casting. Now that I know the difference, I would never use snake guides on a fly rod unless I was trying to keep the budget down as there is night/day difference in casting/smoothness IMO. Single foot guides supposedly bring the weight down but if you can get single footers with inserts, it's even better. Get ceramics in ALL guides, not just the strippers.

My build was 8' 4wt, MHX blank (4 piece).

 

[bigjohn358]

If you want to check out my builds go to http://hellbendercustomrods.com I started the business about a year ago. I really am not promoting it too much yet because of a few house projects but I still had fun making the business and doing the whole process. I'm hoping to produce maybe a rod or 2 a month down the road for some side income. Maybe enough to cover a new vehicle payment each month.

 

[Solitariolupo]

The glass is a 4wt 7.6. Just needs glued. The one in the rod wrapper is a 15ft 10wt Spey. Still being built.

 

[jeffroey]

If you want to check out my builds go to http://hellbendercustomrods.com I started the business about a year ago. I really am not promoting it too much yet because of a few house projects but I still had fun making the business and doing the whole process. I'm hoping to produce maybe a rod or 2 a month down the road for some side income. Maybe enough to cover a new vehicle payment each month.

Wow John! Some really nice work in your gallery. Love your thread finish quality! Good luck with the biz.

I've built only one fly rod, couple spinning rods, and one ice rod.

WRT the fly rod....All of my other fly rods (purchased) have snake guides, my home built fly rod was built with single foot Fuji alconite insert guides = way faster/easier casting. Now that I know the difference, I would never use snake guides on a fly rod unless I was trying to keep the budget down as there is night/day difference in casting/smoothness IMO. Single foot guides supposedly bring the weight down but if you can get single footers with inserts, it's even better. Get ceramics in ALL guides, not just the strippers.

My build was 8' 4wt, MHX blank (4 piece).

I still think snakes have their place but I agree, I'm wrapping more and more stuff with single footers . . . especially the lighter line builds. Less weight, half the wraps to do, and so on add up to a lot of positives.
One thing I've noticed is there's a lot of junk single footers out there so I typically stick with one or two offerors when I'm buying my single footers. That, along with I like finishing with a relatively small running guide size (1/0) and sometimes sourcing a nice 1/0 single foot guide isn't always easy.

 

[JimNovo]

If you want to check out my builds go to http://hellbendercustomrods.com I started the business about a year ago. I really am not promoting it too much yet because of a few house projects but I still had fun making the business and doing the whole process. I'm hoping to produce maybe a rod or 2 a month down the road for some side income. Maybe enough to cover a new vehicle payment each month.

Beautiful work!
Gonna make my grey and black rod look pretty boring!

 

[bigjohn358]

Beautiful work!
Gonna make my grey and black rod look pretty boring!

I say if you are going custom make it look CUSTOM! Why make it look store bought? If ya want store bought look just go buy that. Make it special! Make it your own! On that note I've seen some amazing looking black and grey rods that really pop in the end! There really is no such thing as a boring color if you do it right!

 

[Solitariolupo]

T

I say if you are going custom make it look CUSTOM! Why make it look store bought? If ya want store bought look just go buy that. Make it special! Make it your own! On that note I've seen some amazing looking black and grey rods that really pop in the end! There really is no such thing as a boring color if you do it right!

Thats why you don’t just see a plain cork grips on mine.

 

[JimNovo]

I say if you are going custom make it look CUSTOM! Why make it look store bought? If ya want store bought look just go buy that. Make it special! Make it your own! On that note I've seen some amazing looking black and grey rods that really pop in the end! There really is no such thing as a boring color if you do it right!

Thanks for the advice.

This is my first build so I just wanted to see if I can build one first and if I’d enjoy making my own rod. I’ll go crazy on the second build.

 

[bigjohn358]

Thanks for the advice.

This is my first build so I just wanted to see if I can build one first and if I’d enjoy making my own rod. I’ll go crazy on the second build.

My first rod was as plain jane as you could get! I just built it to fish and it saved me a ton of money. It was a G Loomis GL3 and I built the rod for $160 with the kit. A store bought GL3 was a $440 rod at the time which was considered pretty expensive back then. Thats when Cabelas offered kits. Most important thing is at the end it fishes well!

 

[Kyle]

nice jimnovo! enjoy the process. i build my own cork grips then shape them into how i want them. pictures below are the stackable corks and the cork vise. you can have fun with it and truely make one of a kind cork handle with lighter or darker shades of cork. i just use alittle wood glue in between each cork disc. below are the cork files in different diameters.

 

[Kyle]

If you want to check out my builds go to http://hellbendercustomrods.com I started the business about a year ago. I really am not promoting it too much yet because of a few house projects but I still had fun making the business and doing the whole process. I'm hoping to produce maybe a rod or 2 a month down the road for some side income. Maybe enough to cover a new vehicle payment each month.

thats great. i hope it works out for you

 

[Kyle]

this is the wrapper i bought years ago. looking back on it i didnt really need this much but i guess its still nice to have.

 

[JimNovo]

this is the wrapper i bought years ago. looking back on it i didnt really need this much but i guess its still nice to have.
View attachment 1641233979

I’m going with the cup and book wrapper that Proof suggests. No need to invest just yet.

 

[JimNovo]

nice jimnovo! enjoy the process. i build my own cork grips then shape them into how i want them. pictures below are the stackable corks and the cork vise. you can have fun with it and truely make one of a kind cork handle with lighter or darker shades of cork. i just use alittle wood glue in between each cork disc. below are the cork files in different diameters.
View attachment 1641233975
View attachment 1641233976
View attachment 1641233977
View attachment 1641233978

So I can enlist you to make my next grip?