Rod Building

WT · Senior Member

Rod Building

LilWhippersnapper · Senior Member

Sorry, I have no advice for you, but I do appreciate the humor in your problem.

WT · Senior Member

lilwhippersnapper - this is the kind of problem all people should have. Gotta love a girl who puts me in this situation

SCM · Senior Member

Check out this forum.....

http://www.rodbuildingforum.com/

There is a section for�novice rod builders with step-by-step instructions.�

I also bought a book entitle "Fly Rod Building Made Easy" by Art Scheck.� The book is fairly straight forward and only cost around $20 on Amazon.

Now if I could only convince my wife to let me buy a�blank and the�rest of the materials to build a rod.�

-- Edited by SCM at 21:41, 2007-12-22

WT · Senior Member

SCM - Thanks!

ez · Senior Member

�� hey WT� how ars u doing with that rod making....i see u wrote sometime ago on the subject...i dont read everything!! maybe if i did i wouldent be a jhonny come latley....

WT · Senior Member

Ez -

They building is going well. I had to take a two week break because I was in Minnesota, but it will be done here in the next few days... I just need to put the finish on the rod. I will post pics when I have it complete.

ez · Senior Member

�� WT what are you using for finish on the wraps?? DID U USE A COLOR PRSERVATIVE.

WT · Senior Member

It was part of a kit from cabelas, so I will be using the cabelas finish that came with the kit. It was a two part finish. No there was no color preservative in the kit, however reading the kit it sounded like the finish would be good enough... As I write this it sounds like I am about to make a rookie mistake... I should probably go get some and put a coat of that on before I apply the finish.

ez · Senior Member

�� WT� that depends on what color thread your using...if its a light color and u want to keep it that color then YEA u need a perserver. JUST REMEMBER that without all wraps will darken..

bkerbs · Veteran Member

WT I have been looking into rod building kits, am curious to know if the Loomis came with all the materials. Did the web site SCM mentioned have good advice? I think I will make a decision by the end of January on what rod I will go with, but I am interested in any advice you could give me.

WT · Senior Member

bkerbs - yes and no.

Technically the kit came with everything I needed, however I did have to go out and get a few tools such as a round file to file out the cork and the rod seat, I had to jimmy rig a rod wrapper... which was not hard to do, and I also decided to purchase a drying machine because i did not want to sit and turn it by hand as the epoxy finished drying... I am waiting for the drying machine and thus Why I have not finished the rod quite yet.

The rod building forum was a fantastic site. It was very helpful.

Personally I thought the kit was nice, in terms of giving you all the parts. However, the directions which came with it were about as useful as a blind guide dog. I am I happy with the kit: Yes. Will I go with a kit again: No, next time I want to try different reel seats and really design the rod with the parts I want. Although for my first build, the kit was nice.

One final word. I have found rod building to be a lot like fly tying... addicting!

bkerbs · Veteran Member

Thanks WT. Great I decided to build a rod because I enjoy fly tying. I'm going to need another job. What size rod did you go with anyway? I''m going with a three weight. Another good web sitle that I heard of was the Madison river fishing company, they seem to have a good selection of materials and information. How long does the epoxy take to dry? could I use a hair dryer to help with the curing process? One other thing that I'm not so sure of is the installation of the guides, did you find that part difficult to learn? I apologize for all the questions, but I am trying to really learn how to build a rod with a ultimate goal of building a bamboo rod. Once I start I will have some questions answered, sometimes I can limit mistakes if I ask alot of questions. Good luck with the finishing, let me know how the new rod fishes.

WT · Senior Member

bkerbs no problem, I just hope you find my bits of info helpful. my wife got me a 9'0'' 6wt. I am still waiting for the rod dryer so I am not sure how long the epoxy will take to try. From what I have read you probably would not want to use a hairdryer because it might form air bubbles, but I can tell you more once I finish that part. The guides were interesting because some people recommend that you place then on the spline and other suggeset you place them opposite the spline. Depending where you place the guides will either make your rod stiffer or less stiff, depending on how you will want the rod to fish. Finding the spline is easy, but as I worked through the process I found myself second guessing it... for awhile I though the rod was playing mind games with me, but I worked through it. The rod building forum has a wonderful step by step tutorial.

I think my next build will be a three weight. Let me know if you have other questions and be sure to give us all an update.

Tight lines

cole · Senior Member

Those GL3 kits are nice and readily available from many places.� I have been picking my own brain to figure out another rod to buy for the new year of fishing.� I might try and build a ten footer, 6 wt.� I was going to buy one but I feel like building something.

bkerbs · Veteran Member

Thanks again WT, all the information you gave is helpful and greatly appreciated. When I start building my rod I'm sure I will have more questions. Thanks again.

ez · Senior Member

�� wt�� how did your rod turn out???? idea

WT · Senior Member

I am still waiting for the drying machine to come, but here are a few photo's of what it looks like right now.

ez · Senior Member

�� reel nice WT reel nice!! nice hardware/ reel seat / good job....heres a tip when u get ready to apply your finish...is it a� 2 part or 1/// if its a 2 mix it the way they say THEN PUT IT ON A FLAT SURFACE SO BUBBLES CAN DISSPERS. i think thats how u spell it. apply it... did u use a color persever for the gold..at least it looks like gold.....

WT · Senior Member

ez - thanks for the tip. I will apply some color perserver. Once i finally get it finished I will post pics again... dryer is on back order so I am hoping in the next two weeks I get it.

ez · Senior Member

�� hey WT�� i guess my eyes were playing tricks on me wt !! the other is silver...MY GOD SILVER AN BLACK....i would have ran out an found something else...LIKE RED AN GOLD.....still doing a great job anyway....got nuttin but love for u bro no matter if its silver an black.... hmm

WT · Senior Member

ez - you were right it was mahogony blank with Green and gold wraps.... just looks silver in some of the photo's because I was screwing around with the B&W mode on the camera.... so dont worry your eyes are not fooling ya... being from seattle I could never do the silver and black thing... sorry fellas I cannot do anything resembling raider nation............

ez · Senior Member

�� u da man !!!!! WT��u da man

LilWhippersnapper · Senior Member

Go Niners!!!

timmosazz · Senior Member

I am also thinking of building my own rod and have checked out some books at the library. It dosent seem to hard. I would like to get some information on blanks. For example I see a lot of blanks on Ebay I have seen a lot of IM6 blanks. Are they all made equal? Does anybody know anything about this. I dont want to buy a kit. I want to go all custom. Any info would be great.

ez · Senior Member

�� dont be afraid to ask questions....ive done about maybe 12 rods bamboo my favorite. but there all the same. some with silk some with nylon....it can be tricky for the first timer...

timmosazz · Senior Member

Ok here we go. I want to build a 4 pc 4wt rod med action for starters. The first thing I think I need to find is the blank. Like I have said I see lots of them for sale on Ebay. Some by sage, Loomis, and other manufactures. I have seen IM6 which I think is a medium action but not sure. Should I stay away from Ebay and just buy from the manufacture? I think that after I find the blank all the rest of the hardware is about spacing of the eyelets and reel seat and cork, and how much I want to spend on that stuff.

ez · Senior Member

�� first of all I dont get all my blanks thru the mail...there is aplace in haywad called the ROD RACK. they have everything u need....if they dont they can order for u an get it in a few days...do u understand the differance in the im8 / im7/ im6.?.the rod rack carries a brand that is called rainshadow which is used by most of your high end rod makers at more then 25% or more off.

timmosazz · Senior Member

E.Z. I just looked at the rod rack and wow I think. I saw a Rainshadow 4pc 4wt mod fast action $47.00. But I dont know what that compares to. I guess I should give them a call. What I have been doing is trying different rods and I guess I can tell them whaat I like and go from there. If you dont mind could you fill me in or point me in the right direction to find out info on the im8, im7,im6 difference because I dont know the difference. Is it action? Or how and what it is made with?
Tim.

ez · Senior Member

�� yooo�� the diff is the higher the number the higher the modules...lay man terms is this!!! im6 is alittle heavyer but will stand more abruse...the higher the more brittle it would be...when you call or go over to the rack talk to STEVE tell him i sent you.....rainshadow is a great blank most of your high end makers use them.....