Building new fishing rods

[Coasthunterjay]

So i would like to start building fly rods ( i like building stuff) and know absolutely nothing about it. searched around a little but am overloaded with extra info that i probably dont need.

Has anyone else made any rods or have any advice for me? Got any pointers and suggestions of what not to do or what not to forget to do? thanks guys all the help is great............

[jackelope]

i know nothing, but these guys do.
http://www.washingtonflyfishing.com/board/forumdisplay.php?f=14

[Coasthunterjay]

cool

[tlbradford]

A good jig with a motor makes life a lot easier.  For wrapping, a motor isn't needed.  Where it makes a huge difference is in the finishing.  Apply finish very lightly and slowly build up your coats.

If you are anywhere close to Woodland, visit the Lamiglass factory and look through their barrel of "seconds".  These are rod blanks with very slight imperfections.  You get them at around 80% off and most of them you would be hard pressed to see what is wrong. 

I think building a nice rod is one of the most rewarding things you can do.

[ICEMAN]

As a kid I used to build rods. Some were nice. Others a bit ugly. On one in particular, I thought, "I know, I will skip the thread rod finish, and instead use fiberglass resin!" "Man am I smart!!!"  No more re-wrappng guides for this guy! This was a special river rod for sure. Custom lathed cork, grooved to fit my hand, weighted handle to offset weight, so I can drift eggs with little wrist fatigue..., lure holder, custom wrap job...the whole magilla.

First cast from the dock cracked the rod at guide number one, sending three quaters of the rod out to the lure. I think I crapped my pants. Apparently, fiberglass resin shrinks rod wrapping thread enough to crush your rod blank. And sure enough, every single guide wrap crushed the blank. Even the elaborate wrap design near the reel seat had crushed the blank a bit. What a shame! (What a dufus!)

Have fun building rods! 

[ICEMAN]

Yeah. A trout rod, a couple steelhead rods, and one flyrod. I grew up on a lake near our county fairgrounds, and I would have a booth at the craft section for a couple of years, showing off my hand tied flies, and custom rods I made. Pretty fun hobbies for a 15/16 year old. If I ever get my new house built, and have the room, I would like to tackle both again.

[Coasthunterjay]

where did you get your blankes and what type of blankes did you use?

[jackelope]

what price range do you want to be in for your blanks?

[jackelope]

look at dan craft blanks...the price is right and the quality is good..
http://www.dancraftent.com/category/index.cfm?cid=9&lvl=1

[Coasthunterjay]

maybe i should learn on some less expensive blanks before i get up there on the million dollar range. Thanks though. I put that site on my favorites for later..............

[jackelope]

I googled inexpensive rod blanks...try it, there's a ton of them.
http://ajrodsandtackle.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=22_58_59&products_id=513

[Coasthunterjay]

Dude thats my name.......AJ=AJ

It must have been destiny..........lol

[jackelope]

WHOA....

you'd better get to shopping.

[Coasthunterjay]

slow down man i can only type the credit card numbers so fast....................

[jackelope]

make sure you post some pics of the finished product.