Building My Own Rods

[Hoody]

Hello fello Raiders,

Wandering if any of you guys or gals could tell me where in the Sydney region, i could buy my own rod blanks and all other parts of a fishing rod? Guides and tip tops are common, as is the glue and thread, but blanks and wrappers etc aren't so common. Am keen to start buiding my own. I know, i can get them sent from the states, but i would prefer to see and hold what i am buying before whacking it on my credit card.

Any tips would be appreciated also.

Cheers,

hoody

[Flightmanager]

Hoody , have a talk to Tony from Fishfinder, he would be able to give you the advice you seek.

Ross

[roosterman]

Hi Hoody,

theres alot to fine tuning blanks to get the most out of em but not difficult if you have the know how and ability...

getting the recipe right can be like discovering the seven secret herbs of kfc so to speak....

i agree with ross about going down an seeing tony or shane at fishfinder...

they have some real sweet gear there and the aussie blanks he gets in are awesome..

so good that mines rollin on the rotissery at the moment... mmmmmm cannot wait.....

the advise you will get is priceless and you can test one of the ones already done to see how they load up....

bloody awesome in my books compared to off the shelf standard models...

cheers...steve.....

Edited June 9, 2008 by roosterman

[gretsch]

Gidday Hoody

Unfortunately, the Aussie rod building scene is very small and there simply isn't the demand for retailers to stock the equipment.

I have both a Renzetti lathe and a Pac Bay wrapper (Google Rodsmith). There are both great units and well worth the dollars.

The Renzetti is great for turning grips and custom reel seat inserts etc. The Pac Bay is a great wrapping maching and also has a dryer rotisserie for finishing.

There is a lathe available in Australia and it is distributed by Frogleys Wholesale. One of our Site Sponsors would be able to get one for you.

As far as balnks go, I am with you. I like to bend before I buy. Tony supplied me with a GUSA balnk which is pretty good (except for the finish). Failing that, you need to take a chance and order blanks based on description. Once youget a few different ones, you will soon be able to judge the descriptions and have a fairly accurate idea of what the blank will do.

Feel free to pm me any questions.

Edited June 9, 2008 by Cephalopod