Buliding Your Own Rod

[fisherboy]

i was thingking of making my own rod so my question is does anyone make there own rods or who has before i just want to know how hard it would be to make one

the rod im thinking of making is a 2-4kg graphite rod with cork grips around the 6.6ft to the 7ft mark hopefully 2 peice it will be for a spinning reel.

looking forwoard to your replies

fisherboy

[ant180]

I've bound guides by hand using Gudebrod thread and Jack Erskines epoxy, and have epoxied on grips and reel seats. Use quality thread and epoxy, as it is UV resistant and colorfast, and will not deteriorate.

You CAN build a rod without a rod lathe, and get very neat binding on the guides, however, the epoxy over the bindings will not be as neat as a rod built on a lathe. The lathe allows you to epoxy over the bindings, then let the rod turn slowly to keep the epoxy nice and even as it slowly hardens.

Do some research on blank spine, as you will find you place the guides on a different side of the blank relative to the spine depending on the rods purpose. Guide spacing and sizing is also a bit of a dark art, depending on who you believe.

Building a rod with good quality components will generally NOT be cheaper than buying something you like, as some items can be very expensive. High end Fuji guides are Super expensive! Top quality cork isn't cheap either.

I suggest doing as much research as possible before you commit to building a rod, and go to several tackle shops starting with site sponsors to get a feel for what components are available locally.

[andrew399]

I think Ceph builds or has built rods in the past, maybe shoot him a PM...

[stevefish]

i have built 4 now and there are really only 2 reasons to do it.

1. you want a rod you cannot find or buy off the shelf, this may be unusual rod specs or bindings in your footy teams colours.etc.

2. you just wanna do it.

it will not be cheaper. after buying the blank,guides,2 or 3 colours of thread,epoxy,grips,seat,buttcap and extras such as araldite and masking tape. a not particularly great rod will cost around a hundred bucks.but it will be yours and no one else has one.graphite will be more.it costs more to make a rod than buy an identical one.

there are books around that can teach you the basics you need to know, however experience counts for alot and my last one is alot better than my first.

if you do it spend the time and maybe buy an extra roll of thread to practice before your final effort,shape the grips for a pro look, put on a nice butt wrap, and enjoy fishing with YOUR rod.

ps,get the best cork you can get, if it comes apart or turns crappy the only way to replace it is to strip the blank and rebind the lot.

cheers

Steve

[fisherboy]

the main reason i want to make a rod is mainly because i want to try it and like the idea of doing the binding colours of your favorite footy team (west tigers).

i had a quick look at some sites that sell all the parts like guides reel seets and buts and some of the cork and camo handles get expencive like it was $160 for just the reel seat pack which comes with the reel seat grips and a butt. but ovcourse u get what u payfor.

thanks for all your replies fisherboy

ps does anyone know if there are clases that teaches u how to build rods.