Autumn Rod

[unfrozen]

So after building rods for three or four years I finally got my wifes first rod done. Not a huge deal because she's just getting into fishing but she was very particular about the design. She wanted something to remind her of autumn, her favorite season. I turned the handle from basswood, used a wood burner to create the leafy design and protected it all with CA. It took two different approaches to get the fore grip graphics right. I created a 6" water-slide decal with her name framed in oak leaves. I wanted fall colors under the decal so tried a varied colored package of gold leaf. Results were so-so...so I stripped it off. Next I tried mixing Pearl Ex powder with a few drops of color preserver and dabbed it on the blank with a brush. Using three different colors gave me the undercoat effect I wanted and it dried fast...another plus.

She likes it!

[bobbymalone]

looks good to me! I like seeing the great work you guys post in here.

how do you like the wood handle feel wise? Seems like it would be quite a bit different than good ol' cork.

[unfrozen]

I used CA (super glue) to finish the handle so you don't feel the wooden handle. It's very light.

[upnorth]

I have made more than just a few rods for folks with wooden handles, not one has come back saying they didn't like them. A few people have had concerns about the wood/varnish combo being slippery and believe me they aren't.

[bobbymalone]

A few people have had concerns about the wood/varnish combo being slippery and believe me they aren't.

That's what I was getting at. I'm not ready to start turning my own wood handles anytime soon, but they sure do look slick... I mean they look great

[pureinsanity]

I have one rod that has epoxy over the cork. It doesn't get slippery at all. In fact I think the grip gets better when it is wet.

[rushing]

Nice one Chad!

[RiverFish]

I have made more than just a few rods for folks with wooden handles, not one has come back saying they didn't like them. A few people have had concerns about the wood/varnish combo being slippery and believe me they aren't.

I won a custom built rod with a wood handle and had concerns with it being slippery as well, before I used it.

I absolutely love the rod and the wood handle. My only problem with the wood handles is you have to be very careful with them when resting the rod to land fish, I scuffed the varnish while doing this. I did have it fixed.

Otherwise I love the wood handle.

[upnorth]

Just about any handle with a finish will have a chance of scratching the finish. Cork and foam don't normally get a finish on them, but some finish cork. But at least getting finish redone is pretty simple when you are talking varnish. I also tend to think that someone procuring a custom rod takes better care of their stuff than those that shop for rods at Wally World