Newbie Looking to Get Started

[stpaulslouch]

As the subject suggests, I am a newbie to the rod building world. I've built 1 rod and enjoyed it so much that I'd like to start doing it myself to build custom rods (both open water and Ice) for myself and friends/family. That said, before I jump in headfirst and spend a ton of money I wanted to check with the experts here to see what recommendations you have for a hand wrapper, dryer and any other accessories I'd need. I've scoured the web for sales on supplies but there isn't much out there. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Also, if you are a guy who makes a lot of rods and has some stuff you'd be willing to sell please let me know!

[upnorth]

A lot of the stuff you need can be hand built. A hand wrapper can be as simple as 2 V slots cut in a cardboard box or as complex as sliding stands with rollers and anywhere in between. Some springs and disks off of a sewing machine on a spindle with some sort of adjuster makes a fine thread tension device. I have bought a few things but most has been hand made. Reams are nice, but rat tail files work, just take longer for fitting handles. Thread packers, some of my fav ones are just old hard plastic handles from brushes used for epoxy applications. Look at some of the stuff out there and let you mind wander about how you could create your own.