Rod building

[picksbigwagon]

anyone here build their own rods? I have a buddy who has promised to make me a 7' ML rod, but that was two years ago. After thinking about it and realizing maybe my wife would like me to have a new hobby , sorry about that, she's out shopping right now, but if I can make some really nice rods out of irregular St. Croix blanks, more power to me.

Does anyone have any advice for making fishing rods? I have seen drying racks and winding racks online for a lot of money, which I don't have....any help here would be great. Are there books on how to make your own equipment? websites that people know about?

Thanks

[harvey lee]

If you google rod building,you will come up with a wealth of info on building,equip,supplies.Some day I want to also build one of my own.

I may just take a class at Thorne Bros so my first might be something to be proud of.Good luck.

[Mark Christianson]

I would definitely advise to take a class.

You wont be sorry.

[picksbigwagon]

who else offers classes? I really don't want to drive up to Fridley...besides, I would probably spend way too much money on muskie lures

[Umma Gumma]

Building a rod is pretty straight forward. There's nothing overly complicated about it, but it is very important to take your time. Don't expect to build one in a day, especially not your first one. I'm building number 7 or so, and that's the first thing I have to tell myself each time.

Here's a link to a site that provides some good introductory information:

http://flyfisherman.com/rod-building//index.html

One thing to keep in mind is that you probably won't save a whole lot of money building your own rods. You can save a few dollars here and there, but using blanks from most major manufacturers (Loomis, Croix, etc.), you'll find that the cost savings are negligible, when you consider the time you put into it.

What is nice is the customization possible. You can pick and choose each component on the rod (handle, cork quality, guide type/color, thread color, etc.) to the finest detail, things you can't do with an off-the-shelf rod. That's the best thing about it. I just built a spinning rod with Amtack Nanolite guides, and I haven't seen those for sale on any rods at the major stores in town.

It is quite addicting, though, and very enjoyable. And start-up costs aren't really that high. I think, for about 50-60 bucks, you can get all the overhead supplies necessary to begin building your first rod. You could probably get buy a few bucks cheaper than that, too, but at some point you'll want to invest in some decent equipment to keep you going.

[Ufatz]

I've built more than a few rods in my time. One thing I would advise you to do is check very carefully where you buy your components. I discovered there are places around the twin cities where you can really pay through the nose for stuff-guides way over priced....even a small twin pack of glue for Pete's sake. Anglers Workshop in OR and several others have been in the business for a LONG time and offer fast servcie, great advice and reasonable prices. If you REALLY want to save money at it take your time doing your buying!! They really burned me locally, but I;ll get over it HA!!

[drowned minnow]

fun/addictive hobby. for starters/beginner you mite want to check into buying a rod building kit (blank/handle/guides/thread/epoxy) before forking out some serious cash for individual components, cabela's, mud hole tackle, or other supplers carries them. check out rod-building.org lots of good info there.