Winter Rod Building Projects

[A.W.Wolfram]

So, what are people working on for the soft water season?

I know that Harvey Lee has a couple in the works.

Let’s see some pics.

[upnorth]

I have a couple on the bench that I have to make handles for. Freakin cold out in the garage with no heater this year!

[rodmaker]

You beat me on posting this topic. Heading to Thorne Bros next week to pick out a Walleye spinning rod. Not sure yet what I'm going to build. A hsr 9000 in GLX is tempting.

[Dark Cloud]

Last week I made a ice rod for a good friend. Picked up a Thorne Brothers powernoodle blank and left it at 30 inches per his request. Decked it out with single foot fly guides and nice orange and black thread wraps. Sorry I didnt get any picts, I was rushing to get it done for him and forgot. But I have another blank and will be building that up for myself soon.

Nothing started on the long rods front - I have a cousin who wants a flyrod by spring and i'd like to make myself another 7 foot jiggin rod...

[rodmaker]

Not sure what I'm going to build. Looking for a walleye spinning rod to handle 1/2 oz without the tip being too mushy.

I have the Loomis steelhead blank 1024 in IMX that I like. It has to be at least 8 ft long in order to handle the 7-9 ft snells I use on Mille lacs.

The HSR 9000 is nice, but I want to see it in GLX. I have the St. Croix Legend Elite 7 ft ml action that I extended the hanlde to 7'10". It's nice also.

Have you built anything on the new St. Croix Legend Extreme blanks???

[VMS]

Just finished my christmas present of a 7'-6" muskie rod, and just placed an order for a rainshadow RX7 Graphite 8'-6" medium power, med-fast action. This will be my third rod ever, and really enjoyed being able to take my time on wrapping the second one. Lots to learn...especially about getting the rod wraps good and smooth where tag ends come out.

Any tips on that one? Been using an exacto knife right now with brand new blades... Used Size A thread and still had little bumps where I severed the line. Would a snip do better?

Steve

[rodmaker]

Size A wrap is pretty thin. Where are you located?

[A.W.Wolfram]

VMS,

What model # Raimshadow did you get?

As far as the tag end of the thread, there is a couple of ways you can take care of it.

I used a x-acto knife for years, Some builders use a single edge razor blade and some use a finger nail clippers. The key is to use something your comfortable using and cut as close as you can without hitting the wrap(it sucks when that happens) Its hard to mess it up with clippers.

Even if you get it as close as you can it sometimes leaves a bump. Some builders use a lighter or an alcohol burner and touch the thread VARY quickly.

I my self tend to use another technique on my high end rods.

I use CP on everything I do. It serves two purposes. First, to preserve the color, and second to seal and fill the thread so it doesn’t take so many coats of finish.

Most of the time I use two coats of finish, after the first coat is hard I go over each wrap and take a blade to any bumps. Doing this between coats will keep you from making a bad mistake and gives you a better finished product.

Hope that helps

[A.W.Wolfram]

I use size "A" on almost everything.

[upnorth]

The one tip I can tell you about the tag end is to pull toward the end of the wrap to create a small gap for the tag end to literally fall back into. Works very well.

[rodmaker]

What are you going to build next. Do you know anything about the St. Croix Legend Extreme blanks???

[VMS]

Hiya,

Went with rainshadow 8'-6" one piece model RSW1027 It's actually a saltwater rod but full graphite. I wanted a rod that had a little more flex further down for better shock absorbing characteristics.

As for thread size, I used size A and did exactly as you stated...I used two coats of color preserver, then tried to cut off the hardened edges. I did my first coat and performed the same procedure. I'm wondering about using a nail file on them, and putting on a light 3rd coat.

Rodmaker...I'm in Hastings,

How would I go about posting a pic on here? I've never done it on this site and would upload some pics...

[rodmaker]

I've seen the guys at Thorne Bros. take a bic lighter and go over that area . It gets any of the leftover / frayed stuff off.

[VMS]

you can see the bumps along the bottom of the guide wraps.

As you can see, I figured out pictures...

[A.W.Wolfram]

Looks good.

I like the trim band and tracer thread.

IMO I would stay away from anything that would scuff the finish. I would be worried that the finish would not cover any marks lest by it.

Try to trim and coat it one more time with a thin coat.

I just finished a SW967 in casting that I built with a Roberts wrap and I have a SW1089 that I will be starting tomorrow. These are the first SWs that I have built and I have high hopes for them.

Did you take a class in Hastings on rod building?

[A.W.Wolfram]

What are you going to build next. Do you know anything about the St. Croix Legend Extreme blanks???

I have played with the production rods. They have a nice high modulis feel to them. SC builds them with Rec recoil guilds. The blanks start at $150.

[harvey lee]

Thats correct Captain

I just got done with a new crappie rod and now, a new channel cat rod.

This rod building is a sickness.

I use my Cutco fillet knife to cut the tag end of the thread. It cuts it almost flush with the thread wrap. I may also use a bic but boy I keep it away as I had a very light burn mark in one I ended up re wrapping.

[VMS]

I Did take the Gary wick class...will be 2 years ago in Late march that I built my first one. The rod you see there was purchased through him again. Made the butt handle a little shorter (12-3/4").

the rainshadow that is ordered I will be doing using cork rings. Reaming a whole butt handle was a real pain...took a bit of time to do. So...doing the rings should make reaming a bit easier and a bit more precise as well. Only thing I am unsure of is when I do the glue up, do I put any epoxy between the cork rings, or do I just put it on the blank, then compress the rings together and let it sit that way...

I took a nail file to the bumps last night and will put a light coat of finish on it tonight...things should hopefully be smoother...

Steve

[rodmaker]

I guess when I go to Thorne Bros. I'll have to look at those blanks and compare them to G. Loomis IMX or GLX. I use titanium giudes when I purchase these blanks. Spendy but nice.

[upnorth]

Couple of things. Are you planning on putting the rings together and then turning them on a lathe. If you try to glue them up on the blank you will run into conecentricity issues, meaning there may be sort of a wobble. And you do glue them ring to ring, not just to the blank.

When dealing with bump issues in thread epoxy, better to carefully use a razor to trim off the bumps if possible. Filing or sanding can cause some real issues if you get too deep and fray the thread. Been there and done that. Took 2 more coats of epoxy to correct the issue.

[A.W.Wolfram]

I started the winter with a shop Expansion and added a new toy(a B-day present to my self)a power wraper.

This is my mock up and thread art bench.

And this is my wraping station with a 2 place dryer above.

[VMS]

I will be basically hooking up to a very crude drill/rod holder set-up to sand the cork down.

Not the best of set-ups, but what I did on the rod posted is I used a drill and made a chuck from a rubber stopper and a threaded rod. It allows me to push the stopper in the end of the blank, tighten a nut down to expand the rubber stopper to hold the blank, then hook to a drill. from there, I supported the rest of the rod on rod holders so it wouldn't wobble and break somehow.

the Drill was placed in a workman's adjustable bench top which allowed me to adjust for level.

From there, spin and sand it down..started with 50 grit, then to 150 and finished with 220.

Very crude, but it worked well...

Steve

[A.W.Wolfram]

VMS,

That is close to what I do for most handles. I ream the rings close to the blank size. Then glue them and put them in a vice. I use a vice that is like the one DC uses, UN has a nice set up also with a quick grip clamp. Look at other threads, thay posted pics.

After it sets up I take a threaded rod with a stop nut and washer on end and build up masking tape shims like you were mounting a real seat to fit the cork on the threaded rod. Then washer and nut on the other end. I then spin that in a drill with a "V" block to support the other end. I use a 4 in 1 wood rasp to shape and then work from 120 grit to 220 grit to finish.

This is not the best way to do it, but it works well on short pices.

I would invest in a set of Dream Reamers if you are going to get hooked on building like Harvey Lee is

[VMS]

That is the set I purchased. Did a really nice job and it was very easy to do the foregrip...

Don't know how much I will get into this, but if there are people out there that want a rod build for them, I might do some "side work" like that...

Steve

[upnorth]

I will be basically hooking up to a very crude drill/rod holder set-up to sand the cork down.

Not the best of set-ups, but what I did on the rod posted is I used a drill and made a chuck from a rubber stopper and a threaded rod. It allows me to push the stopper in the end of the blank, tighten a nut down to expand the rubber stopper to hold the blank, then hook to a drill. from there, I supported the rest of the rod on rod holders so it wouldn't wobble and break somehow.

the Drill was placed in a workman's adjustable bench top which allowed me to adjust for level.

From there, spin and sand it down..started with 50 grit, then to 150 and finished with 220.

Very crude, but it worked well...

Steve

I did buy a cheap lathe, but it was cheap enough it is probably not much better than what you have Important part is that it works. I can probably do a bit more with the lathe, and it will work better with wood and stuff but you outfit seems to be doing what you want it to.

About building stuff for others, if you get too much it takes the fun out of it. I have had plenty of friends and family looking for rods, which I don't mind, problem is when they all want them done in 3 weeks