mdk77 wrote:
I ran across this on the internet and wondered what the advantages and
disadvantages are to building your own fly rod. Is this something the
average fisherman should stay away from (too difficult)? Anyone here
fish rods they built themselves? What are some recommended resources
for this (books, web sites etc.).

I'm a guy who is a hopeless DIY person. It's a sickness :-( and an
ongoing source of ribbing from my teenage children when I try to build
everything from our radio's to our furniture. They do think it's cool
that I tie my own flies though. Their friends tell them they're not
sure if I'm a madman or a genius (definitely a madman IMHO).

Thanks in advance for the info.

Richard summed it up pretty well, I'd only add that you
rarely save money rolling your own because the price of
the blank is set so that by the time you buy the blank
and all the components you're in the same ballpark pricewise
as the factory rod. Another thing to consider is the warranty.
Almost all of the quality factory rods come with a warranty
of some sort so if you do something stupid to your fly rod
you can get it fixed or replaced for a nominal charge. Break
a home built and you're s***-out-of-luck.

Having said that, it's rewarding to have a nice tool that
you built yourself and it's not at all difficult to turn out
a really pretty fly rod. Then too, if you have weird tastes
in grips or if you just have to have silicone carbide guides
you can do that on a custom built.

The best reference I know of is the Skip Morris book:

http://www.amazon.com/Custom-Graphit.../dp/1558210113

--
Ken Fortenberry