Building your own fly rod questions

On Mon, 13 Aug 2007 16:21:24 -0000, BJ Conner
wrote:

On Aug 13, 7:41 am, 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.

It's not rocket scinece. There is skill involved and it takes a
little practice. Appearance of the final product is a reflection of
your skill. All the rods I ahve built are ugly. I have friends who
have works of art they fish with. They go for things like $50 reel
seats and wrap guides in elaborate patterns with muti-colored
threads.
Shop the internet for components, there is a wide variety of prices.
There are seconds and "surplus" balnks.
Build your first rod out of cheap components. The techniques used on
cheap components are the same ones you use with a $400 blank.
Start lookng for a low rpm motor like the one in a washing macnie
timer ( getting rare as more washers have solid state timers).
Turning the rod as laquor ( epoxy etc. ) on the guides dries is
important. Lumps in the finish of the guide windings is IMO the most
common error.


If you want a good source for a cheap turning motor, I would recommend
using the motor from an old fax machine as your turning motor. I have
one from the submarine (retired Navy) I used to be stationed on. It
works great. Turns about 7 RPM. We had a power supply die on the fax
machine while on board and I tried to fix the thing (electrician by
trade) and when we realized the power supply was completely shot,
stripped it for parts. I kept the motor since I saw it was perfect for
turning rods or drying epoxy coated flies. If you can find an old one
that somebody is throwing away, this will save you a bunch of money on
a turning motor. You could also use the motor from an old printer (dot
matrix works best, slower). Works just as well.

Both take a little bit of ingenuityand framing to make work as a rod
turning motor or as a fly drying motor, but you can get anything you
need from your neighborhood hardware store.

Making your own rod, even if it is ugly, is great once you get on the
water with it. I made a small 7 ft 6 inch 4 weight for panfish and
small brook ttrout fishing. Doesn't look great, but it is nice to
catch a fish on something you created (other than the fly).

Good luck in your endevour.