Building your own fly rod questions

On Aug 13, 9:41 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.

Lots of good advice from some experienced people. I have built
perhaps a dozen, from a nine ft. glass monstrosity in the 60's that
would break King Kong's wrist, to 3 wt graphite fairy wands. They are
all ugly, but they have EXACTLY the guides I want, in EXACTLY the
place I want them, which is the only advantage I have ever found.
Yeah, there is a satisfaction in catching fish on something you have
built yourself, and it felt good for me. Now I'm an old fart and buy
them at the store.
IMO, the best reason for building your own is that you can get a
really superb ultra light spinning rod by making one out of a blank
for a 3 wt fly rod. For some reason, UL spinning rod builders never
go above 5 ft. DUH
Good luck.

cheers

oz, who echoes the guy that said: "go slow"

On Aug 13, 11:28 am, mdk77 wrote:
On Aug 13, 12:17 pm, Mike wrote:





On Aug 13, 4:41 pm, 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.

If you are not very good at DIY, then it is best to leave it. One can
now buy very moderately priced rods of excellent quality. Saving money
as such is not likely on the cheaper blanks. You will "save" some
money if you buy an expensive blank and build the rod yourself, but
only if you completely ignore the time and effort involved as a cost
factor. Also, if you use the very best fittings etc, then the rod may
be even more expensive than a factory finished blank.

It is not really very difficult to do, but there is a learning curve
involved, and although you can do it without any equipment, things
like turning motors etc are of advantage. For most people, it is not
worth it.

If you want to see what is involved, have a look here;

http://www.flyanglersonline.com/begin/graphite/

http://globalflyfisher.com/rodbuildi...rod/part-1.php

--
Regards and tight lines!

Mike Connor

http://www.mike-connor.homepage.t-online.de/

http://groups.google.co.uk/group/Flycorner?hl=en

Mike those are both wonderful links. Thank you VERY much for your
help, and thanks to everyone else who responded on this. This is a
really nice newsgroup for newbies like me. I think I understand the
downside and risks to building a fly rod. If I would try something
like this it would mostly be for the satisfaction of it and not to
save money. One of the previous posters mentioned that you don't get
a warranty this way, and that IS a good argument for NOT building your
own rod. But I've always been a DIY guy and usually do ok with my
projects. The satisfaction I get doing it myself usually makes it
worthwhile.

Also Mike, thanks for helping me in the other thread regarding a 2nd
fly rod. I'm still thinking all of that through (I was pleasantly
surprised by the number of people who took the time to help).

- Dave- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

This is a good place to get a first rod kit.
http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/

The motor for turning the rod while the varnish is drying looks this.

http://cgi.ebay.com/M-60-Washer-Drye...QQcmdZViewItem
You can wrap the guides while watching TV. Sanding the grip and
varnishing the guides is something to do in the garage or basement if
domestic tranquility is important.

On Mon, 13 Aug 2007 23:00:59 -0000, BJ Conner
wrote:



The motor for turning the rod while the varnish is drying looks this.

http://cgi.ebay.com/M-60-Washer-Drye...QQcmdZViewItem
You can wrap the guides while watching TV.

IMO, a barbeque rotisserie motor would be my choicer, and is likely
cheaper, for a homebrew turner. It already has a readily-usable mount
and a square drive end, and often are found both 2 D-cell battery and
12VDC with a "wall wart" from whatever VAC...but hey, YMMV.

Sanding the grip and
varnishing the guides is something to do in the garage or basement if
domestic tranquility is important.

And save the cork dust for making patch repair putty.

TC,
R

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.

I built a 2 wt and it's really a hoot to catch Bluegill on it! I used a
variable speed drill for a rod lathe and to turn while drying. Flexcoat
has a lot of tips on their website. I bought their DVD and found it
very helpful. It showed Their President building a rod using the
simplest of tools, then showed how they do it with sophisticated tools.

I am thinking of building a 9wt next since I already have 4, 5 and 6 wt
store bought rods

Flexcoat's site is www.flexcoat.com

Ed

I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable building my first fly rod out of a
super expensive blank. What about the IM7 and IM6 blanks, are they
worth trying for a first time effort? Right now my only fly rod is a
Cabella's Three Forks rod.

mdk77 wrote in news:1187098186.277702.297120
@q3g2000prf.googlegroups.com:

I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable building my first fly rod out of a
super expensive blank. What about the IM7 and IM6 blanks, are they
worth trying for a first time effort? Right now my only fly rod is a
Cabella's Three Forks rod.





Whatever blank you choose to use these days will be plenty fishable.

--
Scott
Reverse name to reply

mdk77 wrote in news:1187098186.277702.297120
@q3g2000prf.googlegroups.com:

I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable building my first fly rod out of a
super expensive blank. What about the IM7 and IM6 blanks, are they
worth trying for a first time effort? Right now my only fly rod is a
Cabella's Three Forks rod.





You should take a look at mudhole.com --- they should have all you need.


--
Scott
Reverse name to reply

On Aug 14, 6:42 am, Scott Seidman wrote:
mdk77 wrote in news:1187098186.277702.297120
@q3g2000prf.googlegroups.com:

I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable building my first fly rod out of a
super expensive blank. What about the IM7 and IM6 blanks, are they
worth trying for a first time effort? Right now my only fly rod is a
Cabella's Three Forks rod.

You should take a look at mudhole.com --- they should have all you need.

--
Scott
Reverse name to reply

Thanks- that's a link I lost with changing computers. I think it's
the one that had the good deals on seconds ( if not I have to keep
looking).

On Aug 14, 8:42 am, Scott Seidman wrote:
mdk77 wrote in news:1187098186.277702.297120
@q3g2000prf.googlegroups.com:

I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable building my first fly rod out of a
super expensive blank. What about the IM7 and IM6 blanks, are they
worth trying for a first time effort? Right now my only fly rod is a
Cabella's Three Forks rod.

You should take a look at mudhole.com --- they should have all you need.

--
Scott
Reverse name to reply

I just checked it out and it is a GREAT resource. The photo's are
pretty cool too.
Thanks!

- Dave

mdk77 wrote in news:1187108057.232734.276310
@i13g2000prf.googlegroups.com:

I just checked it out and it is a GREAT resource. The photo's are
pretty cool too.
Thanks!


Once you decide what size you want to twist up, don't be afraid to give 'em
a ring and ask if they have any great deals on blanks that aren't
immediately apparent on their website.

--
Scott
Reverse name to reply