I have been intrigued about building my own rod… I have never built one before and I was wondering… What kind of cost is involved? besides the obvious, blank guides reel seat etc, but to build a nice 8wt salt rod what kind of cost is usually involved? Also what kind of tools are involved in building a rod? I am just looking for info and figured it’d be a project to start when I get home… Thanks ya’ll… if it’s too long a post feel free to e-mail me…
Look at the Cabelas site. They have plenty of information. Especially look at the customer comments about how satisfied (or not) they were. A buddy built a couple Sage rods. He seemed very satisfied to have done it himself. The kits are pretty complete. Like fly tying, there is thread and glue (epoxy).
My thought was to build a knock-around rod to get the experience under my belt and then build a nice one if things went well.
Rods kits go from $120 to $350 or more. The other thing you need is the rotating drying stand. They start at $110.
Just beginning fly fishing and tying so decided to go the whole hog and build my own rod(s) as well. I found this interesting site, containing some articles that might help build a better performing rod. It may be too much info for beginning rod-builders but may be of use to others. It also suggests caution when accepting manufacturers rating of a rod.
It also addresses the issues raised in FlyFishers “6wt line on a 7wt rod??” topic. I bought 4 8wt blanks and tested them - one was an 8wt (close to a 9) and the other three tested as 9wt (one close to a 10wt)
I built G. Loomis 5wt a few years back under the guidance of a rod builder in the Fly Fishing club I was in. It worked out to about half the price, so a $400 rod was around $200. I could not have afforded it otherwise. It was a fun project but once was enough. There are simple formulas for guide spacing and you shape the cork handle to fit. One key thing is to have something to slowly spin the rod when you epoxy the guide wrappings, it keeps the epoxy from sagging when it tries. I rigged one up from a variable speed drill. Not-so Pro tip: DON’T wear a loose shirt near the turning rod! I got my shirt stuck and the rod rolled up in mess!!! Had to redo that guide. A nice thing is that G. Loomis still honors the warranty on the blank (had to make use of that as well.[:I] a couple of years later )
Hope that helps Nikon and thank you for your service to this great country.
Nikon, check this out. I was fooling around the other night while building a light spinning rod. Again, I strongly suggest that you try a cheap combo kit before sinking any real money into a nice blank.
I have been building for a few years now and I am a full blown addict. I got into it b/c I believed their had to be a better way to get a nice rod with out paying $600. Once you get into it, you will realize there are a lot of really great blank manufacturers out there that are not the Big Names.
These sites are great and Mudhole is a great supplier. There are a lot of good ones out there though. So if you can’t find what you need there, don’t be afraid to order form some others.
I will also agree with the earlier statement about starting with a less expensive blank for your first one. The first one will not be near as good as your 4th…and yes…there will be a fourth!
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to email me. I wouldn’t mind showing you my setup and what I use. Here is my email address.