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custom rod building.........any interest?

Discussion in 'Boating & Fishing' started by DEMikey, Oct 19, 2015.

  1. Oct 19, 2015 at 6:00 PM
    #1
    DEMikey

    DEMikey [OP] Mr. Badwrench

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    i have just finally got my hands on my first custom. i traded a t belt water pump and other stuff on a friends tundra in exchange for a custom 1418 rain shadow.......

    i have now gotten the itch to build one for me. not going for a surf rod yet, i want to build a custom fluke setup. i have been using St croix 6' MHF bass rod for fluke, and i figure, a 6' rod should be a decent length to start with......i do eventually want to build a 1502 rain shadow. 8 and bait heaver.

    anyone out there with tips or experience???

    thanks in advance!
     
  2. Oct 21, 2015 at 12:26 PM
    #2
    Taco47

    Taco47 Well-Known Member

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    Im kinda in your shoes at the moment. Looking to build a simple low tech wrapping lathe and starting off with repairing some of my rods first.
     
  3. Oct 21, 2015 at 1:07 PM
    #3
    YotaBum

    YotaBum Not So Well-Known Member

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    A cardboard box is about as low tech as you can get... And about all you need.

    Make a couple notches on two sides to lay your rod across. And then poke 3 holes in the front to place a bobbin in, one in the middle and one closer to each end.
     
    DEMikey[OP] likes this.
  4. Feb 1, 2016 at 5:52 AM
    #4
    Mateo74

    Mateo74 Well-Known Member

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  5. Feb 1, 2016 at 5:58 AM
    #5
    holyfield19

    holyfield19 GO TIGERS!

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    I have read a few books and am slowly in the process of gathering up materials to build some Bamboo fly rods. One day the plan is to have a little rod shop in the basement. This will take a few years to get off the ground I am afraid.
     
    JJ TACO likes this.
  6. Jun 18, 2016 at 1:18 AM
    #6
    dmanars

    dmanars Active Member

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    It cost just as much to build a rod then to buy one. Blanks are expensive. So I just have them built for me
     
    Nic S and koditten like this.
  7. Jun 18, 2016 at 8:19 AM
    #7
    YotaBum

    YotaBum Not So Well-Known Member

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    Not quite true... I bought a Sage SLT Kit from Feathercraft years ago and it was about half the price of buying the complete rod.

    There are some really good blanks out there that you can get cheap. And most of the big name rod companies offer their blanks at around half the cost of complete rods.
     
  8. Jun 18, 2016 at 9:05 PM
    #8
    dmanars

    dmanars Active Member

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    I agree. there are some. Not all blanks are expensive. If combing and scouring the internet for blanks at low prices is working for you, Good for you, which I have done. I made rod building my new hobby. But I found my self settling on either making quality poles for about the same price or low quality poles for cheap. Every once in a while I would get lucky and find a quality blank. When it came down to it I could find quality poles way cheaper and easier brand new.
     
  9. Nov 17, 2016 at 4:29 AM
    #9
    Nic S

    Nic S Well-Known Member

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    I just have mine made also never tried to build one though. I rather fish than build rods though I let the to the pros do that
     
  10. Nov 28, 2016 at 12:57 PM
    #10
    Sheepshead45

    Sheepshead45 Well-Known Member

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    I've made probably 30+ rods over the years. I went pretty nuts on a lot of them, fancy butt wraps etc. These days I use those skills mainly just for repairs. There are a couple of very specific applications that I will still make my own rods for, but I've found these days that there are just so many choices for new rods that I can get what I want off the shelf. The whole butterfly jigging trend in the last decade has eliminated the need for a lot of what I used to try to make myself. Plus, I have a freakin forest of rods in the garage and don't really need any more.

    I always found it to be fun to think something up, and I always took a lot of satisfaction in the finished product, but it also takes a LOT of time. I've lost the patience for that, and since I've moved south I don't have the winter months to occupy my time with fishing related stuff. Now I just fish year round!

    But anyway, if you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer.
     
  11. Nov 28, 2016 at 1:05 PM
    #11
    Sheepshead45

    Sheepshead45 Well-Known Member

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    To add after reading some replies, I'd say the average rod I made costs 2X a finished, store bought rod. And that does not include the many hours of my time.

    You can try and go cheap, but half the reason for making my own was to have very high quality components, mainly in the blanks and in the guides. I have rods I've used for 20 years that look like new, whereas I find 90% of store bought stuff use really cheap guides that don't last a season. It's also hard to find cork handles, which are easy to custom make and look really cool, but quality cork costs a ton of $$$.

    Don't get into it to save money.
     
  12. Dec 28, 2016 at 10:02 PM
    #12
    redzmvt

    redzmvt Well-Known Member

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    I started building my own rods in the early 80s.I fished Great Lakes trout/salmon,and noodle rods were hard to find and expensive.So I made my own and modified the handle the way I wanted.It cost less than half of what a mass-produced rod would sell for.I built rods that would be called center-pin now.We used fly rods with reels spooled with mono for drifting spawn bags or such.Mono would groove snake guides,so I used guides with hardloy inserts.

    I now am making some custom ice rods,and tweak the action/length to suit.Some of the commercially made ones are going for crazy money(over 79.99+).The most I have into an equivalent one is 25.00.
     
    DEMikey[OP] likes this.
  13. Jan 8, 2017 at 12:30 PM
    #13
    Iamsir2u

    Iamsir2u KJ4WZI

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    I got into building surf rods several years ago because I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for. The commercial rods felt awkward to me to hold and cast. The reel seat was either too far up/down and they just weren't comfortable. I also didn't feel the components were built to last either. After noticing that nearly 75% of the guys fishing around me were using custom rods, I jumped in with both feet. I'm by far not an expert, I still consider myself a novice because I make mistakes on every rod. But, that's part of the fun to me, making mistakes and learning from them. My most recent rod was for my wife, it was a rain shadow BP1264F.
     
    DEMikey[OP] likes this.
  14. Jan 31, 2017 at 7:43 AM
    #14
    wilcam47

    wilcam47 Keep on keeping on!

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    I might look into it later, right now its too cold for anything to set properly. It would be interesting though.
     
  15. Feb 4, 2017 at 6:58 AM
    #15
    DEMikey

    DEMikey [OP] Mr. Badwrench

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    one of these days ill take the plunge. but for now, here is my regal turbo t inspired rainshadow 1418. im not into over the top customs, but subtle accents.

    i have a rainshadow 1562 being built, a dude i lifted his taco, traded me 2 blanks and a build. he is building the 1562.

    pc4.jpg

    pc1.jpg

    pc2.jpg

    pc3.jpg
     
  16. Feb 15, 2017 at 9:43 AM
    #16
    wilcam47

    wilcam47 Keep on keeping on!

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    I saw a craigslist ad for a guys whole set up $2500 had a bunch of rod blanks, pieces etc...I'd only want to do a couple just to try it out not a whole mass of them.
     
  17. May 17, 2017 at 5:08 PM
    #17
    Hextall

    Hextall Well-Known Member

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    I have built a ton of rods. The first was using a shoe box with Vs cut in t ends and running the thread through a phone book for tension.

    Take a look at Tom Kirkman's beginner rod building book. It explains everything you need to start.

    I have been building my fly rods with blanks from Dan Craft. I feel they are just as good as as the high end sages (built a couple of sages too). I got into it at first to try and save money, but ended up building nicer rods with better and more pleasing components than I could buy.
     
  18. Aug 18, 2017 at 10:38 AM
    #18
    brownwey

    brownwey Member

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    I've been making rods for several years now. The Surf rods can a hassle, being two pieces usually, and the length can be up to 12 FT. After putting so much time into those, I did not want to just lay them in the back of my Taco. So I had to find a way to get them on the truck. Ultimately I got a Rola rack, and put these Surf Rod racks I got from a guy in Long Island called Rod A Rac.. I've had them for about 3 years now, but first time on the TACO I just bought. Here's few shots from the beach I took to give you an idea of what the setup is like.
    By the way I driven many SUVs and trucks on the beach over-sand, and by far the Taco is the best I've driven...loving it so far.
     
    wilcam47 likes this.
  19. Sep 2, 2017 at 5:12 PM
    #19
    DEMikey

    DEMikey [OP] Mr. Badwrench

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    sorry i havent been following my own thread, thanks for all the input guys. some day ill take the plunge and try it, but the life or a railroader, and the traveling, cant let me do it. i should have some pics of a seeker im having built for black fish. take care guys.
     

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