Any rod builders in the house?

[Jason.seaward]

I am getting closer to venturing into rod building, just doing some research and looking at supply distributors. I am also looking into other handle material ideas, besides classic cork.
Any rod builders? Any pics of built rods?
Thanks
Jason

[pikergolf]

I've built about 20, none in the past few years. Nothing special, just functional rods. Mostly I use Mudhole blanks. I built my own tools, thread winder and drying rack. Got the motor for the drying rack off of ebay, dirt cheap. Fun hobby.

http://www.rodbuildersupplies.com/
http://valleycustomrods.com/

I have used both these places and been happy with both.

[Jason.seaward]

Thanks for the suggestions!

[Lornce]

Have done about the same number of rods as pikergolf. Like working on rods as I can put together the perfect length, components, action for me.
Here's a couple

6 foot Fiberglass







12.5 foot Meiser Spey rod







7.5 foot fly rod

[KWDK]

I really enjoy rod building. I've mainly just built Fiberglass fly rods since that's what I enjoy fishing the most. I like a more traditional or classic look. I've used rod builder supplies as noted above for guides and reel seats. I get my cork rings from a seller on eBay. It seems to be the best price for quality that I can find. Blanks I've picked up from many sources (private sales, eBay, direct from manufacture). I like Snake brand snake guides but Pac Bay guides are nice too and cost less. Real seats I've used from PacBay, Lemke, ksn47 on eBay and also some vintage ones that were either unused or I was able to save and reuse. Certainly a fun and addictive hobby.


An old Silaflex blank I picked up that had never been built. Made my own water transfer decal on the computer.





A little 7' 3 weight blank from a rod designer in Japan. Awesome for small water. Flexes super deep into the cork.



A 10 weight rod for chucking meaty pike flies from the kayak. Blank is from 'Epic' in New Zealand and my wife made the rod sock.



Another old blank I picked up with that silaflex blank that had never been built. Super smooth 5/6 weight fiberglass rod I named for my current home water - Crowsnest River. It's one of my favourite rods to fish.



I have a few other builds and blanks I've played with. Done some repairs and toyed around with various ideas on blanks. Currently got into turning my own wood for reel seats. I find it very rewarding to catch a fish on a rod I built using a fly I tied. Loads of fun to be had! I have a few other builds on the go. Just finishing another 3 weight with a blank from a builder in Montana (livingston fly rod co.), an old 4 piece Fenwick blank, Orvis Bamboo to strip and rebuild, a few 7 piece graphite rods I'm stripping the paint off and some more vintage fiberglass blanks on the back burner I'm trying to turn into 4 piece from their current 2 piece configuration.

I haven't done a lot of builds but I've put a good chunk of time into the ones I have built. Like I say, lots of fun to be had.

[Jason.seaward]

Lornce: great looking rods! For the spey rod, did you make the handle? That's a beautiful handle! Also, what kind of cork did you use on the 7.5 foot rod?

KWDK: ya, I can tell that you like the traditional/classic rods. I do too! For your rods, is it wrapping thread that transitions from the butt section onto the top part of the cork handle? Its a nice touch, but I am not sure how that's done.

In january, I am going to start to experiment with different handle materials, such as woods, birch bark, and potentially stacked leather. I think the stacked leather will go great with a classic rod.

Jason

[KWDK]

Yes the thread is just wrapped up the cork. It's called a thread hosel. Probably has other names too, that's just what I know it as.

I like the look of the stacked leather grips and also the rattan grips. I'd be curious to try one out some day, see what it feels like.

Make sure you share your progress!

[Don Andersen]

I manufacture bamboo rods. Components are sourced world wide.
Corks from Portugsl
Snake guides from England
Ferrules from Vermont, USA
Bamboo from Chona via the Bamboo Broker
Thread from Gruebrod


Don

[Lornce]

Originally Posted by Jason.seaward

Lornce: great looking rods! For the spey rod, did you make the handle? That's a beautiful handle! Also, what kind of cork did you use on the 7.5 foot rod?
Jason

Yes I scratch built the handles on the Spey rod as on the others. Just bought the blanks and eyes from Meiser Rod Co. Woods are Maple and Redwood Burl & Burnt Rubberized Cork Rings.

The cork on the other two rods are Champaign Cork. they use extremely good quality cork and I like the look of the finer grain look.

[Lornce]

Just a point I want to make. People often say that they "build" fly rods. I do not build rods, I buy blanks and dress them up. So really the term should be dressing rods.

Don Anderson is a rod "builder" supreme. He builds the blank in various configurations and tapers from raw culms of Bamboo to produce a work of art and an amazing casting tool.

[KWDK]

Originally Posted by Lornce

Just a point I want to make. People often say that they "build" fly rods. I do not build rods, I buy blanks and dress them up. So really the term should be dressing rods.

I agree with you there.

[Jason.seaward]

Good point Lornce! Don't want to ever imply that my "builds" are ever close to the art of Don's.

[Jason.seaward]

Lornce - if yo don't mind me asking, what did you use to get the uniform gloss over the various types of materials on the Spey handle? Beautiful work! One of the nicest I have seen!

[Lornce]

Originally Posted by Jason.seaward

Lornce - if yo don't mind me asking, what did you use to get the uniform gloss over the various types of materials on the Spey handle? Beautiful work! One of the nicest I have seen!

Very kind of you to say. Careful sanding down to a shine then Minwax on the wood only. I had posted the build on my blog but Photobucket was hacked so I have to replace the pictures on my blog but the text is there.

[Jason.seaward]

I will check it out, thanks! I am curious how the different wood parts were treated. I have seen one handle where the wood was very glossy, but the cork was kept natural. I have no idea how the person was able to get the wood glossy without impacting the cork beside.

[Lornce]

Originally Posted by Jason.seaward

I will check it out, thanks! I am curious how the different wood parts were treated. I have seen one handle where the wood was very glossy, but the cork was kept natural. I have no idea how the person was able to get the wood glossy without impacting the cork beside.

Careful work

[Don Andersen]

Does anyone know of a company that would grind the mandrels, use the scrim requested plus lay up to design your own glass/graphite blanks?

Regards,

Don

[KWDK]

CTS in New Zealand
Mike McFarland in US
CF Burkheimer in US

I've heard of people having that done by the above in order to get their own blanks/rod series. Now I don't know if they made new mandrels or if they just modified the lay up on existing ones to get the desired rod action. Would have to give them a call I suppose.

[Kingfisher]

Originally Posted by Don Andersen

Does anyone know of a company that would grind the mandrels, use the scrim requested plus lay up to design your own glass/graphite blanks?

Regards,

Don

Don, you may want to post that question on rodbuilding.org . That site is run by Tom Kirkman. There is a ton of great guys on that board and they are from all over the world. Surely someone on there will know if there is anyone out there that can help you out.

Someone was asking about using alternative materials for reel seats. You can purchase 1/8" colored foam at Michaels Craft store. Those are great to add in on a grip between cork rings to get some interesting shots of color into your grip. They sand down nicely and give you a great effect.

I have seen others that have used poplar bark to make a grip. It works. But takes some patience to get it glued into place, then to cut it down and turn it and sand it down on a lathe. But it is possible.

I have used different chunks of wood in between the cork to get an interesting effect. The hardest part is getting it sanded down uniformly with the cork and wood combination. I did a few with cherry wood, and they turned out amazing. The real pay off comes when you put some cork sealer onto the grip. That seals the wood also and it then brings out the grain. Right at that point it makes all the messing around with it worth the time.

For those of you that "build" rods be sure to go on rodbuilding.org and check out the gallery there. You will see some amazing craftsman. It's always interesting to see what others have done with their thread work, inlays or cork work.

[CDone]

Yoga block with dyed and stabilized burl


Flor grade cork with burl cork and foam.


Mix of wood and cork, green layer between wood and cork is dyed maple veneer from Black Forrest Wood


Another yoga block and wood. I really like the yoga block, picked up a couple off of amazon and can get 8 to 10 singlehand grips out of it with lots of accent pieces (cut offs remaining). It also feels really nice in hand.






Colin