(Text of a presentation Master Rod Builder Eric Orr made at the January, 1995 GOFC meeting and published in the April, 1995, GOFC Newsletter)
This is a summary of some of the points that I made in my January presentation on rod building.
Why build a rod? The reasons are many - specialty use, cost, quality, creativity, to repair an old rod, or to upgrade its components.
What to build. Best to start with whatever you think you need, but try not to let it get too expensive for your first attempt. Look at the quality commercial rods for ideas.
Cabela's, 800-237-4444, 812 13th Ave, Sidney, Nebraska 69160. An excellent source of components, their own line of blanks is reasonably priced and of good quality. Get the special rod builders catalog.
Angler's Workshop, 206-225-9445, P.O. Box 1010, 1350 Atlantic Ave, Woodland, WA, 98674. This is another of my preferred sources of components. The people I have dealt with are really dedicated to helping the customers, and they also have their own line of blanks. The heavy fiberglass saltwater blanks sold under their name are wrapped on the mandrels developed by the original Sabre Rod company - the developers of the first "stand up" big game rods. I recently built a rod on one of these blanks and was very impressed with the quality. Their prices are also good.
Dale Clemens Custom Tackle, 444 Schantz Spring Road, Allentown, PA 18104. I have not ordered from Clemens for several years, but this is an interesting contact if you want to learn rod building. Dale has published three books on rod building and has a rod builders guild (Rod Crafters) that publishes a newsletter that is a good source for information. He also has his own line of blanks which I have not tried since they are pretty expensive. His prices are higher than those of Angler's Workshop or Cabela's.
Midland Tackle Company, 914-753-5440, 66 Route 17, Sloatsburg, NY 10974-2399. Midland is an interesting company run out of a totally disorganized storefront. Their prices also run usually a little higher.
Components needed to build a rod include blanks, grips, reel seats, guides, tips, butt caps, thread, rod finish, epoxy, and masking tape.
Additional materials needed are masking tape, hobby knife or razor blades, heat glue, 90% alcohol, paper towels, newspaper, 2-3 wire clothes hangers, phone book, flat file, tie off loop, wax pencil, tape measure, pencil and paper, butane lighter, protractor or small ruler, shaving gel, tapered reamers.
Placing the order: Remember that you are phoning in your order, so for a casting rod get an extra guide or two. I always plan to use at least 7 high frame Fuji guides. The catalog will tell you the tip size to order. Thread colors also are in the catalog. Make sure that the reel seat is the right size for the blank, and that you order more grip material than you think you need.
Planning. When the rod arrives, do not take a two piece blank out and flex the tip end - the butt end of the tip ferrule must be wrapped first. Hold the blank to plan where your hands are comfortable, to get a good idea of where the reel seat is going to go and how long to make the handles. The tip should be glued on to get the feel of the rod's action. By laying the components along the blank you can get an idea of how to set up the guides, reel seat and handle. Now measure everything and write it all down!
Assembly. Do not forget to spline the blank! (on or against the spline). Do this several times until you are sure it is right, marking each time with the grease pencil. Then mark the blank very well, and far enough up the rod to be sure that you will not obliterate the marks in gluing up the handle. Rough the blank to allow the epoxy to hold well to the blank then clean with solvent.
Cork. Ream the cork to fit, mix the epoxy and place in the freezer for 5 minutes. Remember to leave room for the butt cap. Mark the blank to be sure.
Foam. slide the foam onto the blank to where it just catches. Mark with the grease pencil. Pull off the foam, then coat the blank with the epoxy all the way from the mark for the butt cap to the mark where the foam stopped. Squirt the inside of the foam with the gel and setting the blank down on the butt, drive the foam on hard.
Reel seat. After the grips have time to set up, shim the reel seat with the tape. A caliper can be used to measure but is not necessary. Glue on by rotating the blank and slide the seat against the butt grip. Make sure it is straight to the mark for the spline! Let dry and add the foregrip like the butt was done. Let dry well before continuing.
Wrapping the blank. First put the tip back on and get it as straight as possible. Then lay the rod on the floor and place the guides along the blank. Measure the distances from tip to guide and guide to guide, write them down, and mark the blank with the grease pencil. Cabela's handle kits come with a formula for guide placement that is good for spin and fly rods only. For a conventional or casting rod, the only acceptable method is to tape on the guides and flex the rod with line to ensure that the line does not touch the blank.
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This page last updated 3 November, 1996
Charles H. Courtney (chc@dkeep.com)