making your own rod

[Lord Paul]

I'm thinking of getting a book on this and giving it a go, has any one tried this and how much time and money is involved. Also how much skill is needed as i'm a diy novice?

 

[chavender]

i think the hardest part is bonding the layers of carbon sheeting together but then your mandrells have to be right first or youll end up with a Kinky rod.

you could always cheat a little and start with a ready made blank ! like the ones
harrisonrods sell

 

[David Craine]

I started rod building when I was a kid, and have rebuilt, built, repaired, altered etc what must amount to hundreds...both fresh and saltwater rods for myself, for other anglers, and for a few charter skippers...the skill level builds as you make mistakes and learn from the mistakes,just give it a go, a couple of useful tips for you , if you like, one is to use flexible two part high build for the whippings,when you buy it, make sure it is flexible, as the other stuff will sometimes flake when set and put under any bend.... Another tip is to allways set out the rings along the blank before whipping... make sure the rings or aligned along the spine of the blank,and then when you are satisfied with the spacings, stick them to the blank with a small patch of sellotape,you can whip over the tape with no adverse effect. Best of luck mate...there is nothing quite like building your own tackle rods.. floats..terminal gear,and catching fish on something not supplied in a plastic bag with any amount of sales blurb on it.

 

[Lord Paul]

Thanks chaps

Should have mentioned the book I saw was building cane rods

 

[David Craine]

Split Cane rods are somewhat easier to whip than commercial blanks..you will find that if they have not been used too much, they still have a spine, although,finding it is another matter.... once you have a position for the tip ring, make sure that all the other guides have the legs aligned upon the same flat plane, and Roberts your Mums Brother.
I have quite a number of split cane rods that have ben collected over the years mostly they were in poor condition,collected purposefully for re-building, once they have been re-furbished, I think that they are far more pleasing to the eye than modern rods.