If I Wanted To Make Just One Rod For Myself Is It Worth It..?

[Stlbob]

 Not looking to pick up another hobby right now.But that being said i want a really good rod for a reel i was gifted...so i thought i would see whats  involved making my own.

[Wbeadlescomb]

I'm right there with you. Ive been looking at mudhole.com and debating on whether or not I want to give it a try or not

[Hi Salenity]

No

You need to just have DVT build it for you. I've built a few and if you are only going to build one rod I wouldn't bother doing it myself if your mainly doing it to save money.

That said I'm having DVT build a couple rods for me now.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Don't get into rod building to save money. It is a rewarding craft but there is a learning curve. Your first one would likely be fishable, but if you you stuck with it, some day you'll look at it and think "What the hell was I doing?'lol

[Stlbob]

OKay

So i should farm it out..? Is DVT the name of a rod building web site or is it you..DelawareValleyTackle

 

and yes the premis was i would save money doing it myself.

[Felix77]

I have been toying with the idea of building my own rod just to add another hobby which revolved around fishing.

 

Stlbob - you got it right ... DVT is one of the sponsors.

 

http://www.delawarevalleytackle.com/

[5dollarsplash]

DVT built me one last year, I rotate rods a lot depending on where I'm fishing/cover/etc.  The one he built makes pretty much every trip.  I let him know what I was looking for, emailed, talked on the phone a few times.  Really great to deal with, and he came in right where he said he would on price.

[S Hovanec]

If you only plan on building one, get someone to build it for you. There is a learning curve and you really don't want to 'practice' on the GOOD blank.

You really won't save any money building it yourself. Price out the exact parts from a factory built rod and you'll see that for yourself.

[BobP]

The basics like wrapping a guide or assembling a handle are easy to learn and can be done with almost no "equipment" but it takes expertise to select a blank and to space guides so they work correctly on the finished rod.  If you're working with minimal equipment, wrapping and epoxying the guides gets sorta tedious, at least it does to me.  Bottom line, I also think it wouldn't pay to do it for just one or two.

 

Building a rod yourself makes the most economic sense if you're talking about high end blanks and guides, where the mark-up on commercial rods gets really steep.  You can buy components for a high end rod for about 60% of the cost of a factory rod.  But If you're talking rods in the low to moderate price range, it's about as cheap to buy a finished rod as it is to buy the parts and build it yourself.  And if you're talking about high priced components, do you really want to be a beginner when you build a rod from them?  To me, it only makes sense if you're considering rod building as a long-term hobby.      

[frogflogger]

Go for it is my advice - chances are  you won't screw up the blank and you can rewrap it again down the road - don't get too involved in stuff - a pile of books for thread tensioning will work - dress the ends of the guides if needed for the thread to climb on - varnish or epoxy only the wrappings - use one color thread and as little as possible - less is more on a good rod blank.

I built hundreds of rods while going to school back in the dark ages and still going at it 50+ yrs. later - it's not rocket science - just do some research and TAKE YOUR TIME it's simple fun - pick a decent blank, hard to go wrong with fuji guides and handles but there are options  - you'll hear lots of talk about spline which I pay attention to but it's been proven to me over and over it's not near as critical as some believe. All that said if you want a professional job - get a pro.

[MickD]

No, don't get into rodmaking for one rod.  There are so many very good rods available at BPS and Cabelas, just go as high as you can on price.  Every one of their higher priced options are better.  But you can get an excellent rod for about $100, and there is no justification in making your own unless you plan on a long term hobby.  In fact, it will take you probably 5 rods to get to where you can match the BPS and Cabelas rods' quality and workmanship.  Maybe more.

[basscatcher8]

You might get into it build one and decide you like it and next thing you got a big box from mudhole full of blanks and eyes and a new lathe on the way to start building handles lol.

[Crookedneck]

My advise....order some rod wrapping thread. And some flex coat light. Take a rod that you have and don't use much any more. Strip the guides off. Re-wrap the rod & finish it. If you don't like doing it now you are only out $20. If you like it, then buy a blank and have at it. Finish is the hardest thing to perfect.

[gulfcaptain]

It's a great hobby if you work nights and have problems sleeping during the day.  I wrapped a saltwater rod and managed to double wrap 1 guide each morning before I passed out.  That was 20yrs ago.  Wrapped one other rod and decided that it was better to just pay and have it done.  But I like the idea of getting some wrapping thread and flexcoat, stripping down an old rod and re-wrapping it to decide if you want to take on the task.

[Downeaster2010]

I have built a lot of rods for myself and sold quite a few.  Building one for yourself you can actually have a better rod than

you can purchase but you need a little knowledge of what is a quality blank, guides, reel seat, etc.  It can be more

expensive than if you went out an bought a good rod.  But if you think you might want to build a set, or more than

one then try it out.  Subscribe to Cabelas rod building and get there catalog, and study up before making you choice

on parts. 

[mtblucas]

I really don't understand why so many people are telling you to not build a rod. I completely disagree with that advice. 5 or 6 years ago I built my first rod and it turned out great. It is still one of my favorite rods I own. The building process is very simple. Honestly, it is more expensive than buying a pre-built rod , but it is very satisfying catching fish on a rod you built. I have built a handful of rods now and they have all turned out really well, and each has caught lots of fish. I have no special tools (except for a cork reamer I bought and a tool to compress cork rings to form the handle (made tool for about $5).) The latter of the tools isn't even needed if you purchase a pre-shaped handle. I'd say, on average, it takes me between 5 and 10 hours to complete a rod with just these basic tools. Don't let anybody discourage you if you enjoy building things, and having the satisfaction of telling other fisherman the only rods you fish with were built by your own two hands! I think you should give it a try!