first rod build...

[Red]

without flechero's assistance any way.  earlier this summer i had the opportunity to have keith teach me how to build a rod.  well after all this time i am finally working on my next two, all by my self this time!!  they are both on allstar blanks one is a MH and the other is a crankin stick.  not doing anything fancy on these, just a simple split grip, and spiral wrap. itis made from black hypalon.  here is a pic of one of them, the grips are the same on both.

both grips are done and epoxied in place, i will probably start working on the wraps tonight.  what do you think?  be honest, i can take it!  ;D

thanks for lookin

Cliff

[FishingBuds]

Nice Cliff, looks even on sepration or maybe I mean balanced, yea thats it.

What are they casting or spinning?

How you like it so far?

I'm currently starting up, stuck on building or buying a wrapper let alone picken up a book so I'll quit asken so much here ;D

[IDbasser]

Looks good to me, but what do I know.  I am not brave enough to attempt a rod build yet.

[flechero]

I'll be following closely!    Looking good so far!

[ejtaylor822]

Looking good!  Off to a good start.  Keep the pics coming.

Eddie

[Red]

i got all the guides on one rod wrapped and lined up good, so it is ready for finish.  i think i will set it aside and wrap the other one up.  i have decided that making grips is way more fun than wrapping guides, my fat fingers dont always work very good with the little tedious stuff!!

[Red]

well i finished wrapping all the guides on both rods at about 11:30 last night.  here is a picture of one of them.

sure isnt perfect, but it will do for me.  

i thought i would list a few things i have learned from these two builds so far.

6 minute epoxy sets up in like 1 minute if you have a fan blowing on you and your work area.  this was a terrible mess.  i put the butt cap on no problems, by the time i had the epoxy applied to the reel seat area and the grip area, it was as hard as a rock and i was NOT getting the grip or seat on.  i had to wait for it to harden a bit more, then scrape it all off and restart.  some how i managed to keep any epoxy from getting in the little area that will be exposed in the seat.

when you are wrapping guides you must pay attention that your wraps that are already completed are not spinning in the v-blocks, you will be re-wrapping them if this happens.  there i was, just wrapping away on the second to last guide, and i look back, and two of my other wraps, were now unwrapped, cuz the were rolling around in the V's!

i prefer double foot guides.  they are much much easier to wrap for me than the single foot guides.  I will use them from now on, when possible, or until i get better at this whole thing.

i didnt have too many problems other than those mentioned.  my little "lathe" i made a while back worked perfectly.  turning the grips was a breeze and they came out just like i had  them pictured in my head.

thanks for looking!

Cliff

[Red]

well i just finished the finish on the 784.  it went pretty smooth, although i still dont have a very steady hand and have trouble getting a nice smooth edge.  i know, practice practice practice.  either way it will function, and honestly, thats all i want.  i will do the crankin rod tomorrow after work.  once all that is done, i have to do something in front of the reel seat.  probably will do a small wrap and just put finish on it right up to the seat.

thanks

Cliff

P.S. i will post a pic of the finished wraps tomorrow.

[ejtaylor822]

Looking good, Cliff.

I have learned those lessons myself - 5 min epoxy, wraps, etc.  The thing about watching the already wrapped guides also applies when putting on the finish.  I have messed up finishes because I wasn't paying attention to (1) where I had previously applied and (2) where I put my hand when turning the rod.  But, its all good as it teaches.

One thing I will throw out.....

I am a recent convert to U40 Rod Bond for grips and reel seats.  I use to use 5 min epoxy for this as I liked the way it cleaned up as opposed to regular epoxy or Devcon 2-ton (first approach).  

What I like about Rod Bond is that the pot life is longer, it kinda has the consistency of a paste so when you put it on the arbors for the reel seat it stays ( 8-) ) - no running, and, it is even easier to clean up (for me anyway) than 5 min epoxy.  

I am on my fourth build with Rod Bond and love it.  Since my first build, after my grips and reel seats have cured for at least 24 hours, and prior to putting the guides on, I try to pull off.  I test all grips and reel seat by holding in each hand (ie, butt grip in left hand reel seat in right) and try to twist them off - I would rather they break on me than someone who has the fish of a lifetime on the other end - and have yet to have any problems with Rod Bond.  It doesn't get "workable" as fast as 5-min, but I have worked with it (shaping grips) in about an hour after applying.

The only thing I do not like, and its minor just throwing out as an FYI, given that it is pasty the measuring of the parts is not very easy.  You can't use a syringe or pour into a graduated mixing cup.  I have asked around about more precise measuring but everyone seems to go with the "by eye" method of globs of mix.  I did learn that it will work with up to a 60-40 mix and still be workable so it does not have to be precise 50/50 mix like thread finish.

Just throwing out as an FYI as I (now) love Rod Bond!

Eddie

[Red]

thanks for the info.  i am using loctite 6 minute epoxy.  this is what was recommended to me by flechero.  i think he said he glued something up with it, and sunk it in his pool for a week to test its waterproofness, this one tested out the best apparently.  plus home depot sells it right down the road, so it is easy to get.  i am gonna finish the crankin rod tonight i think, then tomorrow i will work on the area in front of the real seat.

thanks

Cliff

[Red]

all done!!  i am very pleased with how it turned out, it was alot better than the last one, so i guess i will just keep  getting better at this.  anyway,  here is a pic of one of the finished wraps, it is fresh so if it looks heavy on one side it just needs to be turned.

this one is way better than the first rod i did with keith, and better than the one i did last night(so you can imagine how ugly they are!!)  i will post more pics when i get done with the area in front of the reel seat.

thanks for lookin

Cliff

[Red]

WOW!  man i wish my eyes could see as good as my camera!! dusty!!  and the wrap on the left didnt get packed very good!

[ejtaylor822]

Looking good.

Yes, by all means listen to Flechero.  He's been doing this a lot longer than I have.  Just wanted to share as I have had some of the same issues.

Keep it going.

Eddie

[Red]

got a wild hair tonight while working on the area in front of the seat.  so i searched around and found a "how to" on inlays.  back when i was building my first rod with keith, he sent me home with some orange and yellow thread he said he would never use to use as a pull loop.  well i used it tonight, and i am going to keep it, it came out pretty good i think.  i did a three wrap single one on the 784 and i did two three wraps ones on the crankin stick.  what do ya think?

thanks for lookin!!

Cliff

[flechero]

You're getting it! Don't worry about the finite details, they will smooth out with time and practice! The rods look good and will fish great! (They don't usually fish better even when they look perfect! ...lol )

I still owe you a trip out to use all the new rods!  We'll have to make a few trips to Stillhouse this spring!  I did get into some smallies on Belton, on Sunday.  

What's funny is as soon as I saw the dust, I thought about the camera lens and flash... and threadmaster is like a magnifying glass on thread!

When working on really little stuff, I actually use the macro lens and flash to take pics of 'it' and look at it on the computer screen. You would be amazed to see what a pinhead sized imperfection looks like at 5.1 megapixels on a 17" monitor!!

I like the 6 minute gel by Locktite... never had it set in under 3 minutes though. I have used it enough that I know when I'm mixing, how much time I'll have. I'll use the temperature differential in the house vs. garage to buy time if I need it. I've gotten between 3 and 10 minutes of good working time out of it, depending on the air and epoxy temps when I mix it. Knowing when you don't have a lot of time is valuable information!

[Red]

thanks!  i look forward to that trip!  

the rods are complete now, other than the next couple hours of turning, they are done.  i am very pleased with the turnout and cant wait to fish them.  i sure hope i get a reel or two for x-mas to put on them!!

thanks for all the help and tips too everyone.  and special thanks to keith for taking the time earlier this year to show me how to do all this!!  i am looking forward to my next build!

Cliff

[Alpster]

Looking good Cliff! Keep up the good work. I sent you something new to play with.

Ronnie