New To Rod Building

[jstrozier]

I really just want to keep things simple. I love my Cumara's..they are simple but very effective.

How difficult would it be to make a rod like this? Not to worried about spiral wrapping and all of that. Simple rod with good components. Also want split grips and the foam. Any suggestions on were to start and how difficult this really would be? TO me something so basic seems simple but am I wrong? I can worry about gettting flashy later down the road.

[BobP]

IMO it's fairly easy to do without an expensive rod lathe. I didn't want to "get into rod building" but wanted to build a few rods, and built 15-20 over the last decade. You need a couple of V Blocks on which to manually rotate the rod while wrapping the guides. I do think a home-brew motorized stand to rotate the rod while the epoxy cures is almost a necessity. I made one out of a 10 rpm motor, a piece of PVC pipe with end cap, and 3 thumb screws tapped into the PVC. Wrapping guides is straightforward once you see how it's done. And assembling handles is easy once you shape the parts to fit. I used a carriage bolt and washers to build grips out of cork rings; shaped them by clamping the bolt in an electric drill held in a bench vise. Foam grips should be easier. Look at pre-made foregrips to use as the grip on a split grip rod. I recommend U-40 Rod Bond epoxy paste for assembling the handle. It has a long work time, doesn't drip out, and is very strong.

In my experience, you only save money building on blanks in the $100+ category. For rods built on less expensive blanks, the factory probably sells it cheaper than you can build it. So on the $200 Cumaras, you're in the right price neighborhood but if you want a rod with an action just like a Cumara, you'll have to find a Cumara blank (does Shimano sell them? I suspect not). Otherwise, you need to do research to see if you can find a blank with similar attributes. If you buy a high quality blank of another brand, you should be able to build a rod that exceeds the Cumara's blank quality for $200. Take a look at the Rodbuilding site for more info/answers - http://rodbuilding.org/list.php?2

[Mattman]

It takes very little to actually build a fishable rod. A scissors, a thread tool, and a rat tail file is about all you really need. Put your thread in a shot glass and run it thru a book for tension. Take a cardboard box and cut V-notches in it for a stand. That's about all it takes.

If you have the opportunity to take a class and build a rod, do so. Lots of "extras" can be had there and you don't have to buy 10 rods worth of thread or finish to do just one rod. And you'll learn a ton.

For your first rod I recommend starting cheap. There is a big learning curve in that first rod. Save your nicer build for down the road. Even if its the 2nd rod. I can guarantee that there will be at least a couple things you wish you would have done differently on your 1st build.

Tom Kirkman's book is a must have. His magazine is excellent, but probably a step above a beginning builder.

Dale Clemens book Advanced Custom Rod Building is a good resource, although quite dated now.

rodbuilding.org is a good site.

I researched and studied for a year before I did anything. I knew I wanted to build and that I would enjoy it. I built a 10' long work bench, a drying box and a wrapping stand. A few miscellaneous items as well. Already owned a Dremel and a machinists chest full of small tools from my Model Building career. So I sunk $300 or more into my initial set up and had a fair amount of stuff anyway.

Now...several years later...Delta full sized lathe, shop vac, Delta belt/disk sander, Delta drill press, abrasive cut off saw, a few custom built tools, power head for wrapper, wood turning tools, spray equipment, cordless drill, gasket punches, forstner bit set...