I wanna try it

[livin4ice]

RG and others,

I have been wanting to try this for a couple of years now.  I remember the feeling of catching my first fish on a fly that I tied and I imagine it is the same when using a rod you built. I did make an ice rod but used thread, etc. that came from my fly tying supplies.  The outcome was just OK but did the job.

Here's my questions:

Is the Cabela's kit what I should try first? Do they supply a quality blank and guides? No matter what my wraps look like I still want a rod I can use. I would be willing to spend a LITTLE more if that is what it takes.

I saw your thread tensioner, looks great.  What did you make the base out of? Would a plywood base work?

As far as a motor to turn the rod, what should I use or how do I make it.  Flynuts2004 has a friend that made one from a grill roticerie (SP?).  Will that work or should I go another direction?

Can I use the thread I use for my fly's?

Anyway, this is the first list of many I am sure.  Any help would be appreciated.

Mike

 

[rgfixit]

Livin4ice,
I don't use a power wrapper...I wrap by hand. I suppose If I was to do more rods , a motorized setup would be the way to go. Hand wrapping is easy and there's no reason for it not to come out just fine.

The Cabelas rod kits are great starters. Everything you need but an alcohol lamp, tensioner and a couple of other tools. Good blanks as well.

My tensioner is an illustration of just how simple it can be. I happened to have a piece of polyethylene kicking around. Plywood will work fine. You don't really need a base if you can clamp the tensioner securely to a table . You do need something to rest the blank on as you switch operations or begin to whip finnish the wraps.

Rod building thread is heavier and stronger than most flytying thread, I like Guidebrod "A".

I'm going to do a few helpful tip posts with photos as I can get them done. ( at least I hope they help)

What rod are you thinking about building?
RG

[livin4ice]

I would like to build a 1 weight fly rod.  I mentioned the motor because I thought you had to have the rod turning when you brushed the clear coat over the wraps.  I have browsed the rod building section at Cabelas but never felt confident enough to try it.  I will definately watch for your tips when you post them.  I wouldn't mind starting it soon so I can have it ready to go when it warms up.

[rgfixit]

Have you found a 1 weight kit?

Sorry I misunderstood. Yes I use a rod drying motor. Mine is a 3 rpm and I have it mounted in a temperature controlled dust free box.

I built a rod a number of years ago and applied the cement in the open of my basement. The motor worked fine and I thought I was all set. The next morning when I looked at the rod, a mosquito had become trapped in the epoxy and ruined a wrap.

My drying box is 8'x8"x8" with 3 sides/ends of 1/2" birch  plywood and a clear plexiglas 2 piece top. Inside I have the drying motor, 2- 50 watt bulbs and a thermostat. I can keep the box at a perfect 72 degrees.

I have 3 moveable supports that keep the rod suspended in the box as it rotates and dries evenly.

The rotation as you apply the epoxy allows you to evenly coat the wraps and with a straw you can remove any bubbles in the coating by gently blowing on the wet surface. The result is a crystal clear even coating. Nice

RG

[Coldfeet]

Livin4ice
If you are serious about wrapping your own rods try this first. Get a book on rod wrapping and read it get one with pictures to help with the explanations. I built my own wrapping guid to hold the rod out of wood and glued felt to to points where the rod makes contact so nothing gets scratched. Look at the wrapping tools that are in a Cabelas book for ideas on how to build it. You will want to practice first on something before trying to do a rod and if you do not have a old rod to do this on use a peice of wooden doll or anthing round. Try to use something the same dia. as the rod itself. Do this over and over till you get the hang of it. Then when you get to the rod itself you will have a good understanding of what has to be done to get quality results to be proud of. I also made my drying motor out of a old rotesory motor off a gas grill it works just fine and the end results are the same as a factory wrap. Some people call me cheap but I am frugal. I built most of wrapping equipment and it makes it even more fun to see it all work. You asked about useing your fly tieing thread, well it would work but don't use anything smaller that AA. for wrapping you will not get enough tension on the wraps and the eyes will eventuallyl start to move. Try to get regular wrapping thread it will help you get better results. Also netcraft sells a lot of the parts if you want to make your own wrapping jig

ColdFeet

[livin4ice]

RG,  I haven't found a 1 weight kit yet.  It looks like I need to go to Cabelas and look.  I couldn't find anyhting in their online store.  What do you think of the deals to be had on Ebay.  I have seen a lot of blanks adviertised there.  I was thinking that might be a way to go for my first rod. 

Coldfeet,  I think I will go ahead and get the correct thread.  I will only have to get the colors I need so that won't be bad.  Are the metalic looking threads harder to wrap.  I realy want to make a rod with some cool colors on it too.  This is probably a mistake since bold colors will draw attention to my wraps.  I liked your idea about the felt where the rod sits.  I found an old roticere motor in my fathers barn today so I will be putting it to use.

For both of you...  How do you attach the rod ends so that they are secure in the drying box and will still turn.  Also, do you put the clearcoat on the rod while it is in the box or do you have a seperate area for that.  It seems to me that the best way would be to do it in the box so you don't have to move it.

Anyway, thanks for all the advice......I'm sure I'll need more

Mike

[Coldfeet]

What I did to hold the rod while drying was get a piece of square stock to fit the motor epoxy it in place I drill and tap the exposed end. Then I got some diffrent size rubber ends Like what is on crutches. make sure they fit the handle fairly tight then screwed it to the shaft put the rod hanle in and you are set to start drying.  As far as when you want to put the wrap coating on. If you build the drying box hinge the top or 1 side so you can get to the rod apply the coating while the rod is turning this way you do not have to handle the rod and maybe mess up the finish. Take your time doing this maybe only doing one eye at a time so the end result comes out perfect. Useing all metalic thread might create a problem. I do not believe it has the same strengh as the regular nylon wrapping thread it was created more for accsenting the regular thread. I might be wrong on this though. Get a catalog from www.jannsnetcraft.com they have a lot of the components for rod building. Or call them at 1-800-346-6590 They have a new web site online but I didn't see a spot to order a catalog.
ColdFeet

[rgfixit]

Livin4ice,
This is your first rod, Right...I'll go back to my suggestion that you start with an inexpensive ultra light spinning rod kit. It's a great way to get your feet wet and get a sense of what rod building takes. The best part is you'll end up with a nice UL rod to use.

The flyrod you'd like will be an expensive blank...no less than $100 and up to $300. The componants to complete the rod will be another $75 to $150 or so. There's a lot of technique you should learn before investing that kind of money in a rod. Take your time and you'll have a craft under your belt to last your life.

Go to www.jannsnetcraft.com
They have kits as low as $27.99 to experiment with. I wouldn't buy anything off EBAY til you know what you're getting.

RG

I'm working up an instructional series which I'll post in a topic on this thread.

[livin4ice]

Thanks RG...I'm glad you let me know about the price issue.  You are definately correct, I don't want to spend that kind of money on what is basically an experiment.  I want to be realistic about this and your info will help me get a clear picture of what I want and what to expect.

Coldfeet, Thanks for the info on the motor and drying box.  I definately need to get started on that.  Do you think I need to have a heat source in the box?  I have two fan motors from a computer and had an idea.  What if I was to mount one at each end of the drying box, one pulling air in and another pushing air out.  I would of course put a filter of some kind on both ends to keep out dust.  Just wondering if that is even worth trying.

Thanks again guys.

[Dark Cloud]

Livin4ice - Get yourself one of those Calvin rod wrappers in Cabelas for about 9 bucks. You can rig just about anything to hold the rod while wrapping rods. A cardboard box with notches in the end will work. I have build many very nice rods and still use a calvin wrapper and a rod support I built out of a 4 ft piece of 4x4 with eye screws spaced along it for support. I screwed the eyes in and bent them out like a U cshape to hold the rod. Put some fealt tape on there to protect the rod.
I have built rods out of many differnt blanks and trust me Cabelas are as good as any out there( there is only about 3 diff blank manufactures out there that make all the blanks for all the companys). Their IM7 blanks for around 25 bucks are great. With good components the finished average spinning rod will be under 60 bucks and will rival any rod costing 4 times that. I made three 9ft fly rods for salmon fishing last fall that worked out perfect. Those IM7 fly blanks run about 40 bucks. They also have a rod dryer in there for about 22 bucks that has served me well for many years.
Pick up some kind of how to book or/and ask lots of questions. The books by Clemens are great. I taught myself from a a kit and a little how to book. now im advanced into many dicorative wraps, its addicting....
Some people in here have alot of rod building experience and we should be able to help...

[Dark Cloud]

RG - I had a fruit fly get on a wrap as it was cureing last year. Hes still in there and kinda looks like he belongs.

Livin4Ice - I wouldnt bother with the fans personally. The rod will cure just fine. Even with filters id worry about the fan sucking something bad into there...
Cabelas and Netcraft have all you'll need and mudhole.com has lots of good info also

[livin4ice]

Darkcloud,
I checked out the mudhole site.  Wow, it is a great site.  I read the entire rod building instructional section.  I learned a ton.  I feel a lot more comfortable now. THANKS!!!