rod building

[pitto]

hi there guy just want to talk to guy that are in the rod building just to see some of there work and if you want ill show some of my rods that i have made and just one more thing i want to buy the rod blanks that are on this web site syder glass any onr know what the go is there how do i buy one for myself because i some one told me syder glass is the rod for fishing the beach any thoughts on rod building and why this web sit dont have anythink for the boy that are making ther own rods and tackle

[DR]

have a look at rodbuilding .org for building info.

you can buy your blanks through most tackle shops.

as you are making the rods for yourself, not as a commercial venture,manufacturers will not sell to you direct because you are not a tackle shop, they are a protected species in this country when it comes to rodbuilding..

truth is if you want to build the good stuff it is a hell of a lot cheaper to import from USA. if you can afford it get a couple of blanks at a time. example, last time i priced a loomis(can't remember the model) here it was AUD$290 a months wait. same blank from mudhole,AUD $195,inc. shipping to my front door in 5 working days. ended up getting a St.Croix AUD$145 to my door..

these are tackle shop prices, suppliers get them cheaper again.

[GutterGuide]

Snyder rods make great beach outfits, but their availability isn't the best with all models (as you can only get them from tackle shops). I'm just getting into rod building myself, most articles out there are not the most informative, although there are a few books going around that provide worthwhile info to anyone thinking or currently building their own rods.

[pitto]

thanks mate for the info on the rod building im so in to building rod and that ill go as far as starting my own fishing tackle shop just to get my tackle and rod building gear that cheaper and ill sell what ever i had to so can keep the cost and over heads down i think ill ask how do i go about starting a tackle shop what things do i have to have so i can buy the syder glass rods or kilwell and dont have to pick up the cost of keeping the tackle shop open

[GutterGuide]

If your really into rod building and think you can bind a rod worthy of buying then a compromise may be the think. Find a local tackle shop that has all the contacts, offer your rod building services etc in return for a better deal or even at cost for of all of your materials. consider a few different approaches before locking yourself in. Starting up a fishing shop sounds like every fishermans dream, but the reality is that you work when others fish, it all revolves around money.
Good luck, and let me know how you go, or if you need any more advice...

[GutterGuide]

If your really into rod building and think you can bind a rod worthy of buying then a compromise may be the think. Find a local tackle shop that has all the contacts, offer your rod building services etc in return for a better deal or even at cost for of all of your materials. consider a few different approaches before locking yourself in. Starting up a fishing shop sounds like every fishermans dream, but the reality is that you work when others fish, it all revolves around money.
Good luck, and let me know how you go, or if you need any more advice...

[Jethro]

G'day Pitto

GG has a great idea there. Most tackle shops have 1 or 2 regular rod builders but it doesn't hurt to ask.

Buying gear form the States works out a hell of a lot cheaper if you can afford to buy enough for a few rods at a time.

I would be very interested in seeing some of your work. The following is a couple of photos of a 7wt fly rod I finished a while ago. This is only the 4th or 5th rod I have ever built so its not perfect.

Might be a bit flashy for some but I thought I would try some thing different.....

Here is the grip

[Jethro]

I used Tic framed Blue Zirconium guides for the stripper...

[Jethro]

All the running guides are single foot fly guides.........

[Jethro]

Last one......

Hope I haven't bored anyone but I am quite happy as to how it turned out

[mattooty]

I just built my first rod and if you are going to get them from a tackle store, look around. I was about to buy a blank for $85 but when i went into another shop to get materials i saw the same blank for $60. Go figure that one out. The cheaper one was actually better quality as it was just bought in by the sales rep.
Materials dont cost much as, apart from the guides and grips, are all reusuable. Such as-glues and such, binding thread. They only cost a few bux and last a while.
I have only done 3 rods and the same glues etc etc have lasted me all three and i still have enough left for a few more.
Well, thats my contribution, wether or not it helps is another matter all together.
Matt

[SURF_SNIPER]

matt, check blanks aren't seconds. alot find themselves into tackle stores

[Pual]

HI, I once had visions of rod building full time.
Really enjoyed making a product I was proud to use and proud to supply to my mates. Made some good sticks to. The majority of which are still useable and the epoxy and binding has stayed in pretty good shape. I need to add that this was about 10 years ago I had this dream.
Unfortunately thats all it turned out to be, as the rewards, besides knowing I had made a good product the way I wanted it to made, were very small.
To make a buck from rod making is a difficult thing, as buying materials can defeat the cost of the makeup. e.g. general cost $85 for parts, about 10 hours labour to build, sell for $125 (don't like to charge to much as selling to a friend and I am not a professional builder - not that the finished product wasn't well done) this equates to about $4 an hour for labor. Talk about doing it for love and own personal enjoyment.
I think you can see that its not all its cracked up to be. Mind you I still fix my own rods and make the occasional outfit for myself. The knowledge I gained from my ealier efforts certainly help me in descriminating a good rod from a bad one. So all my efforts were not in vain.
True just cause it didn't work for me does not mean it won't work for you. It would be more feasible if you can get the components cheaper, say from America or on contract from a local outlet, and buy in bulk.
Anyway this is how things turned out for me.
Good luck if you decide to persue this avenue, as recently I have been looking for a certain rod and am finding that there are very few in this category that are the right orice and are suitable. So I think there is an opening in the market at present.
Cheers Pual

[agnes_jack]

In all reality
The only reasons one would custom build, would be to produce a rod for the pleasure of doing so, or because you can't get a rod to suit the purpose you have in mind.
For any other reason, you can buy a rod off the rack way,way cheaper than you build one. The way they are pumping out the rods from overseas, you can not beat them. The main thing is to check that your off the rack rod has been put together properly. Check the position of the spine, guide and reel seat alignment, all guide rings for chips, and look for scratches and dings in the blank.
I find in some cases that I can't even repair a cheap rod for less than I can sell one, once more than 1 or 2 guides are involved.

It's all a hobby, personal choice thing. Do it for pleasure, it will not work for profit.

Regards, Tony

[SURF_SNIPER]

Agree, very very hard to make a living out of it. started a small rod bussines about 5 years ago because we couldn't find rods to suit our needs, now we build rods for friends and by word of mouth and do it for the love of it and make VERY VERY little money.

We build them still because we enjoy creating something that works and that people enjoy and take pride in. its good to hear people speaking about them... like " Ohh, yeah i caught that on that rod that so and so made for me... it's great " Kind of makes you all warm and fuzzy inside

I find though people who take their fishing very seriously will out lay the money for a decent custom rod.

A WELL MADE CUSTOM ROD IS AND WILL BE BETTER THAN ANY MASS PRODUCED ROD. the problem is the likes of ######### and the rest where you can buy rods with reels for 50 bucks.

genraly you will find that a custom rod has ... far superior bindings which are correctly laid ( Under and over bound ), sealed and will hold there colour for years to come.

Resins are far superior

Guides are far superior

reel seats are far superior

construction is far superior

glues and resins used and methods of appling them far superior

not to mention the love and effort that has gone into making it a superior product that will out live any mass produced rod.

it is a pitty more people can't see the value in a quality custom rod.