In the old days we used to have to form the handles ourselves by gluing corks together. Now you can buy preformed handles that glue on, that saves a lot of hard work.You can buy rod kits which supply everything or buy items separately. If you go on to youtube there are plentyg of videos on there which show you everything to do. If you can tie flys you can build a rod. You will get a lot of satisfaction out of it. You can get good kits from the states.
good luck

 

Will have a look thanks Kimbo, have seen kits before and just discovered a rod building forum there now. I really want to do it for the satisfaction, I know it most likely wont be much cheaper than buying a rod. Haven't really looked into it before, but I just started googling and see there's a good bit of info.

 

whether you enjoy it or not depends on your personal attributes. the handle is easy if you use a pre-formed one and expanding glue.

some people enjoy repetitive exacting work others don't.

I bought the plant and machinery to assist - a rod wrapper (not powered) and a powered dryer. there's £150 gone.

could you wrap without a wrapper - well yes.

it took me several attempts to get the thread started (there are three different ways at least).

in the literature (I have around eight expensive titles) there is conflicting advice.

my wraps were pretty good when I finished but less than perfect after the spar varnish. I then topped up with Hobbycraft Matt.

the thought of all those guides on a salmon rod fills me with apprehension, and you can get an auction rod for well under £100.

oh I found the temporary glue to hold the guides (hot melt) was more or less useless, and discovered that a power wrapper, which I didn't get, would smash a delicate tip to bits.

best of luck

 

I bought a bateson rainshadow switch rod kit from anglers habitat. It cost me about £110 including postage. No import duty. I used it for the first time and caught a 13lb springer on it. It is a lot easier than you think but you will enjoy it.

 

I learnt from a couple of Books I got on ebay.....

Books are ( used to be ) a great way of learning things....!

 

Now we have the Internet! Lol Personally it shocks me how many people don't read any books anymore.

 

I started building rods in the 70s mainly beech casters and boat rods loads of wrappings on there. I preferred wrapping by hand rather than a powered wrapper. It can get boring. I use a synchron motor from a central heating valve to rotate the rod for the varnish/flexicoat it only costs £6 new

 

Mudhole.com and the rod building forums have loads of step by steps for you to follow. As for a wrapping stand you can just use a stout cardboard box with a couple of 'v' notches cut out of the rim to support the blank. Inside the box is a few old books for ballast and a cup to hold the thread spool. Run the tread through the pages of one of the books to provide tension when applying the wraps. Mastering the thread work and tension is something that comes with time, but can always be redone where as the epoxy finish is a **** or bust moment and MUST be practised before you attempt to do it for real! I'd recommend you do plenty of practice wraps on an old bit of rod or dowel before tackling your prised blank! That way you'll appreciate the application rate required and pot life of your chosen 2 part. Don't apply too much! Two thin coats 12 hours apart are better than trying to put it all on at once and ending up with a horrible mess! A drying motor is not strictly needed either but is a real boon - if you have time and patience you can turn the rod 180 degrees by hand but you'll need a few hours on your hands and no distractions! Last word of warning - it's addictive and your mates will want repairs and possibly full builds if you get good at it! Oh and resist the temptation to use the rod to quickly once built. Some epoxies can take a lot longer to fully cure than you'd think depending on temperature. Best of luck

 

I have been lucky enough to be taught by Stan at Alba rods.
I have built 4 rods with Stan's help, I wouldn't have know where to start without him.

Building them is not too big a deal once you have done a couple but applying the flex coat is a little more intense if you want to do a nice job of it.

 

rod bulding

building rods is addictive.
If I were you I would start with a pre made handle then when you get more confident you can roll your own.
There is so much info on the net that shows you how to do everything.
David Norwich has been great for supplying parts and advice on ring spacing etc.
guides n blanks also.

Nobby

 

Hey Guys ........ I'm Rick from across the pond as you guys say ....... and I build rods. THe first thing I want to say is that you probably won't save any money by building a rod. The cost of the blank is only the beginning. Then there is a rod wrapper, thread, handles, reelseats, guides and tiptop, rod finish, epoxy, tons of paper towels, denatured alcohol, brushes, etc etc etc.

You usually build to gain quality and performance. There's also a learning curve to understand the specs of a blank and types of guides, finishes, types of thread etc.

Not trying to crush your desire ....... just trying to give you real expectations.

The thing is (as someone said) it's addictive ........ nothing better than to catch on a stick and feather you built and tied ........ then there is the artwork that can make it stand out ..........

Do it ....... and you just might get addicted like the rest of us .........

 

Hey Guys ........ I'm Rick from across the pond as you guys say ....... and I build rods. THe first thing I want to say is that you probably won't save any money by building a rod. The cost of the blank is only the beginning. Then there is a rod wrapper, thread, handles, reelseats, guides and tiptop, rod finish, epoxy, tons of paper towels, denatured alcohol, brushes, etc etc etc.

You usually build to gain quality and performance. There's also a learning curve to understand the specs of a blank and types of guides, finishes, types of thread etc.

Not trying to crush your desire ....... just trying to give you real expectations.

The thing is (as someone said) it's addictive ........ nothing better than to catch on a stick and feather you built and tied ........ then there is the artwork that can make it stand out ..........

Do it ....... and you just might get addicted like the rest of us .........

I'll second that!

Had done some work on rods in the past but did my first full build in winter 2009, my switch rod which is still a real favourite of mine (Batson Rainshadow), since then a couple of 12' spey rods, both which have found new homes. Did a total strip of a lovely beachcaster this winter - bought the rod cheap......fantastic blank the rest was c***! Did it with real bling.....diamond wraps on the butt section and serious work on the guide wraps. End result, a rod that casts a 5 oz lead a loooong way, has real backbone for hauling cod out of very rough ground and looks fantastic!!

I was lucky, built my wrapper myself, picked up a USA turner cheap and bought a conversion transformer for a few quid!

Just wondering what this winters projects will be........

 

Rod building is a doddle the only difficult bit is putting the eyes on and getting the whipping right other than that very easy there is loads of how it's done on YouTube step by step quite good how they show you

 

So you guys like the Batson blanks .......... They are mostly what I use for my spinning rods ........ What do you like about them ........ Do they have a soft action or fast .......

I buy ALOT from Utmostenterprises ....... They are a supplier that deals mostly in Batson components ...... In fact, it's owned by 1 of the Batson brothers and is less than a mile from the factory. Carol who runs the place calls me her east coast boyfriend.

Anyway ....... The reason I ask is because I have a couple of sSpey blanks that I haven't built yet and I was wondering specifically how the compare ...... How they throw and their characteristics

 

I still have two brown Fibatube fly rods and one Fibatube spinning rod which I constructed back in the early 1970's, tucked away with many other forgotten rods in the rafters of our annexe (SWMBO keeps complaining that I should get rid of at least some, but I point out that they add nicely to the roof insulation).

All three of these rods were a labour of love.....I fondly remember the excruciating finger cramps encountered when doing the innumerable whippings (when did they become wrappings?!?). With the big bonus of no internet availability away back then, ring distances were a matter of try-and-see and the resultant curved action of the rod when playing a good fish, was "interesting" to say the least.

But once my hands got used to the undulating hand-sanded cork handles, they were passably comfortable to use for maybe an hour or so at a time without blistering. The rough varnish finish of the ring whippings also gave the whole rod a nicely home-made look and as a bonus automatically removed any excess floatant dressing from my green Kingfisher silk lines. The solid spigot ferrules were brilliant at coming loose at the wrong moment - mainly when distance casting up to 20 yards. All in all great fun, so I wish the OP well in his endeavours.