I'm wondering about the cost/benefit proposition for building 1 rod - i.e. how much will I save by doing the work myself?

I'm considering building a rod as a strategy for saving $$ on a Sage/Loomis-quality rod. I'm pretty handy with my hands, tools, etc, so I'm pretty sure I can pull it off.

I'm just wondering if it's worth the hassle. I'd probably only do 1 or 2 rods, so there wouldn't necessarily be economies of scale.

Let me know your thoughts. Thanks all!!

Geoff

i bet you can't just build 2 rods. your buddies will want one, you'll find something that just isn't exactly perfect, and the next thing you know you'll have a basement full!

seriously tho, if you can't buy wholesale, i'm not sure how much you'll save if any. if you put a price on your time, you'll definately be better off just buying one. but if you want to have one that's exactly what you want, and you know it's put together right, you can't beat building your own.

Matt is telling you the straight story - I swear it is worse than trying to eat a single potato chip. One of the worst possible addictions. Even if only planning on building one or two rods you might want to start with something a little less expensive than Sage or Loomis. While building a rod is not difficult, there is a learning curve and better to practice on a blank that is a little less expensive. You might also discover that while Sage/Loomis have the big name recognition there are other very good blanks from other manufacturers that also make into excellent fishing rods.

i agree with both frank & matt ,I doubt that you will save any money by building your own . I would also start out with something a little less pricy. But having said that ,the thrill of catching a fish on something you built yourself cant be beat or priced. Once you do that it will be highly unlikely that you will stop at 1 or 2 rods ,this is were you can get yourself into trouble because it will turn into a life long addiction.

I've found that if you familiarize yourself with the components and you compare "like" components to store bought rods (apples to apples), you can build them cheaper. If you are good with your hands and do a careful job, you will have a better built rod for less money.
But like the other guys said, you "wont" stop at 2 rods because you will always feel you can make the next one better.

Ray Alston

Oh I forgot,
What you save will depend on how much you want to spend on tooling and equipment. If you search the info on this board and some of the vendors sites, you can find out how to build rods with very little investment in equipment. But be forewarned.....Once you get hooked, you'll buy the equipment and tools anyway.

Ray

Here's a philosophy which has worked for me: Life is short. Buy toys. Play with toys. If there is no money to buy toys, find some, even if it involves work.
Clyde Dent

Sooner or later the topic comes up with the idea of 'saving' by building your own rods. I guess it's in the eyes of the beholder and what your interests lie. For purely saving money, whether by wholesale, retail or whatever I believe it comes down whether you desire to build a rod or not. Just as you may desire to participate in the sport of golf or any other hobby. You can get into it as deep or as superficial as you want. You could take up building your own golf clubs, tennis rackets, or other types of crafting to a particular activity.
Do you want to go that far? Would you just prefer to buy a custom built model of the club, racket, or rod?
It would be difficult to envision that one would make huge savings by building their own golf clubs or rackets, why would thinking about building a custom rod be so much different? You can make a decent functioning rod still for as reasonable or as high end as you like.

Rich
Solyrich Custom Rods.

Geoff,

I'm with the other guys, it wont stop at just 1 or 2 rods. Thats what I said, "Just build a few for the boat" Now I have a BIZ!!!

Tom W.
www.customrodbuilders.com

The down side is your first rod, after buying the most basic equipment, blank, thread, epoxy, drying motor, etc, etc, will cost you about five times what you could buy it for or have one made. After that your next dozen or so will cost you much less. And like the others say, there WILL BE the next dozen. Eventually you can save money but surely will own many rods unless you decide to sell them.

The best solution to "just one rod" is to find a shop or some sort of place that gives rod building classes. They already have the equipment and supplies. Build one or two then buy the stuff they recommend for a home shop.

Do not build a rod to save money. Simply put, you can buy almost any rod used for less than you can buy the components to build it.

You can advertise and probably find a beginning or adictted builder who will build you a rod for the cost of the components or not much more.

If you want to build rods, do it.

But if you only do 2 and you use name brand blanks and want the sock and tube, get on the classifed and @#$%& sites and just buy the rod.


I saved money on my rods. I needed 2, I built 12 and gave 10 of them away or keep them in the corner. They will not bring the price of the components if I sell them. Quick, how much did I save?

You can build your first rod with hardly any investment. Just some thread, epoxy finish, a reamer, rodbuilders epoxy, some masking tape, the components and the blank. If you are careful you can build a fine rod with no special tools at all. Flex Coat has a good introductory book on rodbuilding that you will find helpful, along with this website. The thread can be place in a coffee cup and run through a large book for tension and the taped guides wrapped on by turning the rod in your hands. I built my first 10 or 15 rods that way & really learned a lot. I now own just about every rodbuilding tool you could imagine but this is an endeavor where you can start out small & cheap.
I would suggest starting out with less expensive blanks than Sage or Loomis. There are many fine blanks out there that will give very high performance. Pac Bay and Rainshadow come to mind - good companies with good warranties & affordable prices. Call Bob at Custom Tackle Supply (an advertiser) & he can fix you up. You WILL save money and enjoy the craft - - its almost as good as fishing itself, especially on a cold winter's night.

Geoff,

I got VERY lucky when I got into rodbuilding, and got some G. Loomis GL3 blanks for something like $26 each. With all components, the rods cost me about $67. That same rod in the catalogs is $189-$208. I got lucky!

But I have not seen such a deal again. I'm sure it will happen someday, but you might be holding your breath for a long time!

Also, all of my friends wanted the same rod, so I got stuck building about 10 of them. The first five were fun, but....

At least I honed my skills!

Get the best advice you can before building. Buy Tom Kirkman's book, and read it carefully. Good luck!

TH

PS- if you are handy, you can make your own roller stand out of "Shower dpor" rollers for about $6. Not pretty, but they work well.