I seem to have had a lot of problems with the making of my first rod. I used a Pac Bay bland 9' for 3 wt 2 piece fly rod
.
Problem one. I had just completed the final wrappings of 2 footed snake guide, the 1st guide from the tip at 4.5 inches and the blank just snapped. I had all the other guides completed and had already finished the butt section and had sealed all of those. Can this be salvaged in any way?

Problem 2. When sealing the guides, I noted that some of the thread seemed to darken color when other threads held the metallic green that I was using. The thread is gudebrod A size. Should I have used a CP first? I had read that color preservers were not necessary with the gudebrod. Thanks for this site as I am now hooked and already plan on 3 more rods. 2 for my daughters whose birthdays are in April and one for my Wife for Mothers day. I have the best of all worlds. My daughters ages 11 and 13 as well as my wife really enjoy fly fishing with me.

without CP all thread will darken...even metallic threads. Its just not as noticeable on Mettalic threads.

I think your blank probably broke from too much tension on the thread. I have never had this happen, but I have heard the horror stories before

I broke one of my first fly rod blanks while wrapping it at the tip. When I was starting out I was all thumbs and just had too much pressure trying to get everything to hold and wrap correctly. I think I must have bent the very end of the tip section too much and it just popped right in my fingers.

I think I would send the rod back to the manufacturer and buy a replacment tip. I'd be willing to bet that if you explain what happened they will replace it for a very modest fee. And don't feel bad as we all make mistakes on the first few rods. Each one gets easier and better. You'll have to rewrap and refinish it but it's just that much more practice that you'll get.

It was explained to me that you need a light touch when working on these tips sections and I have found that after awhile you will relax your grip and release some of the pressure and the whole thing just goes more smoothly. But you have to crawl before you can walk!

I made a spinning rod from a flyrod blank and violated a cardinal rule; not to exceed 5 inches with the first tip guide. I did and I paid for it. On the very first fish, it broke off at 4.0 inches as cleanly as if I had measured and cut it it. I made another, this time with the first tip guide at a reasonable distance; 4 1/2 inches, and I haven't had any problems with it. My Dad told me many moons ago to never exceed 5 inches for that first tip guide unless it was for a surf rod blank. C2

Mark I agree with William, and I dont think I can add any more,
other than welcome to the world of rodbuilding, its a passion that gets
into your blood and it does happen even to the best. Glad to see you
have found this site, it will help you gain allot of knowledge quick.

Gordon Glover

Mark, Iknow what you are going thru. I,m in the same boat. My problems are in the ability to get a good finish. But, isn't it fun. good luck. joe

Thread tension was probably the culprit in your breakage - tension effectively increases as the blank gets smaller in diameter so you need to back off a little as you get toward the tip. I don't know how you were wrapping the rod - whether holding in your hand or in a rod wrapper - but at the tip you need to support the tip with one hand while turning the rod with the other, keeping the rod from flexing. I've never broken a rod while wrapping it but can visualize how it could easily happen when wrapping an unsupported tip. Typically, light fly rods are the only ones in danger.
Your knowledge will grow exponentially with your next couple of rods. On the surface, rod building looks like a simple process, but there are so many interesting aspects to the endeavor of building the "perfect" rod that you can easily get become obsessive about it (like me).