Finally,
I have started building rods for sale to the public and I find myself stressing over
every little imperfection I run across durring and after completion of a client's rod
almost to the point of compulision. I still find it very gratifying when a client picks
up their rod and is very happy and pays in full with no complaints but at times I
stress really hard until I see that smile on their face. I have re-wrapped guides &
cross-wraps that even though others could not see anything wrong or out of place!
If things were not just perfect about a part of the project I would at times start completly
from scratch!
It seems that when I used to just build and re-build rods and give them away to friends
and family while I was learning was much more fun and enjoyable. No stress!!
I charged very little or no money at all because I felt my skills were not what I wanted
them to be and the imperfections I saw, well, I just chalked them up to lack of experience.\

Now that my knowledge about construction and my skills with thread have reached a point
were I no longer concider myself a novice and can make some $ to keep this expencive
hobby from draining my wallet so quicky I guess my pickyness is creating another problem!

Now, I know that to be a good craftsman one has to pay attention to detales but am I going
to far? My son has told me in today's lingo, "that looks tight dad" why are you taking it appart?
People that have bought rods from me and would really tell me if they saw something that
should not be, were very happy and didn't see a thing were I could see little things that I din't
like. For instance, a bubble in the finnish I missed (very small one), or a thread out of place
a minor scratch somewhere on the handle etc. My Dad said " you make hand crafted rods and none will be absolutly perfect you know, you are not a machine after all."
Well enough rambling,
Has anybody else delt with these issues? Or should I just chill?

Thanks,

Raymond,

Perfection is good, just dont overdo it.
Jump in your car and drive to the nearest wal-mart or whatever store you have over there who carries "china"rods and compare your work to them.
I´m sure you will look at your rods in another way. It sounds to me it´s professional work the way it is, listen to your Dad. Ofcourse if you charge top dollars for them there cant be flaws but hand crafted rods is hand crafted rods and the performance is more important than the looks (to me anyway). Ofcourse looks AND performance is my target allways, and i havent had any complains yet. Your rods are still mutch better than any factory rod ever, belive it :-)
thanks
-Kim-

Raymond, you sound exaclty like me. I have done a few customer rods and there have been some minor imperfections and I drive myself about insane worrying about them. But when I show the rods other people they think they are flawless. My take on this are 2 things 1. I am a horrible perfectionist and 2. other people just can't see the flaws. I have pointed them out to people and they still say what are you talking about? I also wrap with an intense halogen light so that I can see better and I think that really makes some things stand out a bit more than any regular light.

I have done a few rods lately that have come close to perfection on guide wraps, butt wraps, guide placement and lineup and finish, but I have never had one come out without some little thing I was not totally happy with.

Although one can never achieve perfection that doesn't mean that you should stop trying.

The thing is this: you are a man and not a machine and while man can try to achieve perfection, he will never *quite* get there.

The tiny imperfections you are obsessing over are not so much imperfections to the rod, but rather your fingerprints. People want a custom-built rod... something made by a craftsman. If they wanted machine-level perfection, they'd go to the store and buy whatever brand rod has the best machining on it. People who buy something hand crafted EXPECT the small imperfections... the small statements that, hey, this wasn't assembled by some soul-less machine.

I made a walnut and cherry blanket chest for my wife. There is a largish knot in the top of it. People asked me how I was going to deal with the knot. I told them, "I'm leaving it there. It's the soul of the piece. If I wanted blank perfection, I'd go buy a prefab laminate thing at K-Mart." Looks just amazing, and better and better with age.

And of course you should make the rod as nice as possible. No globs. No glaring errors. But the final inspection should be done outdoors on a sunny day, holding it a foot or two from your face. If you look at anything... even those persian rugs where they introduce a flaw on purpose because only God is perfect... under intense light and a magnifier you're going to see plenty wrong.

So my advice is to take that step back and enjoy the full beauty of the rod. If you need to mollify your concience or have an "out" if they were to see an imperfection, then tell your buyers to bring the rod back if they spot anything that bothers them and you'll see what you can do to correct it. It sounds like you do masterful work, so don't hang around the phone waiting for that call, though!

It's a hard thing to do. Letting things go. Letting things be complete. I understand that, and deal with these issues myself. Best of luck to you!

Raymond, I've not yet built a rod that I'm completely satisfied with. I doubt I ever will. But, I keep trying. The best I can do gets a little bit better, I think, but Perfection is unreachable. Ralph

If at first you don't succeed, go fishing, then try, try again.

The Japanese consider the "flaws" or minor imperfections in one's work as the humanity in the object. I, too, have never been 100% satisified with anything I've built, but it's worth the effort..

Interesting dilemna when obsessive behavior and perfectionism creep into your hobbies. If you are in business and charging premium prices then a quest for perfection will serve you well. Most of us can take our time on a rod and even without great skill and craftsmanship can produce a better looking and better performing product than even the high end factory rods. It's not hard to do when you don't have a deadline or production goal in mind. On the other hand, I like to remember why I got into rodbuilding and what I like to get out of my hobbies. Namely, to find a relaxing and constructive use of my free time that provides me with more toys than I'll ever need. To the extent that I turn it into a job-like quest for perfection, I could easily suck all the enjoyment and relaxation out of it. Don't want to do that.

Just know that you are in fine obsessive-compulsive company here and keep it fun. If you do this for several decades you may end up near perfect anyway. That's the long veiw I like to take. I'm getting better all the time and I'm only 40, what's the rush.

Raymond. Some inperfections you can live with and some you cant, but try no to get soo obsessed that rodbuilding stops being enjoyable to you. I think all craftsmen and artists strive for perfection but I guarantee it is not an obtainable goal. Ellis is right, it is ok to keep reaching for it. I have found that I get closer to reaching it when I am having fun doing it and relaxed. Sometime stopping and walking away from it for a while of a day helps.

Being Obsessive is not always a joke. People can get ill from it, so try to keep it in check.

Please remember the flaws you perceive in your work is because you are right there seeing every turn or the rod. Quite frankly even experienced rod builders dont see a lot of what the builder might consider flaws.

Just keep doing your best and feed off the happiness your are creating and sharing with other people. Mentally take a picture of each persons eyes and smiles when you hand them THEIR ROD and feed off that. Now there is something to obsess over.

Good Luck and keep enjoying this wonderful craft.
Doc Ski

ps Feel free to email me anytime and just yak



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/29/2005 11:55AM by James(Doc) Labanowski.

Ray, I'd like to chime in because you can be perfect in your work on a rod. But first I'd like to say something about the materials you are using. They are not perfect. The rod blank straightness and it's finish is not perfect. The thread is frayed, not twisted or overtwisted and never dye matched lot to lot - not perfect. Look at the guides, the finish, the feet, the plating the pressed in ceramic ring - not perfect. Cork quality - phew! Reel seat - most are very good especially the machined ones, but even those are not perfect if you look close. But your work can be perfect. You can glue up without leakage. You can wrap without errors, and finish without bubbles and stray laydown. You can have the guides laser straight and you can sign an inscription that is beautifully clear and readable- all these perfect if you inspect them and remove the errors because you built in quality before you completed the rod. You can still have fun by increasing your skill and improving your inspection so that your work is perfect. Find ways of gaining satisfaction from your obsession with perfection. That way, when you sell or gift a rod you know it is the best perfect work you did and any imperfection is not a cause of your work.
Regards,
Kenneth Prager

I love seeing someone's PERFECT rod, and finding flaws, imperfections, mistakes, and etc's. Guess what - nobody really cares unless you post a picture on the internet. I used to worry about things the way you do - now, I do the best I can and am happy with it - I find I make less mistakes, take less time, and get a better result when I don't worry about everything. Guess what - in either case (me stressing or not) - NOBODY else notices anything unless glaring, unless they are afraid to tell you you stink & are blowing smoke up your chimney.

i've seen rods where people pay $600+ for $200 worth of components, and they tell everyone what a great rod it is, blah blah blah - then I look at it myself and am SHOCKED - poor Q cork, epoxy filling almost the entire between teh legs area on a guide, non-shaped grips, epoxy creeping up to teh guide ring, non-straight guides, overly heavy guides, etc, etc. Notice no mention of art - just basic Rodbuilding 101, yet people line up to pay more and more because tehy don't even pay much attention.

"Raymond, I've not yet built a rod that I'm completely satisfied with. I doubt I ever will. But, I keep trying. The best I can do gets a little bit better, I think, but Perfection is unreachable. Ralph"

I agree completely Ralph.

I just finished a beautiful rod for a customer and to me I'm not 100% happy with it......like someone mentioned, I don't believe I ever WILL be 100% happy with ANY rod I build. Building them allows YOU to know EVERY single little detail and flaw that otherws will never see/find.

My wife said it best: "its the imperfections that make things unique, you'll never have a perfect rod...and those imperfections are what make them personal and hand-made"

DR

Thank you all for the advice and encouragement !
I was pleasently surprised to see the replies to my rather lengthly post.
This board is an awesome source of information, encouragement, and
frank conversation!
I hope I can do the same.

Signed,
Perfectionist (or not so! )LOL
Raymond

I once had a supervisor tell me ( guess I was a little slow) " perfection is not necessary, excellence will do". That has worked for me.

Sway

Just stumbled across this quote, and it made me think of this most excellent thread.


The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.

William James (1842 - 1910)