I was wondering if somebody could point me to some resources regarding good design practices for making a switch rod. I was just about to buy a Dan Craft FT1005 (to do a bit of stillwater shore casting) when the idea of doing a switch came to mind. I know very little about hardware selection (are standard reel seats such as the U-24 OK), placement (how far up the butt end should I place the reel seat), design (what's a good shape for the cork grip at the bottom and how do I attach it to the bottom of the reel seat), or performance (what is the overall effect of a switch on an FT1005 or should I buy a different blank to get an effective 5wt).
Obviously this only scratches the surface of the questions (e.g. what about guide placement and number) so if some kind soul could start me in the right direction I would very much appreciate the help.
Steve

R.B. Meiser (link on the left) is the man to talk to. Check out his sight.

James

Steven,
I've built the FT1005-4 as a switch rod. Unfortunately I had only the chance to cast it for an our before I sold it. As far I can tell you after that short time it is a fantastic rod for underhand casting. But as I like a little deeper load for me the FT1005-4 is more a 6/7 than a 5/6. I tried a short 32' Loop Custom shooting head that I usually fish on my old Sage 6100 single hander combined with an Airflo poly leader. The line was o.k. but I would like to try something little heavier for underhand casting.
Over all I think the FT is a perfect streamer rod. I just ordered another 1005 blank for myself.
A standard trout reel seat is fine. I think it's more that the reel should fit perfect to the seat. But I wouldn't choose a nickel silver seat like the U24 for saltwater fishing.
I would recommend an upper handle length of 10 to 10.5'' and lower grip around 3.5 to 3.75''.
You can find a picture of my 5wt switch rod in the photo section.
Stefan

I am by no means an expert or experienced in switch rod building. However, I built my first one recently and here's how I built it from butt to tip:

Rainshadow IF1067 blank (RX7 10'6" 7wt. 2pc.; CC's at 7.53/65)
4" cork butt grip that flares slightly toward the butt
Fuji DPS 17 reel seat mounted in downlocking orientation
12" Tennessee shaped cork front grip (allows wider range of forward hand placement)
#12 stripper guide located 28" up from middle of mounted reel
#7 single foot ceramic guides, including one as the tip top guide

This rod casts great and balances very well with an Okuma Sierra 8/9 reel, backing and a DT8-F Scientific Angler Air Cell Supreme 2 line. I plan to use it for nymphing and streamer fishing primarily for smallmouth on larger water. Rollcasts great and by using two hands, you can easily aerialize a lot of line almost effortlessly. For drifting nymphs, keeping a hand on the lower grip really reduces shoulder fatigue. I'm real happy with it, especially for my first switch rod project.

Steve

Steve,
what is a "Tennessee shaped" cork front grip? ... do you have a picture of your rod/grip system?
Stefan

Steve,
what is a "Tennessee shaped" cork front grip? ... do you have a picture of your rod/grip system?
Stefan

It's just a straight untapered grip with a slight flare at the front like a full wells fly grip. This one is 1" O.D. I have a picture on my home computer. E-mail me if you want it and I will try to send it to you in the next day or two.

for a reel seat you might consider a pac bay A8. they have a 5" fighting butt that can be used with it. i took one and stripped the cork off. there is a 5" metal shaft inside. i found some aluminum tubing that fit over that and built a 10" cork handle on that. works great on a 10' six wt that i have.

Larry,
I haven't done a fighting butt but I'm guessing that it is part of the reel seat and in essence makes the blank longer by the length of the aluminum extension. Would there be any advantage (or disadvantage) to basically sliding the reel seat and foregrip up the blank and building up a rear grip around the few inches of blank hanging out the back of the reel seat?
Steve

when i built my switch rod i used a 10' rainshadow blank. i wanted to be able to use it one hand and two hand. that is why i built it with removeable butt. i find that i tend to not remove the handle even when i want to cast one handed though. i do have the option though. i can also fit shorter fighting butts on it if i want to. i don't know that this represents any advantage or disadvantage. it ends up not really being a "switch" rod if you can't remove the butt.