Hey guys this is my first post here and also this is my first try at getting into rodbuilding.
Now even though i have never done a full rod i have fixed broken eyes and stuff. I also tie all of my own flys for fishing and i am quite good at making them. So i figured if i am gonna tie my own flys i should start making my own rods too.

Now i plan on getting in to this seriously and want to buy the good stuff the first time. Instead of paying a little here and a little there for small cheap stuff. I just want to spend the money and buy the right stuff the first time.

Now what will i all need? lol

I want to make all differnt kinds of rods fly, casting, spinning ect....

So i was looking at wrappers? what is better? Power or hand?
If a power one is better and easier for a beginner then i dont mind spending the money for it.
Also what about Dryers? Which one and Why?

For my first rod im just gona get a cheap kit. But after i get the hang of it i will buy all the stuff seperate. so right now i dont really have to worry about seats, handles, eyes, ect.... Since that will all be in the kit.

So my biggest question is about the wrappers and dryers. I also just bought a DVD from mudhole. I forget the guys first name but his last is SKI i believe. It looked ike it would be a good DVD for me.

Also if there is anything that i forgot to ask please inform me on that.

Sorry for this big question but i just want to get started right.

Thanks alot guys,

Mike

Buy the Renzetti wrapper and a Jet or other decent mini lathe and you won't have to second guess yourself later.

Just start first. You don't need a power wrapper, some use them, a lot don't. You don't need a power dryer. It's nice to have but not necessary. Some turn by hand, a lot don't. And that's "Doc" Ski, sometimes know by his real name, James Labanowski, a legend without a swelled head. There is a ton of info on wrappers and dryers here. You'd be helping yourself if you used the search feature and start reading. And I wish you well with this addiction.

Thanks for that info. So really i dont need much at all. I can just get a cheaper hand wraper and a rod kit and that should work for my first?

I ahve been lookin and i am starting to learn stuff.

also what is a jet? lathe? and what do they do?

Jet is a brand name for a lathe. It's used for turning grips and shaping wood or other materials. A power wrapper is also called a lathe at times as it can serve the same purpose as long as the demands are light. By all means start with a kit. Sponsors (on the left) can help you put something together and many have pre-packaged kits available with everything you'll need to start and finish your rod. No, you really don't need much at all, but if you check out the Photo Page, you'll see several pics of the workspaces some people have and eventually you will have to have lots of room for the "stuff" you don't really need but "have" to have!!!!

Mike, unless you are building heavy saltwater rods, don't waste your money on a power wrapper - they are usefull for making long guide underwraps, that's about it IMHO. Most wraps on fly rods, spinning, baitcasting rods, etc. simply aren't long enough to bother using a power wrapper. It's amazing how fast you can wrap by hand with just a bit of practice. Buy or build yourself a simple v-block hand wrapper - there is an article in the library here for a good, simple one. First one I made and I'm still using it. Some get fancy and add ball bearing rollers, etc.

You probably want to buy a power rod dryer however, for curing the epoxy on your guidewraps, etc. Some turn by hand, turning the rod 180 degrees every few minutes, but most I think use a power dryer.

Lathes such as the Jet Mini lathe are used for constructing your own handles and reelseat inserts - be it out of wood, cork, corian, birch bark, acrylic, antler,etc - or various combinations thereof - check out the photo gallery and look at the custom handles, many will make you drool - this is when you start to get "lathe envy" and you start to hate pre-made grips :-) Err, at least, that's what I did :-)

The best $15 or so you can possibly spend on this addiction (it's not a hobby, it's an addiction), is Tom Kirkman's Rodbuilding Guide. The best $27 you can spend is for a subscription to Rodmaker Magazine. Worth their weight in gold.

Honestly, the one thing I would NOT do is what you stated you want to do - buy it all in one shot and be done with it. Explore what you like to do with the craft, then build on that, work in that area, adding tools, supplies as you go. I mean, you can drop a bunch of money on a weaving jig, and find out you hate thread weaving - then what? You could buy a Renzetti, and discover it's a very pretty and expensive dust collector. Using myself as an example, I played with decorative thread wrapping for just a very short time, and discovered I just don't care for it - I'm very glad I didn't invest in 800 billion colors of thread, layout jigs, etc - because I would never use them! I'm finding my interest in custom handle work - so I'm investing in a lathe and wood turning tools, supplies, etc.

I would also recommend a kit for your first rod - build it, then stand back and take a look. What would you do differently on rod #2? Then, it's off to the races :-)

im starting out also ive built 3 rods so far and feel that you would be better off using the cheap homebrew equipment starting out

i say this because you dont really know what you want in the equipment until you have built a few rods and get the hang of it and start to see what would make life easier.....you dont want to spend $400 on a wrapper with this this and this and then come to found out a little while down the road you need this this and this instead and have to spend another $400

get some wood and make some V blocks and make yourself a thread spool tensioner and a static deflection tool and thats pretty much all you need to begin....the cost of that stuff to make yourself will probably come out to about $20

also neals fishing products (sponser on the left) has rod kits(blank, grips, reelseat guides) for like $25 and get you some rod bond(for glueing grips and reelseat) and some 5 minute epoxy(for glueing tip on) and some thread finish(for your thread wraps) and a spool of thread and thats all you need to get started(rodbond, 5 min epoxy glue, thread finish and thread comes out to around $35 and is plenty enough for probably like 6 or 7 rods)

so for under $100 youll have all the tools youll need and the rod and components to get started

good luck!

I am also just getting into this rod building thing & have spent the last 3 months or so doing reearch. You don't need alot to get started. I bought a Cabelas hand wrapper which works fine for now. I may get a power wrapper in the future but it is not needed at this point. For a dryer I purchased a 4.8 rpm unit off @#$%&, it's inexpensive & works fine. I hand turn for the first 45 min. to an hour & then put it in the dryer. You can't go wrong by buying Tom Kirkman's rodbuilding book (see sponsers) You wil want to get some tools such as: reamers for fitting cork, burnishing tool, razor blades etc. Watch Doc's video and you will get a better idea of what you need. I hope this sheds some light on what you're getting yourself into. I think I have spent $500 to $600 on 800 billion colours of thread, tools, adhesives etc. & the only power tool in the batch is my dryer. I'm going to have to win the lottery to support my habit!!!! LOL. Either that or I will have to stand by the highway with a sign saying "Will work for Cork"


Regards
Dave

Fishing is Life the rest is just Details




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/25/2007 04:09PM by Dave Orr.

WOW that sonds great!!! Ill have to keep looking around on this site too look at some homemade things then ill buy a kit and get started. Right now im just gonna take one of my broken rods and cut the eyes off and try to put them back on with some thicker thread we have at the house. Just to kinda get the feel for it.
Thanks alot guys. and keep the info coming.

A lot of good advice given!!! I'll just add to make use of the SEARCH feature here and select ALL DATES (there are a couple hundred thousand previous posts in the archives Definately get the Tom Kirkman book and subscription to RM. You might want to go into the MY CONTROL PANEL at the top of the message list and EDIT E-mail and enter and verify your e-mail so that people can e-mail you direct with help

Mike (Southgate, MI)
If I don't want to, I don't have to and nobody can make me (except my wife) cuz I'm RETIRED!!

Ok thanks alot. I did update the email on my profile so if anyone does want to email me direct with help please feel free.