Hello everyone. I am preparing to begin building my first rod and the info i have learned from this site, the 07 expo, the Rod Building Guide by Tom, and watching dvd's of Doc Ski, Ken Preston, Flexcoat, and Steve Petri will help from start to finish. A few suggestion and advice before i start would be greatly appreciated. This is my plan as follows. This rod will be a UL for my 7 year old grandson. I have decided on 5.6ft , cork rear grip, fuji economy or deluxe reel seat, no fore grip, fuji aluminum oxide spinning guides(6+1+tip). I thought i would try flexcoat finish & epoxy, U-40 for the reel seat, and flexcoat CP. I think i will go with Mud Hole OEM IS561L blank. Thread undecided. I have a manual wrapper and drying motor w/support i picked up at the show. I would appreciate any advice and your thoughts if i am starting in the right direction for my first rod, especilly on my guide selection. Keep in mind this is for a 7yr old. Thank you in advance. If anyone ask a question, i will be leaving for work in a few moments, so i will answer later tonight. 3 more years hopefully and i can stay home and build custom rods.

Roger
Greensboro, NC



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/20/2007 03:03PM by Roger Rierson.

Sounds like you are ready, make sure when reaming your cork that the hole stays centered and remains circular, GOOD LUCK!!

Thanks Scott. What thread do you like and high build or lite for finish?

One thing that may help. Check the Directory at the top of this board and see if there is a builder listed within a couple of hours drive. Make a phone call and describe that you sure would like to visit for a few hours and watch him work. Your learning curve will advance much quicker and you will most probably make a friend for life.

Gon Fishn

I like the lite build in FC but have been using Threadmaster and am looking forward to the release of their lite build (which has been anticipated now for months, COME ON ANDY!!!). As far as thread I use Gudebrod because until recently because Mudhole didn't carry Madeira. HOWEVER, as a beginner you may not want to try Madeira to start. the thicker threads are sometimes easier to deal with for someone first starting out.

I started out with FC lite build which I did have good success with. Karen at Bingham suggested the TM on my last order (she was out of FC) and I have been very pleased with it so far, even though it is not a lite build. I have been heating the resin in the microwave to help thin it a bit though. The few bubbles I get are easily removed by heating with a lighter. The stuff is clear as glass! For a beginner I would suggest a lite build since it seems to be a bit more foregiving. For an UL rod, I would put on just enough lite build to coat the threads, then trim any fuzzies after it dries and apply one more coat. Two coats of high build would be excessive for an UL. Just my two cents.

Roger I am in the process of building the same rod but the six foot for my boys its acutally a nice blank. But what do I know they are my first two rods that I have built. When ordering ask Drew at Mudhole he will set you up with the complete package I used a handle kit on the two blanks here worked out pretty nice. I am almost finished wrapping the first one two more guides to wrap on. Just had to put my two sense in for what its worth. Hope you enjoy it as much as I have so far.
Brent

The Kid factor. 7 years old? Murphey's law says (and I'm a firm believer) that while fishing with you, he will hook the largest fish you have ever seen in that body of water. might consider a light action slightly longer (two piece?) rather than ultra light. He can still have a very limber fun rod for panfish yet have the handle length to perfect his two handed casting and fish control. For all I know he might live within bicycle distance of a favorite fishing hole, God only knows what might be swimming around in there.
One thing for sure, time spent fishing with grandpa lasts a lifetime, some rods dont, even that solid fiberglass, two piece I ran through my bicycle spokes when I was about 7.
If you have a secret duplicate first rod ready for an accident like that, the rod will be downright magical. If you can, build two.