I was just wondering what the cost difference would be if I were to go out and buy a middle of the line rod(Abu, Shakespeare, etc) or if I were to build a rod with only function in mind. Assuming I already have tools, thread, finish... could I build a rod with similar or better performance to a factory rod for less money? I haven't really noticed any standard or grading criteria for rods, so is there any correlation to blank price, and factory rods. Would a Shakespeare rod blank be comparative to a $25, $30, $40, $50 blank, etc? I know there is probably good and bad in every price range, but just as a generality how would you compare the two?

With only function in mind hard to beat a custom rod.

You will have the right guides for the job and the right reel seat placement for you.

________________________________________
@+
Eric
[www.emfishing.fr]

What about your labor costs?

Mike Blomme

Brennan,
I would say that it is next to impossible to match the price of an inexpensive factory rod compared to making it your self.

The simple issue is bulk buying. Manufacturers buy or make blanks by the thousand. They buy guides by the 10,000 They buy grips by the box car load.

So, the factory might pay $5 for a blank, $1 for a reel seat, $2 for guides and $2 for everything else. They build a rod in an hour and pay next to minimum wage so the labor cost is about $10 for the rod.

However, if you want to compare the price of a very high end rod, you might be able to match the cost of the factory rod.

Michael raises the question about labor costs. What is your time worth. The minimum wage is about $10 per hour. Can you build the rod in an hour and only pay yourself $10 for building the rod?

If you are a skillful craftsman, then your time should be worth $20-$40 per hour. So, if you build a nice rod and have 10 hours in it, can you charge your customer $400 for the labor only?

Good luck

I would say it depends on what price range factory rod you're talking about. The cheaper the rod, the more difficult it would be. But, if you spend $100 in materials you can easily build a rod that would put a $100 factory rod to shame.

Spend $150 in materials and you can build a rod that puts a $200 factory rod to shame.

As far as the how much is your time worth question goes ....... all of the rods I've built thus far have been for my own personal use, so I don't consider my labor a cost. I mean ... if I wasn't doing something associated with the rod building process, I'd just be watching TV.

How much does watching TV pay?

If function is all you need go to a yard sale, you can't build a rod for that price. That being said I have only been building rods for about a year and I get better with everyone and I try hard to make them the best I can, its a learning process.This year I built my 10 yr. old grandson a rod custom to him using quality components put a nice bait caster on it for Christmas. He was at my house last weekend and wanted to practice with it, he had never thrown it. It amazed me how well he did because of the confidence he had in himself having a custom build rod and reel for himself. I could have bought him a store bought cheaper and it may have even been better but to him custom for him made a big difference. You can't put a price on the smile on his face. You can't build a custom rod for what you can buy of the same quality. You can catch a fish on any of them, it's up to you. Phil

I am with Roger on this

Bill - willierods.com

David makes an excellent point. Your time is worth nothing, really. If we could all do something "billable" with all of our time each day we'd be millionaires. If you're involved in rod building chances are you love it. That's good for heart and soul and not relative to an hourly wage. If you do happen to be making a living at it - more power to ya!

Thanks for the replies! The reason I was asking was because I'm in the middle of my first rod build, and I feel like a great deal of the money and time that went into the rod was for cosmetic purposes. $5 for color anodized rod seat, $10 extra for colored guides, etc can all add up. I also think just doing the grips and guides could be done relatively quickly, whereas on my build I did underwraps, a weave, and am planning a cross wrap, all for aesthetic purposes. This is fine because that's what I was going for, I wanted a rod that looked as good or better than it performed. Having never fished with a custom rod of any kind, I was wondering how they'd compare to the factory rods Ive always used. Perhaps I should have asked how much noticeable difference is there between a $20 crb blank, and a $100 mhx or the similar blank?
I thoroughly enjoy building rods and will keep doing it for myself for a while, but if it's a better deal for the money to buy my regular everyday rods from the store, and save my money to build another "fancy" custom rod, then I will. Ive got several holes in my rod selection that id like to fill, just trying to figure out the most pracyical way of doing so. Thanks again!

Build enough basic rods to be able to tell the difference between the $20 blank and the $100 blank ON THE WATER - then do a cross wrap. Otherwise you may wind up with a beautiful collection of rods you wouldn't even think about fishing with. I've got plenty.

You're not likely to save money building your own rods, but you can certainly build a better rod than you can buy, at nearly any price.

Keep in mind that there are many things, such as colored winding checks and reel seats, that don't add anything to the performance of the rod. If you're going to spend the additional money, I'd recommend putting towards a higher modulus blank, lighter seat, better guides, etc. It will also pay you to build the rod in such a way that performance is enhanced. This would include a lightweight seat to blank assembly, good guide placement and limiting wraps and finish to only what is necessary.

.................

Brennan,
The way I look at rod building as a novice is buying the basic (not cheapest) components that will work for the build I'm doing. I suggest this to anyone who is just starting to build rods. Keep it as inexpensive as possible and once you learn the tricks of the trade, you will then know if the $20 reel seat will be that much more beneficial to the $6 one (just an example).

To put it as a quick tip:
Stay basic, do the research, and you will slowly learn 'when' to upgrade components.

Tom is correct on all counts.

Brennan

Roger Wilson is spot on correct. I'll pile onto his response with an example.

About 18 months ago a local big box store was selling 6, 7, and 8 weight fly rods with a reel for $45 plus tax. My elder son bought one after I offered to build an 8 weight for him, at no cost to him of course. Had I build him an 8 weight the reel seat alone would have been more than his total cost for rod and reel. However, and this is the kicker, what he would have gotten would have been a top of the line blank, salt water ready hardware, a grip turned to his hand size, wraps to his color preferences, etc.

Can I build a fly rod and throw in a reel for $45 of out of pocket cost? Nope, not even going to try. Can a highly customized, near one of a kind, and high quality 8 weight fly rod be built for maybe less or equal to what is available from a major fly rod manufacturer's custom shop? I think so.

Diawa make a very nice dropshot rod that is priced at $529.00. I just made such a rod for myself that specs out the same as the Diawa, although mine weighs 1/10 oz. more. My cost was $75.00 + labor. You be the judge. (correction, should read 1/10 oz. less)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/22/2016 02:46PM by Lynn Behler.

Google up - fishing rods - take a look at what they charge

Bill - willierods.com

Brennan,
In these days of cork becoming more and more scarce, the price for quality cork continues to go higher and higher.

If you do not have any cork from previous years of purchasing, and you want to purchase high quality nearly perfect cork you can expect to spend $3-$5 per ring. If you want a full length cork grip that is say 10 inches total, you will use 20 1/2 inch rings. At $4 per ring, you will spend $80 just for the cork to make the perfect grip.

Yes, you can get cork for $.75 cents a ring, but you will have to use a lot of filler to get a reasonable finish on the grip.

Hence the use of other materials like foam and carbon, or nylon, or burled cork. Burled cork makes a perfect grip at a reasonable price, but the weight of the burled cork is about double the weight of natural cork.

This is also the reason that many commercial rods are either going to split grip rods that use much less material for a grip, or are going to the use of a non cork grip that can be put on a rod with a much lower cost than high quality cork.

Just another part of the cost of building a really nice rod in today's world of supply and demand.

For example: [www.amazon.com]

A good site for learning about cork and cork products:
[www.somsencork.com]

A site from the UK which speak of cork.
[www.guidesnblanks.com]
Note that one IK GBP is worth $1.43 us.

[www.brasstowncreek.com]


Be safe

With finished rods from St Croix, North Fork, Loomis, Diawa and many other topping the $400-$500 mark why isn't the custom rod building business BOOMING with customers? Someone needs to tell that story to the millions of fishermen who never even consider a custom rod because they think it will cost too much.

This is true
But
Go get the blank from St Croix for that rod and see what ya pay Then with the rest of the goodies

Bill - willierods.com

Bill,
On that note, the typical high end blank from St. Croix will run about $200. Cork for the reel seat will run about $40. The reel seat will run about $15. High end guides will run about $50 So we are looking at materials cost of about $300-$400 depending on the guides, cork, reel seat and accessories used on the rod.

Be safe