Hello everyone, I am new to the forum and Rod Building, this is my first post. I have decided to take up the hobby of Rod building, and need some advice on what equipment to get. Here is what I am planning on doing.

- I will probably make 4-5 rods this year, then 1-2 rods each year after. I am not going into production, so I don't need nothing to fancy, but don't want any junk either.
- I will be making them 1 at a time.
- I will primarily be making Saltwater Jigging Rods, and maybe a few Largemouth Bass rods.

I am currently looking at this for a dryer CRB Rod Dryer Should I get the 9 RPM or 18 RPM?

Do I need another motor that spins faster for applying the ProKote and Wrapping? What RPM should I be looking for to do that?

As far as stands, and bearings, etc. I will consider buying a store bought one, but might make my own, as I have lots of bearings laying around, that would work great for this. Any recommendations on this would be appreciated also.

I look forward to learning a lot from this website and hope to offer some opinions and advice in the future myself. Thanks everyone!

Paul,

This is, without question, the best rod building website on the internet and Welcome to you.

I started out pretty much the same way. At first I used wooden "V" Block, which I made, while I wrapped rods. Then I built myself a power wrapper with a sewing machine motor, ('bought a Singer Sewing machine at a second hand store for $25). I purchase Pac Bay chuck for $90 - $100, as I recall. I Built two wooden rod supports with bearings and rubber grommets from the hardware store. Window rollers work great and the have a groove that will hold a rubber grommets, also purchased from a local hardware store.

Later I decided to really go "Big" and invested close to $500 in materials and built a 4 rod dryer. The speed of the drying motors which came with the rod holders was 9 rpm as I recall. I personally prefer an 18 rpm motor and added that and a slip clutch to one of the holder. I love the slip clutch. I installed 4 - 100 watt light bulbs in the top of the rod dryer and a rheostat to regulate the temperature in the dryer.

I apply epoxy to the rods in the rod dryer following Tom's recommendations contained in his article in the library "Improving Your Epoxy Finish". Originally I was having trouble with bumps on my epoxy over decals and larger area, which was driving me crazy. I followed Tom's directions to a "T" about rotating the rod after applying the epoxy and all of my rods have come out of the dryer with glass smooth epoxy ever since.

If I can be of additional assistance just send me an email.

Don Campbell
don@sensorfishingrods.com



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/23/2018 11:38AM by Donald R Campbell.

Paul

Great question.

If you want equipment that is made in the USA and will last check out Flex Coat, in particular the Flex Coat Small Business Kit. It has all the equipment, finishes and glues you need to get started. See the link below.

[flexcoat.com]

We back up all our equipment and epoxy with over 40 years of proven experience that is only a phone call away. We answer our phone and have been known to talk at length with our customers about rod building. If you want to talk more, give me a call.
512-858-7742

Flex Coat Company
Professional Rod Building Supplies
www.flexcoat.com

Donald R Campbell Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Paul,
>
> This is, without question, the best rod building
> website on the internet and Welcome to you.
>
> I started out pretty much the same way. At first I
> used wooden "V" Block, which I made, while I
> wrapped rods. Then I built myself a power wrapper
> with a sewing machine motor, ('bought a Singer
> Sewing machine at a second hand store for $25). I
> purchase Pac Bay chuck for $90 - $100, as I
> recall. I Built two wooden rod supports with
> bearings and rubber grommets from the hardware
> store. Window rollers work great and the have a
> groove that will hold a rubber grommets, also
> purchased from a local hardware store.
>
> Later I decided to really go "Big" and invested
> close to $500 in materials and built a 4 rod
> dryer. The speed of the drying motors which came
> with the rod holders was 9 rpm as I recall. I
> personally prefer an 18 rpm motor and added that
> and a slip clutch to one of the holder. I love the
> slip clutch. I installed 4 - 100 watt light bulbs
> in the top of the rod dryer and a rheostat to
> regulate the temperature in the dryer.
>
> I apply epoxy to the rods in the rod dryer
> following Tom's recommendations contained in his
> article in the library "Improving Your Epoxy
> Finish". Originally I was having trouble with
> bumps on my epoxy over decals and larger area,
> which was driving me crazy. I followed Tom's
> directions to a "T" about rotating the rod after
> applying the epoxy and all of my rods have come
> out of the dryer with glass smooth epoxy ever
> since.
>
> If I can be of additional assistance just send me
> an email.

Great advice, thank you. When you said you built some wooden V-blocks, what did you cover the "V" section with? Did you use some type of felt, or another material? Do you happen to have a photo of your original build? I will be sure to check out the instructional videos. Thanks again for the reply and great advice.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/23/2018 12:14PM by Paul Wray.

Thanks John Gates. I am sure I will call you at some point to talk building rods.

Paul
I also only build 3-4 rods a year and am up to around 45 rods or so. Every rod I have built has been built using home made and salvage and scrap materials - from my power lathe to a lot of tools and aids. I will build lots of future rods on the home brew set-up as it works very well for my purposes. Don't overlook something you can make yourself!
Rog

paul, for basic stands , instead of a wooden block covered with felt, consider making a stand out of a cutting board. you can cut a v in it and polish it with sandpaper, works quite well. i bought some rubber tire rollers and made my own stands out of cutting board also. for a basic rod dryer theres always the old stand by, the rotisserie grill motor. yeah its slow, but it gets the job done.

Paul,
I am the proverbial tinkerer and engineer. As a result over the years I have built a lot of various rod building equipment that have all worked. Some have worked better, some less. But now, I have refined the equipment to completely satisfy my needs for building any sort of fishing rod.

I will also say, that even though I have built all of my equipment, I have also spent a larger than expected amount of money for all of the different parts, changes and variations of items. But, completely happy with the results.

You can just do a bunch of on line searches and keep an open mind and don't discard any ideas. All great ideas. But, for some folks - some ideas simply work better than other ideas.

I will say that I built one fishing rod - turning the rod by hand. I said to myself, we all have a mind and an education and it is unnecessary to turn a rod by hand and I have built hundreds of rods since then, and not one of them was built on a hand wrapper.

I also took the policy that I made to myself, that it is easier for a motor to turn a rod backwards than my hands, so I didn't take long to incorporate a motor driven reverse in all of my rod wrapper designs.

Part of the experience and knowledge of the rod building endeavor. Use your head and figure out the best methods, equipment and resources that you want to use while building rods.

Take care
Roger