Hello all just wanted to say hay. I am a new rod builder and I am currently working on my second rod.
I am also a college student taking a Social Media marketing class and I am required to blog about a passion or hobby so I chose rod building.
if any of you want to take a look here is a link treepounder.wordpress.com/blog/

Hello Brian. welcome to our forum. You will gain a wealth of knowledge on rod building. Keep on working.

tmbain@sbcglobal.net
Benton, Ar
"NEVER GIVE UP"

Hi Terry , Glad to have you on board as a new rod builder , this is the best site to get started on rod building , Just remember there is only one question that is dumb , it is the one you did not ask ,

William Sidney
AK

Welcome, Brian.

Welcome, the search function is your best friend. Type in a topic, set it for all dates, and push search. You have to play around with it a bit topic wise from time to time, but it works pretty well.

Welcome to the forum, Brian. Absolutely the best site for building rods. The people here are very, very nice and eager to help.

Welcome Brian, You will find no advice shortage here. The caveat is that to every question there will be several different solutions from the various contributors. They all work for them, the trick is finding which one works best for you. Good luck and welcome again.

Welcome , i liked your blog, your pictorial representation and video are good, thumbs up

Brian that's awesome and great to have you on board. Welcome to the addiction

Brian,

I have been building custom rods for over 53 years. The most valuable tool I had as a beginner was Dale Clemons' book Fiberglass Rod Building. Dale has been gone for many years, and his books can be hard to find, but there is a lot of very valuable information contained therein.

With regard to some specific issues you have experienced as noted in your blog:
- Guide alignment: After getting the placement determined and static tested, tape the guides in place with 1/4" masking tape, or 1/8" for the smaller guides. You can then check the alignment before you wrap the guides. I always put a reel on and double-check the alignment. I sight down the blank on the side of the guides and from the reverse side. You will be amazed how many times a guide seems to be lined up one way but not the other. When both sides seem good, you are good to go.

- Starting a wrap: There are many ways to actually begin a wrap. The way mentioned in the above referenced book is what I use, and have used since I began building rods, and it works for me. One word of caution is the blank surface can affect the process. If the surface is extremely smooth and polished, the thread can slip making it difficult to wrap. In those cases, I make sure the tag end of the thread is secured (usually by hoilding in my right hand) until at least three wraps, then I tighten up the wraps, wrap a couple more times, trim off the tag end, and proceed from there.

Enjoy the journey!

Rich Bowers

Thank you for the response. I found a copy of the book on amazon it is on the way.