Hi everyone, first time rod builder and first time poster.

I've decided to build a 3wt CTS glass fly rod and I've done lots of research on what to do, but I haven't really found anything telling me what not to do. I'm hoping some of you guys can tell me what I'm most likely to mess up on my first rod, or what some really common mistakes are for first time rod builders.

Thanks in advance!

Don't worry about making mistakes; enjoy the build.

some may say building on glass is your first mistake..lol..but just laugh..i love glass too..allmy builds are glass now..you can,t make any mistakes, just learning experiences on how to correct them..enjoy the process.

Do not set a deadline for the rod to be completed or for any one step in the process to be finished. Go slow then slower.

Lessons I've learned as an amateur rod builder, mostly the hard way...

-Work in a bright, well lit area.
-Ream your cork/arbors slowly. You can always take more out, but you can't put it back in. Ream, dry fit, ream, dry fit until you're happy with it.
-Get your napkins/paper towels and acetone handy and reachable before you start working with your epoxy.
-Fresh razors and sharp scissors will prevent thread fuzz. I end up being cheap and try to re-use razors that should be retired and I end us with gnarled cuts. If you end up with little fuzzies, passing a lighter over them quickly can singe them off.
-If you finish a guide and you're not 100% happy with it, cut it off and re-do it.

Hope some of these help. They're just things I've learned about my own rod building shortcomings since I've started.

Hey Joel,
Congratulations on choosing such a great blank.
With the Striped Bass fishery in such poor shape, I will be doing some trout fishing in RI next season. So, I bought the same blank as yours for the small streams there.
IMO - you should focus on the "correct" method to build this great blank - not what not to do.
I have mentored many new builders using CTS blanks forthe first time.

Email me if interested in personal step-by-step instructions.
Herb
CTS Rep

Joel Welcome tp the forum and the addictive art of rodbuilding. Enjoy the process of building your new rod and don't worry too much about mistakes. You can fix most anything you do, not to your liking.
We all make mistakes no matter how long you have been building so welcome to the club. And when you are finished post a couple of photos of your new rod.

Tom

Toms Custom Rods

Thank you Herb! I sent you an email!

Jason,

Thanks for the advice. Is it possible that acetone will damage the finish of the rod? I had planned on using denatured alcohol, though this might not be much better. What would you recommend?

Ben,

I've never even fished a glass rod! Been fly fishing for about 9 years now on three different rods. I figure it is time to expand my collection

Welcome to the board and a great hobby. I have made most of the mistakes out three. Just learn from them and build a solid functional rod. Don't worry about pretty at first. Slow is good. Redo mistakes, you can't cover them up.

Josh Boege Wrote:
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> Do not set a deadline for the rod to be completed
> or for any one step in the process to be finished.
> Go slow then slower.


I'll try.. patience is a virtue I was not born with. It's a wonder that I like fishing at all :)

I have built a lot of rods and never use acetone. I doubt if it will affect this rod, but it does affect some, and can attack other materials. Fumes are dangerous. I only use alcohol. I have not seen an example of alcohol damaging anything. It certainly won't damage cork or the seat. Try it on the blank in an area that will be under the grip.

First build tips :

Dry assemble everything first so that you know it will fit properly and that you understand that the order of assembly will work and which way the reel seat goes if it can go either.
[www.rodbuilding.org]
Clean up epoxy immediately if it gets out onto surfaces where it should not be. Repeat it. Alcohol dries fast so you can see if you got all the epoxy off very soon after cleaning.
Don't skimp on epoxy blank to seat and blank to grip.

I'm sort of the perpetual amateur builder on this forum.

My advice is to not hesitate at all about asking questions on here.

The people on here are nice, and very helpful.

Going slow is great advice, and difficult for me to follow. Just remember that you're going to look at and use that rod for years. What's another couple of hours or days to try to get it right?

All the best-

Joel, my chemistry isn't that good to speak on glass, I've only built on graphite. I just wet a napkin/paper towel with nail polish remover and wipe away excess epoxy. I've noticed that it'll occasionally pull some dark color off my real seat/winding checks but I've never noticed it damage a blank or even leave any noticeable effects. .

Dude me neither. I rushed everything. I had epoxy not cure, wraps too tight or loose, misaligned guides. You name it.

The run of ice rods Im doing right now. Im going painfully slow but my rods actually look professionally built as a result.

Remember this process is unforgiving and mistakes are sometimes not noticed until the epoxy is going on or already dry. If it ain’t right, fix it now, it only gets harder the further you go in the build.

Turn on some music and chill out, think about what you’re doing and why. Go slow.

Mistakes will come and go. Have fun in between.

Don't over-do it. The more stuff on the blank, like decorations, windings and coats of finish, the worse the rod is for fishing. The lighter the better - if you're building the rod to fish with.

problems i have made for myself in haste include misspaced or misaligned guides/reel seats(fly rod). threads wrapped over themselves/gapped. are the two biggies for me. poorly measured epoxy finish happened only once but it really messed my rod up. enjoy your creation!

Josh B is right. Throw on some music or a podcast, crack open a craft beer or cocktail, and take it all slow. If you're not building for profit, don't rush. I had Long Trail Harvest Brown Ale last night while listening to Mark Jefferies' retirement show on BTL as I wrapped my little girl's 1st rod for Christmas. Very enjoyable overall.

Jason, why would you use nail polish remover when it changes the color of wraps? But I don't have any wraps on my builds when I'm cleaning up epoxy glue from assembling seats/grips. I do that first, before any wrapping. Another tip is probably to use products designed specifically for rod building or at least that have a record of acceptable results. Woody's observation on measuring epoxy is a good one. Almost all epoxy failures are due to mis-measuring. Use syringes, the ones marketed for rod building so they won't have any contaminants in them, and measure exact amounts of each. Most recommend 3 cc's of each, mix for 120 seconds, take your epoxy from the middle of the puddle where there is little chance of poor mix.