I've posted a couple times before but never have made an intro. Recently realizing it's ok to post pics here I thought I'd throw a few out there of a switch rod I have just finished.

My Name is Bob and I'm from the Yukon Territory Canada. This rod is my 11th and if I had to pick what I have the most trouble with it would be the epoxy. Seems it's a fight every time but I'm slowly getting more consistent; not working the epoxy too long and keeping everything clean seem to be key factors.

11 foot 8wt North Fork Composites Blank (FASW 1108-4)
Alps reel seat
Pacbay t4 minimas
Snake Brand Universals
Carbon fiber grips from Proof
Black colorfast fuji a thread with white tipping
Danielsson L5W 8Twelve reel (love these reels)

















Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/04/2022 05:44PM by Bob Foster.

Nice classy rod

Thanks Michael!

I'm afraid to cast it to be honest. I'm new to fly fishing / casting and it feels like I've built a ferrari when I can barely drive my honda stick. Super worried I'm going to fly strike the blank.

Bob,
Nice job.

Just a couple of suggestions to improve performance and astheics:

Female ferrule can be much shorter - especially on S4. They can get smaller as you go up the blank to reduce weight. 3/8" is fine for the S4 ferrule.
I.e. 0.75 for S2 ferrule. 0.5" for S2 and 0.375 for the S4 ferrule
When wrapping double foot guides (stripper, etc) make wraps same length even though the feet are different lengths.
When wrapping guides close to ferrules - I like to have a separation between the guide wrap and the ferrule wrap. Guide wrap on the ferrule side of the guide should match the wrap on the opposite side.
Regards,
Herb

Thanks for all that Herb,

So many unknowns in all of this that I'm basically winging it to a degree. Reducing the ferrule wraps as they went up the rod was on my mind but also wasn't really sure how much structural integrity the wrap offers and what is overkill and what isn't. The long ferrule wrap into the stripper does look odd in a subtle (to me) way and was thinking that tipping the uphill side of the wrap might smarten it up but likely you're right and a small separation would have been the ticket. Considering this is rod 11 there have been many such instances along the way. You'd think things would be more obvious considering all the examples of images available on the net but here we are haha.

One day I'm going to get a label to go on straight as well. Perhaps can't see it in these pics but it's crooked....they are all crooked lol.

Bob,
It is comforting to see others sooooo critical of their own work. From the pics, I would certainly say that you have produced an extremely nice fly rod. I especially like the fact that you did not “clear coat” or “lensify” the CF grips = it adds weight, is not necessary, and to me , looks better. Your guide wrap epoxy does not appear to be giving you any problem = they look great. That being said, consider backing-off on the amount of epoxy applied as to let the thread definition show which will also lighten-up the critical area of the rod. Don’t get me wrong = your wraps are beautiful but ULs and fly rods perform better with a minimal amount of weight, especially the further out toward the tip one gets. Tuna sticks are another animal. All said, very nice job!!!

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

Thanks Mark,

I'm new to all this but it's pretty clear it's all about the details for sure. As to being critical about my own work....i guess if i need my ego stroked I could show my work to someone who doesn't build to oohh and ahh (and i do this) but if I want to learn I need to show it to people who build do if that makes sense. I actually built an NFC Iconoglass 5 wt with a carbon fiber half wells grip earlier this spring. I sealed the grip in epoxy and tried to top coat it in permagloss as per Tom Kirkman's video and botched it to the point where it turned into an awful cycle of epoxy / sand / permagloss until it finally was at least presentable and I've not been real keen to try it again haha. I don't hate it though. I feel like adding too much epoxy to the guides is a vanity thing. I've put together 5 fly rods this past few months and I'm guilty of too much epoxy on every one. I've had many battles with the epoxy and most seem to be from pushing the self level window too far and getting subtle sags that most people would not see but I can see from across the room. Oddly I feel like I had better luck with my first couple of rods as far as epoxy goes. On the rod in this post I did the epoxy in two batches rather than trying to do the whole rod in one go. I also started with the base wraps to take advantage of the fresh mix over the longer span of the base wrap.

Thanks again for the kind words and advice, I'll try to curb my epoxy centric ways haha

Bob,
There are 3 (at least) schools-of-thought concerning the amount of epoxy applied to thread wraps; Form, Function, Protection. Each one has its merits and depends on the rod being built and personal preference = none are right or wrong = senseless to argue about it. Form = glob it on if one likes the clear-coat “lens” effect; Function = use a minimal amount of epoxy to keep the weight down, especially closer to the tip to enhance blank recovery and sensitivity; Protection (which could be considered an extension of both Form and Function) = isolating the thread wraps from harsh environments and abuse. My freshwater ULs use a bare minimum of epoxy but I glob it on my saltwater builds.
Additionally, a thick coat of epoxy can hide a multitude of sins underneath. Minimal epoxy wraps require more attention to detail while wrapping = pack, pack, pack to avoid gaps and the need to burnish afterwards, and back-off on the tension to lessen fracturing filaments within the thread which can cause nubs. The use of an extremely thin epoxy like CTS Crystal Coat or PG reduces the shiny surface of the wrap to help conceal any imperfections (sins as above). Nonetheless, a second coat is often required to hide imperfections in the first = another reason to apply thin coats rather than one attempt to cover-it-all.
Anyone can be guilty of overthinking something (I am HABITUALLY guilty) and this may be why you seem to be having more difficulty with your epoxy application presently than previously. Sometimes the more one concentrates on and analyzes something the worse it gets. BE AWARE BUT NOT WARY!!! Hey, that’s a good one; I hope to remember (and employ) it.

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

Yeah, epoxy has for sure been the most persnickity aspect of it all. If I had tried to get into some of the more elaborate base wraps I'm sure that would take the persnickity crown but aside from olive branches n saw blades and fades I haven't explored fancy wraps too much. I've overworked epoxy, burnt it, spittled blowing on it thru a straw, had a fly land in a 3/4 set mix, fiddled with fish eyes, dabbed and prodded and smooshed to wits end, poked at bubbles, picked at debris, had the power go out so I'm trapped hand turning two sections of rod....I'm sure there are other ways it has been challenging that I have blocked from memory haha. This last round I recognized that I was spending way too much time per wrap fiddling with the epoxy being tentative and fussy on the first two guides and then got into a rhythm of: load the wrap with epoxy / run it to the outside end and set the line off the end of the wrap / run it to the guide end and carry on and do the same for each wrap. it went better and faster and more consistent. once they were all done I stopped the blank (guide up), wait for sags and wick the sags off the wraps until it all looks uniform and start the dryer again. The window where the epoxy still seems workable but in fact becomes self leveling challenged is smaller than one thinks and time goes buy so quickly that you're there before you know it. I live in the sticks basically and awhile back ran out of brushes. I started using a spatula and find I really like it. When I use a brush I find I keep using it like a brush at some point and then am fighting bubbles more it seems to me



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/07/2022 01:08PM by Bob Foster.