As my journey as a rodbuilder begins, I'm wanting to separate myself from the standard issue builds. You know, those multicolor elaborate wraps that are certainly beautiful, just not my cup of tea. So, I'm asking for your input on what are some of the most unique things you've seen on a build? I'm definitely not interested in copying others work, more trying to Kickstart my creativity. I've always done things differently than others, why stop now. By the way, after just 1 build I am addicted. Is there a crisis hotline number or something I can call waiting for my next delivery of rod parts?Thanks in advance from Jonathan from the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

Feather inlays. Artwork. Kelp. Photos. Woodwork. Too much to name. There's so much you could do or add to rod and still have a functional tool for fishing that a great deal of it escapes the mind.

..........

Hello Jonathan.

There are a million things you can do, like paint a scene above the fore grip, I once made a likeness of a marlin using pieces of thread dipped into CP so it would stick until I epoxied it using different colors of epoxy.

[www.rodbuilding.org]
[www.rodbuilding.org]
[www.rodbuilding.org] [www.rodbuilding.org]
or maybe this one: [www.rodbuilding.org]

If that worked there is a picture of my marlin before painting with epoxy.

You are only held back by your own imagination..

Tight Wraps & Tighter Lines.



Edited 9 time(s). Last edit at 10/06/2023 03:36PM by Robert A. Guist.

Lana Preston was doing decorative wraps via beads some 15 years ago. You have all sorts of crinkled foil wraps, spattered wraps, etc., etc. You just have to get your mind to let go of you've become accustomed to seeing on fishing rods.

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Do you want to make shelf pieces or rods to fish with? Most guys I know want a good reliable rod that they trust to fish with.

I don't have the patience to do the elaborate weaves, highly respect those who do, and my builds are more oriented towards "class," function, with a little bling. But understated. One thing I am surprised about is that albacore has not gained much traction or attention. It's now very easy, and adds a lot to separate a custom from a factory.

One thing I do that's not universally accepted in spin is to build up locking with a pipe seat, size 17, so that the little ramp I put off the front comes off the reel seat hood at the same diameter, so it is a smooth transition from seat to ramp to blank if you go that far. My email is open if you want more details on these things.

Bob Jordan Wrote:
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> Do you want to make shelf pieces or rods to fish
> with? Most guys I know want a good reliable rod
> that they trust to fish with.


I most certainly intend to be build rods with performance as the priority. I absolutely intend to maintain the integrity of the craft of rodbuilding. Just wanting to add some flavor to the build. Something you can't find on YouTube.

Johathon, everything is on Youtube.

Jonathan.
One man’s ceiling is another man’s floor! Rods can be as ornate or simple as the builder decides / prescribes. As you, I prefer a more “subtly elegant” rod versus the more in-your-face flashy examples. Basically, I do not add anything to a rod that is NOT required; butt wraps are not required but guide wraps are = so I concentrate my artistic efforts on the guide wraps (inlays, fades, color fades, JTOBs, or what-have-you. Familiarizing and mastering the easy ADDING AND DROPPING THREAD concept will open numerous doors into anyone’s creative thread abilities without the need for intensive butt cross wraps!!! That said, I truly admire and respect the time and effort required to produce many of the wazoo involved butt wraps.
But for me, KISS = Keep It Simple Stupid and Form Follows Function takes top priority!

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

There have been many decorative type aspects for custom rods detailed in RodMaker that have never appeared on YouTube.

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Yes, Tom. I got hyperbolic, I stand corrected. "Everything" was a bad word choice.

Hello All.

I could go on for day's but here are just a few of the thousands of articles from RodMaker Magazine that can give ideas of how and what you can do on your next builds.

Volume/Issue....................Article......................Author..........................Page.
12/3 EVA Grip Inlays, "How To". By Bernie Cohen. 18
20/4 EVA Grip Projects. By Jimmy Langevin. 22
8/5 Decoration or Function? By Tom Kirkman, Feathers By Russ Gooding, Weave By Jim Kastorff. 28
26/2 Custom Graphics By Nuno Paulino. 16
22/1 Creative Rod Crafting (Part One). By Nuno Paulina. 14
22/2 Creative Rod Crafting (Part Two). By Nuno Paulina. 14
14/1 Craquele! By Marco Antonio da Silva. 10
8/6 Cork, Using Exotics. By Lloyd Starrush & Tom Kirkman. 14
22/3 Contained Flocking By Ben Belote. 14
19/5 Contrast Maximizing Your Work's Visual Impact. By Tom Kirkman. 16
17/1 Butts; Coins & Pens, Affixing. By Tom Kirkman. 18
13/3 Fit & Finish #1, Glue Lines? 26
13/4 Fit & Finish #2 Component Junctions. 32
13/5 Fit & Finish #3 Thread Wraps. 32
7/3 Fit & Finish A Careful Attention to Detail and Technique In Custom Rod Building. By Lloyd Starrush. 22
16/5 Fit & Finnish: Attention to Detail. By Lloyd Starrush. 28
3/3 Fit And Finish. By Tom Kirkman. 10
11/1 Foam Core Molding Station. 19

There is nothing that can't be done.

Enjoy and dream of builds.


Tight Wraps & Tighter Lines.

This will sound cheesy, but is true for me: The real Beauty, Challenge, and Achievement of rod-building is engaging and enlightening my mind. Personally, I find mastery of the simple things very beautiful - and the most challenging. A simple thread wrap and epoxy, executed perfectly, is a masterwork to me....and unique! I am not seeking to separate myself from others' craft as much as I want to master my own.

"Unique" (or separating yourself from others) can be The Way You Do It as much as what you do it with or without.

I have watched videos of old Japanese Master Builders who make traditional, bamboo rods for catching tiny fish. They Do Everything by Hand from splitting the cane, sanding and straightening it over an open flame....and wrap it all with a spool of thread held in their calloused hand. These rods are not something new; in fact, they are a design and form centuries old. The unique difference is the skill with which the Masters execute their craft to make something very old - not new. Needless to say, some of these craftsmen are officially designated as a National Treasure. Their rods are exquisite because of their unique skill in mastering and ancient craft.

jonathan utz Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> As my journey as a rodbuilder begins, I'm wanting
> to separate myself from the standard issue builds.
> You know, those multicolor elaborate wraps that
> are certainly beautiful, just not my cup of tea.
> So, I'm asking for your input on what are some of
> the most unique things you've seen on a build? I'm
> definitely not interested in copying others work,
> more trying to Kickstart my creativity. I've
> always done things differently than others, why
> stop now. By the way, after just 1 build I am
> addicted. Is there a crisis hotline number or
> something I can call waiting for my next delivery
> of rod parts?Thanks in advance from Jonathan from
> the Outer Banks of North Carolina.


You have to let your mind go. I started do thread related thing like Chevrons and Diamonds and that was OK, but It didn't "wrinkle my Prune", so I looked at weaving, and tried them all until I saw an example of "COLOR CHANGE WEAVING" and I knew that is what I wanted to learn. To try to make something that looked real. Best complement I get is when I have been asked, "Where Did You Get That Decal"? Except for a few, most of my weaves have been about MOTHER NATURE things. Lately it has been about endangered species. 20 - 25 YEARS ago I attended a Rod Building Seminar on Vancouver island and part of that trip was a days Salmon and Halibut fishing out of Port Renfrew. After we limited in Salmon, we went out to the Halibut area. We only caught one small one, but at a great depth I caught a Golden Eye Rock fish. Coming up from that depth, the bladder was hanging out of it's mouth. I didn't have the means to return it and get the bladder back in so I kept it. Two of the attendees were experts in the Marine Biology and said that fish was about 100 years old which made me feel worse, but at that time, I resolved to make a weave of that fish and preserve memory of that fish. So I took pictures and made a pattern and wove it on a new first time Spiral wrapped roller rod. I have a dear family friend whose mother passed away who had wanted her ashes spread on the beaches of Hawaii. So I made her a rod and had her get me some of the mini Sea shells from that beach and made a recess in the grip where some of those shells are encapsulated for a memory of her Mom. Let your mind go and try something and gravitate to YOUR thing.

There is an ongoing series of articles in the last few RodMakers mags that show how to make free form eva inlays and stuff. I have not seen these type grips ever before. They are beyond abstract are made with cuts that are not straight or angled but curved and shaped. Might not be for you but it is just one of many examples of how to break free from the norm and do your own thing.

Hello Mike.
Are these the ones you mean?

Volume/Issue...............Article..................Author...........Page.
26/4 Free Form EVA Inlays Part 2 By Tom Kirkman. 20
26/3 Free-Form EVA Inlays Part 1 By Tom Kirkman. 20

Thanks Mike.


Tight Wraps & Tighter Lines.

Putter showed how you could use gold leaf and other colored leaf materials from the craft store on rod butts, super simple to do, this is the stuff they do in grade school craft classes, yet it looked very nice when finished out. Apply contact cement, lay the leaves in the adhesive, no need to be artistic about layout, let set, brush off loose excess and put it back in the bag for next time, install trim wraps, finish, done.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/08/2023 01:07PM by Spencer Phipps.

Spencer Phipps Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Putter showed how you could use gold leaf and
> other colored leaf materials from the craft store
> on rod butts, super simple to do, this is the
> stuff they do in grade school craft classes, yet
> it looked very nice when finished out. Apply
> contact cement, lay the leaves in the adhesive, no
> need to be artistic about layout, let set, brush
> off loose excess and put it back in the bag for
> next time, install trim wraps, finish, done.


I used to see Putter at the seminars held annually at Lamiglas then after the last one he was never seen again. Anybody know what happened to him. have a family connection to him, One of my Sons and his cousin were school class mates. he was very talented any made numerous presentations. 

I spoke with him a few years ago, but that was probably around 2018 or thereabouts.

........

Thanks for all the great input. How about I just keep it simple but exquisite. The rods that catch my eye are just that. 2nd build is complete. It's a really nice looking rod, but hardly exquisite. The big surprise so far has been that I now leave the st.croixs at home. I prefer to use my own stuff. I can build a rod that I prefer to use over a high dollar rod for less money. Didn't see that coming. I'm guessing it's also a no brainer that I attend the expo in Winston Salem? I am 5 hours away.q