Interested in rod building

[BH2]

I have always been intrigued by building my own ice rods. With that being said, how much patience is required?
It seems just from what I have seen and read its fairly intricate work. I imagine with the right tools its more simple, I am more or less curious if rod building is right for me. I know with out knowing someone personally that's a tough question! just wanted to pick peoples brains about it.

[greenbackhunter]

Mud hole sells kits that are pretty affordable. Also have books and instructional dvd’s 

[appleye]

There is a ton of stuff on youtube on how to get started. I took a class from Mudhole and really go me jump started. It's intricate but not some much that it can't been done. You can make a rod wrapper by hand and thread holder and start building. Here is a link to rod building page here on shanty: https://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?board=130.0

Good luck!

[piersm2]

I have the attention span of a caffeine high two year old and I sometimes struggle with certain aspects of it, but it is a great feeling when you finish rods and people love using them.  I have had multiple people that I have built rods for come back asking for me to build multiple more for them.

I have shaky hands and am a perfectionist so I sometimes get pissed off, but the end result is well worth the struggle, as anything in life is.  Here are some things I have learned from personal experience:

-Wrap a #2 fly guide instead of a tip top.  It is a pain but looks wayyyy better
-Use size A NCP ProWrap (going to get a lot of other opinions on this, but I know more people that use this than don't)
-Orthodontic bands work good to hold guides on (buy them off eBay)
-use fly guides
-have fun with it!

[chilly-willy]

Keep it simple you do just fine.. with any thing there is a order of operations to building a rod..   I start out splineING blank splining all it is is three thin bands of tape around blank.spline it by flexing and rotating the blank.. mark end to end along the tape were spine is of rod..  as you rotate the blank and flex it there will be two jumps one hard one soft..  depending type of rod is ware guides are placed..  like I place on spinning rods the soft bounce side I place the guide on that side so the hard bounce side faces out .. away from guides.. same thing for a casting rod except your using the blank as a fighting tool nor a castING tool like that of a spinning rod..


As for starting the rod I build the handle first some do not I leave the winding check off till wraps are done..  but we're all different some cover the butt wrap with the grip. When done wrapping so were all different..

Now guide spacin I place them evenly spaced on rods on the splined side chosen..  then attach a piece of knitting yarn to a reel on the rod and thread it out the tip top.. while flexing the rod as if you got a fish on..  I look for flat spots from guide to guide this is easily fixed by more guides or spacing closer together.. ok?

I use a razor to make fine line tape with masking tape  think one inch  tape..  fine line is thin like 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick.  masking tape I use this to wrap on guide and place them at first..  so there straight..  I shift them when done warping so they are aligned stright..  by pushing on it so it moves under the wrap.. and alignes to the reel seat and tip top .. this is why I do losser warps..  when you shift them if to tight you could snap the rod.. I do the shifting before epoxy rod finish ..

Next is wrapping them I do simple one thread to multi colored warps what I suggest is keep it simple here..  at first so it not to complicared for you..  all the wrap are is a nail knot how I do it is make three warps then jump it over them..  make three more then start pulling on the lose tag end so they stay even unsplit..   then I wrap all the way till end of foot and warp over a loop of thread and pull tag end under other wraps..  you figure this all out..

As for the handle assemble you can use 5 mintue epoxy or 10 minute or even 2 ton .. that dries over night but with two ton I suggest a grip clamp .. ask if you need to know what it is??

Also mix rod finish epoxy with the oppsite end of the brush end using the bristle end induces bubbles in to the mix.. this is why we avoid this.. also hair drier heat will help pop bubbles in finish.

As for wrapping equippment I would just use a card board box at first like a 12 x12 x12 box..  with no top and one side cut down to get hands into it and vee up rights close to the hand hole..  if you need pictures of this said box please ask??  I will poke a hole in back and use a bobbin like that for fly tieing too tension thread .. or books and a mason jar??  I will use a folding paper clip on a dowel clapped to the dowel as a line guide if you don't under stand this please ask ..

As for drYing I use a rotisory motor so it does the turning for me and I keep rod as level as possible but you can turn rod by hand..  till its hard enough this take around 8 hours to do.. tI'll that point that why most use a real slow gear motor under 30 rpm but above 2 rpm..

If you have any questions please ask..

[chilly-willy]

Some times pictures are worth a thousand words!!

 here is the picture of the box I would use instead of a rod wrapper till you build or buy a rod wrapper..

for the parts I used cheap carbon arrows in place of the line guide..  and in place of the rod being wrapped..  the line guide has a paper clip on it as the guide but a wood dowel could be used instead of the arrow..

also for the bobbin I would buy one meant for rod building thread spools not fly tying spools  of thread.. rod building spools are much larger.. to adjust tension try stretching the bobbin lightly out ward away from spool ..  if you got a new bobbin some times doing this is nesseary so the thread don't break..

 any how on to the picture hope you enjoy building fine quality Ice rods.. as much as you do fishing them and enjoy catching on sone thing you built.. oh ya just rembered see if you can obtain a copy of dale p. Clemens book advanced custom rod building.. that book covers a lot more then I can here..  plus the book is well well worth the price new or used..

[BH2]

Thanks for all the great input!

[matzilla]

My setup is so basic its not even funny....slight step up from a cardboard box



Buy some cheap blanks and give it a try....the nice thing is, you don't have in invest at on of money into rod building to produce some great results. Study up (youtube), practice some techniques on a test blank (or even a piece of wooden dowel rod) and then start building.

There's a rod building forum on this site with a ton of great info and a couple pages on facebook

[chilly-willy]

Nice set up mat I will have to post my current one.. also working on building a new one with a t - track for the up right vee's  and thread carriage.. as soon as I get the new one finished I will have to post it..

[Hoserman]

Mat that's an awesome setup you have. I used to just run my line through a large book for tension. I really got into rod building about ten years ago but haven't done it for quite a while. Maybe I'll get back into it.

[BH2]

Mud hole sells kits that are pretty affordable. Also have books and instructional dvd’s

Well its official! I just ordered the Ice rod kit from Mud Hole I guess I'm gonna try my hand at rod building. Thanks for all the input and help guys!

[chilly-willy]

Well its official! I just ordered the Ice rod kit from Mud Hole I guess I'm gonna try my hand at rod building. Thanks for all the input and help guys!

Sweet!!  there is no such thing as to many questions most of all on this site!!

[BH2]

Sweet!!  there is no such thing as to many questions most of all on this site!!

Thanks much! I'm sure I will have several. Youtube has been a huge help along with this site.

[Tuma]

There's a rod building forum on this site with a ton of great info

I am not seeing the rod building forum.  Could someone post a link or something?

I have been making rods for a while now and I will have to take some pictures of my rod wrapper I made.  It’s not too special and only cost me about $15 in parts.  But it works great.  One can find almost everything you need in the garage to build a wrapper.  Chilly-willy shared some great tips.  One more thing I would like to add is have a bright light right above your rod you are working on.  The glare of the light on the rod blank will give you a straight line to place your guides.

[Monticatgeek]

Tuma,

here is the link to it. it is in the jigging forum as a sub category.

https://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?board=130.0

[esox_xtm]

Good stuff guys! I've rolled a few and repair seems to be an ongoing past time. I thought my setup was on the primitive side. After seeing what you more dedicated rollers use I don't feel so bad.

I did buy into an 80/20 track with the thought of building a "real" tool but I've been so well served by my bare bones winder and cardboard box dryer (hand turned) it's down the list a bit. Still, I have the piece parts and really the most time consuming part of it all is turning the blank while the finish dries. For me it's "only" a coupla, three hours (I like Flex-Coat) and I can find other stuff to do in the shop while I wait to give the blank a turn. First part for me will be a powered dryer that can handle maybe 3 - 4 rods at a time. I can wind by hand a heckuva lot faster than they dry.

Once you start building you learn a lot about rods and I've learned a ton from the guys here. You're in a good place... 

[Tuma]

I designed my wrapper to be full adjustable.  I just bought a power motor for it last week and it helps on some stuff.  I still find myself doing most of the wrapping by hand.  The only parts I need to buy was; locking wing nuts, springs, clip on rod spring tips ($15 total), and now the power motor.  I had everything else in the garage left over from other projects.  Building rod has been one of those fun addicting hobbies for me.

[chilly-willy]

Here is my older rod wrapper.. see photos  iam making a new one..  the t-track is in second photo the  rest is being made similar to the one in the photos..  I using vee up rights to support my rod blanks..  my thread carrage is completely different might be able to use 6 colors at one time.. threw a thread tensioner..  it will have three up rights??  and a the thread carage will pull the thread more towards me so I can see what I am wrapping and ware the threads laying as in viwed a lot better.. then on thd old one .. I am gluing two pieces of 3/4 thick plywood together as we speak..  so to be laminated trimed up and daddo sloted to except the t-track  . please enjoy the photo of my old rod wrapper..  there very easy to construct..  mine is just threaded rod and springs washers wing nut and jam nuts etc..  for thread tension and to guide the thread mini eye screws..Luke used on wood lures..  expanded a tad to slip the line threw instead of threading every time..

[chilly-willy]

Here is the new rod warapper I am almost done buidling!!  just got to add felt to it..  in the vees of the up rights and the slide point of the tread carrage and up rights.. then all that's left is get some bolts  and brass pin's etc.. for the thread carage..