MAINE - Life in the Slow Lane
Nic,
Did you buy one of those fancy turning jigs or did you do it on your lap with a book for a tensioning jig? I am getting really excited abiout the possibilites here too.
Maybe if I made my brother a rod I could get him into flyfishing too. I think he would enjoy it. He was always the type that needed to constantly be reeling and casting anyways, so this sort of fishing would likely appeal to him, as it would keep his hands busy.
It would be cool to go fishing with my luittle brother more often.
Theron
Theron,
I used a mix of both, well sort of. I did most of the wraps holding the rod on my lap running the thread through a book. Then I talked to my dad about helping me make a stand. Turns out he told a friend of his what I was up to and I got one made for me. It's just a stand though, no thread tension build in. It's basically two uprights stands with a "V" cut out. I then just bought some felt and glued felt along the inside of each "V" and on the bottom of the stand to protect an surface I put it on. The stand helped alot in that it makes wrapping so much faster! I use it on my kitchen table, and still use a book with the thread running through it for tension. It works great! Best of all it was free, although I'm going to re wrap some guides on the gentlemans spinning rod this winter for him. I'll post pictures of the stand later. If you have any woodworking skills you could make on from scrap wood very inexpensively, I wouldn't buy one that is for sure.
It's a great hobby and I didn't find it difficult at all. There are a series of about 20 videos on YouTube about building fly rods. It was very helpful in guiding me along. If you decide to give it a go and have questions feel free to ask. I did purchase a rod dryer that turns the rod as the thread finish dries (no absolutely necessary, but I didn't want to risk sags in the finish). If you wanted to borrow it for a build I'd be more than happy to lend it out.
It's a great hobby and tons of fun. It's seriously addicting, and I'm really considering making a go at selling them at some point in the future. Not that I'm expecting to quit my day job and make money hand over fist with this. We'll see.
If you're serious about tyring a build I"d check out Hook and Hackle. They've treated me good. I was frustrated that the rod dryer was on backorder (my fault for not ordering it sooner) but they actually shipped it out priority mail as soon as they go it in. I was impressed with that, I ordered on a $3 shipping promo and according to the box they spent almost $9 shipping it out. Anyway they have some of their own brand blanks and kits that can be had for around $100 for the blank, grip, reel seat, and guides. All you would need is thread, any tools, epoxy, and thread finish beyond that. It's definitely something you could spend days just looking at all your options, so try not to get too wrapped up in it 
Thanks for the compliments everybody. I took it out yesterday to the sugar river for a little bit, water way high and I didn't catch anything. Still cast really nice though. I can telll it will be a really nice brookie/dry fly rod.
-Nic
Quote by: Nic
..........It's a great hobby and tons of fun. It's seriously addicting, and I'm really considering making a go at selling them at some point in the future. Not that I'm expecting to quit my day job and make money hand over fist with this. We'll see........
Not to discourage you my friend but if you decide to peddle a few rods you should focus on friends and acquaintances as customers and sell direct at first. Retailers will want at least 40% profit. ( I settle for much less than that )
The two things I see all the time with new rod builders starting out are as follows. One, it takes time to get a name in the industry. A "regular" rod that says built by Koda may sell for $150. That same exact rod with Sage,Orvis, or Winston on it now will command $750 and up. It's amazing what some guys will pay for a name.
Which most always leads to the second axiom, the quick jump in price game. It's a natural path to take. Why should you sell a rod for $150 when the big boys can get $750 for it. Hell, it's a deal at even half of the $750.
I used to rep the builder you are fond of in MI. He got caught up in the price game. When I started out carrying his rods a nice cane rod with 2 tips, sock, and rod tube retailed for $600. Not to long after he got in bed with Trout Daddy in CA, a start up operation with a lot of hype and BS. He was to be the next wonder of the world in fly fishing tackle. He believed he could sell alligator skin rod tubes to the Neiman Marcus crowd for sick money and make a killing. The $600 cane rods in his store now were selling for $2400! The same whack job also figured he hit pay dirt when he asked the MI builder to make up some cane spinning rods. The spinning crew is not into finesse or grace or anything sporting. They're worm dunkers and meat fisherman by choice. I knew when I heard of that "great" idea that it would piss backwards.
Of course he ate his shorts in short order with that gig as anyone with that kind of cabbage can buy a Nunley rod for $1800, which is far an away a better rod. and for that matter, at that price, one can even buy Orvis cane which will always have a high sales value because it is a famous name. When the rods did not sell the price was lowered to $1200. And when they still didn't sell he dumped the inventory on evil bay for cost and went out of business.
Beware of anyone who discounts a rod by $1000 or more. There should be a very loud and clear message there. In a word, Rape!
I quite dealing with the MI builder as I could not get a straight price on a rod. The same $600 cane rod was now $900-$1200 depending. No great value there for the average working man IMHO.
I'm told that Mike McFarland no longer is selling glass blanks, and he had some of the best. Phil over at Kettle Creel in PA is about as honery a cuss as anyone will ever find, but he produces some insanely nice glass blanks. Oddly, Phil is NOT an engineer, nor is he into all the normal crap that goes along with designing a blank. He goes about it in a much different way.
He builds a mandrel and rolls a blank. tries it out, nope that sucks, and he alters the mandrel. And he keeps adding and subtracting until he finally picks up a blank and goes Holy Shit! And trust me when I say, when Phil does a Holy Shit, you WANT one of those blanks. It takes him sometimes over a year before he makes the statement, and yet his blanks are fair in price as far as I'm concerned.
Most of the rods made today in glass, carbon, or even cane for that matter have origins in the great bamboo country. While some real loo loo stuff comes from there, some fantastic stuff also does, such as the Redington Classic trout and even some of the names you wouldn't believe. 
Yepper, I'm rambling again......
But in any event, I may be able to get you glass, carbon, or even cane blanks at a price you can make a few bucks building rods with. The MOQ's may be high (min order qty) but I can usually break up an order with my other dealers. Well most of the time
Food for thought if you decide to go Pro 
Nic
Regardless of price, if a blank makes a rod that a caster casts well and enjoys, then the real value is priceless. My favorite 5 weight carbon rods come from Wal Mart at a whopping $22 each for a complete rod. The Eagle Claw Black Eagle if you can find one. They cast anything from a 2 weight to a 5 weight line, and very well I might add.
Myself I like the Flor grade cork on a rod for the way it feels in the hand, and I really go for the exotic woods in the reel seats. But you gotta be careful here because even some of the big names in rod components can go bad on you.
I had a 4/5 glass rod built on a Kettle Creek blank with a down locking reel seat. I left a reel on the rod for a week or so and when I went to remove the reel the nut would not budge. My buddy in NJ had a rod he built with a cap and band freeze up, same reel seat maker. Seems the stabilized wood wasn't so stabilized. The Lemke reel seats we've had no issues with at all, they're top shelf and is the brand we spec for 99% of the rods we have built.
Human nature is a funny thing. What floats our stick today may not next week. I built a 10 foot surf rod and loved it. Then I found a 12 foot 1 pc blank and all of a sudden I was in love with the 12 footer
So I sold the 10 footer. Keeps it interesting.
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