building rods

[banshee]

Nostalgia is a great thing Choppa but don't let it cloud your judgment,even the cheap 'glass rods of today are superior to the the then Rolls Royce rods made of split cane,thats why it's gone the way of the dodo.Our idea of quality I think are also poles apart,the runners that come five to a pack that I have seen are not worth the effort of binding on.
Grunter,Choppa and Ferral(collectivly).........your dreaming,go do your homework on a comparable product.
Bowie,if you want a reasoable result approach a tackle shop/rod builder and ask if they will show you the ins and outs,there's so much more than just spinning the thread on,if you feel half confident ask them if you can do a few runner repairs for them(busy time of the year when all staff are serving would be a good time),failing this get a broom handle and practice your threadwork.For a boat rod you will be looking at the following rough prices,
Gimble,$3(cheap/nasty) or $12(Fuji) or Butt Cap $3.
Blank,depending on the rating and composition $40 to very dear.
Reel Seat,$10-$15.
Guides,once again depending on quality but entry level Fuji or Freeway $30-$40 to very dear.
Grips,$8.
Thread, two rolls different colours $16.
Thread filler,$10-Erskine.
Epoxy,$12-Erskine (enough for two rods)
Arraldite,got no idea $10?
Probably missed out something and you may do slightly better price wise by shoping around.

[Grunter71]

The last rods I built up retailed for $110.00 each, I bought the same blanks and materials and built 2 for a total $130.00.

Not a huge saving, but better than a poke in the eye, plus my daughter has the pride of being able to say that she caught something on her rod that she helped me make.

However, if you were doing it because of cost alone, you are not going to be in front by a great deal, especially when you add in the time factor.

If you get a bit of enjoyment out of doing something for yourself, then give it a go. Each to their own I say.

[roz]

Not as fun buying one. Make one and your hooked. When you build your own you can build it for you , grip lenths for comfort , colour, reel seat up or down, custom builds are worth the $$$$$.
start with garage sales and second hand stores to buy cheap old rods and practice before you outlay on a new calstar. #
best of luck.

My thoughts exactly, I build my own simply for job satisfaction.

Unless you can get some bargins, putting a rod together yourself won't save a huge amount, but some $$ for sure.

You will also be able to produce something that is original and often better than most 'off the shelf' gear.

I can almost guarantee you will enjoy building it.

Roz

[roz]

I also want to add, that Stuart's comments are right on the money as well.

I've just paid around $100 for the blank I will be building under his supervision at our rod building weekend. It's a Samurai NV 7-1. 5 to 8kg.

This time around I will be using cork grips, but everything else will be standard so I am guessing an extra 50-70 depending on the nice man behind the counter.

I will know the cost by next week.

If I remember I will post the exact cost of the items.

Now, I really have no idea if they sell samurai rods ready built. I've never bothered to look because saving a big dollop of money is not why I build them.

roz.

[familyman]

With the exception of a snyder mag bream that my father bought I have made all my rods.I started with a ugly stik ub 510 cut down to 5'2" for bass in my local creeks and went from there.Yes if you want top notch finish for less bucks then go the factory rod but to make a rod is really satisfying and you know what blank and parts go into it and the fun of catching a fish on your own creation is addictive.You wont go back.
cheers jon

[White_Knight]

Go for it as you should be able to buy the blank and parts for around $200-00
This will give you a rod close to a custom rod ( around $ 500-00 ) as long as you take your time and get info on building it first , there are some good books you can get just go into your local tackle shop and ask for a look at them any way you can always go into Stuart work shop and ask him , I know I have been in there and he help me a lot , he might even sell you some gear at the right price
White_ Knight

[banshee]

So depending on what mark up the builder puts on the components(remembering he gets them wholesale) your saying that custom builders charge $300 plus for labour on a $500 rod?

[stuart]

Banshee

Is there a problem with a rod builder charging $300 to build a rod?

Stuart

[Grunter71]

Happy to back you up there Stuart.

It might sound like a lot of money, however, for somebody to do it as an occupation, they have to make ends meet.

I probably spend 10 - 15 hours building a rod and don't put as much work into it as the professionally built ones. Perhaps with better machinery you will be more efficient than I, however, if you break it down to an hourly rate, you aren't going to become hugely wealthy at our expense.

Hopefully, you also have the experience of the builder to advise on the sort of blank etc to ensure you receive the rod that you are wanting.

Grant

[stuart]

Lets see, I have to pay rent for a large factory, out goings like phone, power, rates, insurance, public liability all before I can pocket some thing. I have to declare every sent that comes and goes through these doors, no black economy at this premises. I shutter to think how much I have spent over the years buying and making new machinery to improve on quality and reliability for you the customers. I have designed my own line of blanks which cost me over $10,000 to do, how many rod builders that you know would go to this extent? There are very few full blown rod builders in this country that could say the same. The problem is starring you in the face every time you walk into a tackle shop, Chinees rods. How are we to compete with those that are simply working for a bowl of rice per day?

I know there are many rod builders that work from home and there isn’t any thing wrong with that, hell we all started from home. Some of these guy’s are working full time and when they get home they pump out a rod or two. Again, I don’t have an issue with this, as long as they charge a fair price. I have set margines I need to make on a rod or else I’m going backwards. Still, if I sit down and work out my actual hourly rate it would come out at less than $15 per hour. If I were to charge a proper hourly rate for my work it would push the cost of most rods well above the $1000 mark. If fisherman truly wants professionally built rods then you should pay for it, simple. I don’t think you work for free, then why should we.

This subject does get under my skin because for many years I have had to justify what I charge, yet if you were to object to what they get per week it would be a different issue I bet. Look at what Doctors charge $190 -220 an hour, do you complain about that to the doctor? Specialists charge up to $600 an hour, again do you complain, no?
So why should specialist rod builders work for peanuts, I have every right to make a living at my chosen profession. Don’t make the mistake of comparing apples with oranges. #

Stuart

[shayned]

Stuart,
Very informative reading your input and roz has kindly sent details for the workshop which I'm looking foward to greatly(by the time the missus realizes I'm not home that weekend it will be too late for her to try and stop me ) My concern now is that there is afair chance that my first rod ever might not be so hot and at the prices being quoted here it could be an expensive learning curve. What do you suggest as a bare min quality just in case I dont bugger it or if I do it wont hurt too much in the dollar department.

[shayned]

Sorry forgot you're not a mind reader, I was thinking along the lines of a general purpose 6-7 ft rod for estuary work up to 8 or ten pounds at a guess. They always come in handy and I assume something that size wouldn't be too difficult as a first time project??? Feel free to shatter any illusions that I have.

[roz]

Shayne,

I've just gotten off the phone to my local tackle shop in Coffs.

They have at least two styles of blanks in the range you want for around $30... that is 4-6kg all purpose aprox 7'. One brand is Killwell & the other is pacific composites.

I've built a boat rod from a pacific composites, and am so pleased with it I will be going another couple.

roz

[banshee]

No problem at all Stuart,if that's what you charge and people are happy to pay so be it,I must say it does surprise me though as we were charging around sixty dollars in labour and charging out the componentry at recomended retail until the boss decided it was to much in the end with a never ending line up of orders waiting,now it's repairs only unless a regular customer is adament that he wants something different.I can see your point clearly,for you it's your total bussiness,for us rod building and reel repairs are what's done when the shop is slow.

[BOWIE.M]

went out and bought all the stuff to build my rod went with a samuri blank s2000 6ft rod
fuji dpsd16 reel seat and titanium guids 6x plus the tip foam handles cork was to dear for the first time build . all seems to be going well just doing a bit each night. made my dryer up out of an old motorised cd rack i had and made up some rollers to turn it in will i do the build not the best but if i want to continue with the hobbie then i will improve my gear with time but at the moment having a ball can't wait till i can start on the next one.