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Thread: building rods

  1. #46

    Re: building rods

    Quote Originally Posted by White_Knight
    Me again Stuart
    I see that you call me mate at the end of your last post.
    Now that we are mates again explane this one to me
    Does a good rod builder #1 able to get a stock blank and turn it into a great rod or #2 does a good rod builder need a great blank to turn it into a great rod.
    Stuart remember this we can all learn from one another.
    And I give you 11 out of 10 for giving info on the weeken ( 1 & 2 July ) on rod building , that's realy great of you , pity you could not get all the top rod builders in Australia to turn up . we then would have a lot of info to chew on don't you agree .
    How many rod builders would you say are at the very top like you?

    Regards
    WHITE KNIGHT
    Stuart has spent thousands and gone to extreme lengths designing his own blanks so as to get them absolutely perfect to what he wants. He said to you "There is so much about blank design its not funny, more important I don’t have the time to site here typing for 2 to 3 hours of the inn’s and out’s of such a massive topic. Blank design is far more technical and sophisticated than most care to understand."

    I think he has made his thoughts obvious regarding the importance of having a great blank in order to build a "great" rod.

    Just my take on it.

  2. #47

    Re: building rods

    Hey White Knight what gives, did Stuart steal your dog or something? The way your posts read it seems you keep trying to bait the bloke or has my grasp of the english language slipped and I'm misunderstanding you?

  3. #48
    hardb8
    Guest

    Re: building rods

    Hi Bowie M,
    # # # # # # # # #I totally recommend you build your own,I started when I just couldn't get what I wanted in a reelseat configuration.The style I'm refering to is now known as the skeleton reelseat.I had it all in my head and decided to give it a go.The results were more than I'd hoped to acheive.

    I meet by chance the then Loomis rep Mr Ross Johnson who I conversed with and tested at lenght blanks that would suit my task.This man was old school (Well mannered and time was not an issue to discuss topics with me I knew nothing about) I'm sure Loomis miss him as a rep.

    I then bought some silicone carbide guides to ensure maximum distance during casting,And cork grips for comfort and the utmost in vibration transmition,Not to mention their asteticly pleasing,A mate showed me how to bind and the basics of epoxy work and I was away.

    My rod took me about a month to build between work and family,Tapeing on guides and casting.Recording distances and reconfiguring gides and doing it again untill I was happy.I'm sure proffessionals don't have to do this as they would have done it all before,But for us novices it is good fun and a great learning experience.Other pluses with building your own is you know it's on the backbone,Your guides are rifle straight,You can balance the rod to the reel you'll be using by taping it on the blank first and recording the position.Choosing your own binding colours and patterns,And personal touches,I had some small stickers that contain my name which I placed along side the Loomis ID decal.My grand father left me one (Dunno what happened to the other) gold cufflink on his passing. This has his initals engraved in it and as Pop taught me to fish and I couldn't think of any better way to say thanks than to incorperate it into my rod,He still fishes with me in spirit all the time. The chain and barbell was removed and it was epoxyed to the end,No ugly buttcap or cork colour change.

    The most pleasing part of it all is doing somthing you love with a tool you've hand crafted on your own.Then when people ask who built ya rod as they want one the same,The feeling of success is amplifyed 10 fold.I've got some great ideas for my next rod (Light baitcaster) The buttcap is gonna be an Australian penny that's been shaped into a slouch hat. My spin rod cost me $120 for the blank,$72 for Fuji silicone carbide guides and tip,$30 for cork grip,$20 for a flyreel seat which was cut to pieces to acheive the desired result and $40 for thread and epoxy.Total $282 not bad for a quality one off spin stick.This exersize made me appreciate the work of custom builders,Which I believe are worth the money.My stick's been goin strong for six years now and I haven't yet seen a spin rod I'd rather own.

    # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # Go for it mate! Cheers hardb8 #

  4. #49

    Re: building rods



    White Knight,

    could you please check your PM's.

    Much appreciated,

    Regards Roz.
    GO THE CRUISER UTES!

    ....OH WHAT A FEELING!

  5. #50
    stuart
    Guest

    Re: building rods

    White_Knight

    Let’s see, who is at the top of the rod building food chain. It comes down to who you ask, if you ask my mum she say’s I’m the best, cant argue with mum. Answering a question like this is the same as staring down the barrels of a sawn off shot gun with a hair trigger. I’m very good at what I do, am I the best, well you be the judge along with my customer base here in Australia and overseas. Unfortunately we have lost some incredible talent in this country to the import problems, economy and so on. Then on the other hand I have seen old guy’s with plenty of time on their hands put out a rod or two that would put many to shame. I will name the few that I think are worthy of mention off the top of my head, Steve Morris, Ian Miller, Jeff Cheetham, Laurie Casey, and my self. These guy’s have done the hard yards and stuck with it through thick and thin. All do this as a full time job and have done for many many years, I think we all need our heads read to be honest. If I have missed any one, it’s not because I don’t think they are any good, it’s because I don’t know them or haven’t thought of them.

    I hope this doesn’t happen, but there may be a time when all the Aussie rod builders are gone, then you will have to go to China town to buy your rods. People think we are making bucket loads of money because some , if not all of us charge upwards of $2400 per chair rod, or even $1100 for a bent butt stand up. Well I can assure you all, we are struggling to make ends meet at the best of times. This game is over priced in terms of wholesale pricing which we have no choice but to forward the cost on to the customers. We can never charge out our well deserved hourly rate for the simple fact you guy’s wont pay that much. We have to sell rods at a lower than average rate due to many other factors. If I well and truly wanted to get rich, I would have never stuck with this gig. Plenty of other jobs where you get payed every week, you get super, loading, holidays, sick leave, holiday pay and so on.


    I don’t know how this helps any one, but you have some more answers to your questions White_Knight. I do many things to promote this industry and one of these things is to help as many willing and keen rod builders as possible, experienced or novice. The guy’s I mentioned above don’t know it all. We all communicate amongst ourselves if faced with a bit of a sticky problem. I speak with Laurie Casey all most every day, he is a good friend. I used to speak with Steve Morris every day until Top Shot tackle took off. Jeff Cheetham is a very nice guy that has been building rods for near as long as I have been alive. I haven’t had to much of a chance to speak with Ian all that much over the years, but when I have its all good. There is no need for good rod builders to loos their heads up their A hole if you no what I mean. Hell, we cant take our selves to seriously other wise we will go crazy or has that already happened.

    Crazy Stuart

  6. #51

    Re: building rods

    Crazy Stuart
    Have a look at " MO Tackle , Awsome Stuff " on this site
    Let me know what you think about that one .
    Hard making a $ these days A MATE

    CHAI
    WHITE KNIGHT

  7. #52

    Re: building rods

    Spoke to guys at The Tackle Shop at Carseldine and explained that I wanted to build a general purpose estuary rod that if I buggered up wouldn't hurt the wallet too much but if it worked out would be of reasonable quality in terms of fittings. I found them very helpful this what they supplied and the pricing just as a guide for anyone else in a similar situation.
    Duralon grip 10 x 1/2" 3.95
    Duralon grip 7 x 1/2" 2.75
    Rnd Butt Cap 19 5.25
    Econ. Reel seat 18 9.75
    Tip BPLT8/2.8 3.95
    Guide BSVLG25 5.20
    Guide BSVLG16 3.25
    Guide BSVLG12 2.30
    Guide BSVLG10 1.95
    Guide BSVLG08 1.95
    Binding Thread 5.95
    Binding Thread 5.95
    Pac Comp Blank 2-4Kg 584 31.70

    Total 83.90

    At this stage I still have to get epoxy ect. so I guess it will end up around a hundred or so. On the strength of this it would be cheaper to go and buy another ugly stick but I wouldn't get the enjoyment of learning how to do something new. Hopefully this will help another newby to rod building like myself.

  8. #53
    bearclaw
    Guest

    Re: building rods

    Sorry you can't even compare a Custom rod to a factory rolled rod. I've now been now building rods for a few years now, I blame Stuart for this. The biggest and funniest thing I have found over the developing this from a hobby to a business is the help you get from fellow rod builders. And to the person who asked Australia has quiet a few leading builders and upcoming builders in the world, thanks to builders like Stuart.

    The biggest problem is you will have is to stop building rods for your mates, as they seem to all want to have a rod built that fits them.

    You don't see many split grips (well some of daiwa and Shimano's rods that are meant for the US market are now available), spiral wraps, quality finish, thread art etc etc on factory rods. Matter of fact if you have a old factory rod lying around you don't want, pull it apart and see how crappy these things are made.

    There is more to a custom rod than just the rod, performance, fit, quality, balance and the list goes on, anyone who is serious about a custom rod will never use a factory rolled rod again. I personally don't mind spending the money to put titanium sic guides on a rod I will use casting all day and know many others who will fork out the $300 plus for the guides only. If you don't want a custom don't buy one and if you have ever thought of building one or buying a custom then go for it and you won't look back. You might not catch more fish but the experience will be better.

    If anyone is thinking about building their own rod drop Roz a line and get to this rod building weekend. What Stuart will be able to teach you over those 2 days will save years of stuffing around learning these skills.

    Regards

    Myles

    Bearclaw Rods

  9. #54

    Re: building rods

    Well here's a chance to display my complete lack of knowledge again, for the rod building workshop what little tools ect should I take to make life easier, roz already suggested masking tape, scissors, gel hybrid pen for marking. I'll make a basic roller system to take as well. Any advice happily taken. Like a brush do I need a brush if so what size is best?

  10. #55
    stuart
    Guest

    Re: building rods

    OK guy’s, here is what I recommend for you to bring. I x Nail clippers “You will see why on the day” 1 x masking tape, 1 x small tube of 5 minute araldite, I large tube of 24hr araldite if you have a rod you want built there and then. Rags, paint marking pen, threads to bind with, rollers if you have them, 1 x binding lathe if some one has one for us to use. Colour preserver, some brushes for coating 10mm wide sable and synthetic hair style. Thinners and Metho is always needed for rod building. And what ever else I have forgotten. If you want any rods built then that is the time for me to help show you how it’s done, I can assist you with hands on to get you through the hard parts. Bearclaw, Im glad you have stuck with it mate, it’s also very encouraging to see you make some money out of it. I remember years ago when you were only getting started. I hope to still see you down the track many years from now binding away making a million or three. I have been wanting to ring you for some time to see how its all going.

    Stuart

  11. #56

    Re: building rods



    This topic seems to be getting more attention than the 'Rod Building Weekend' one.

    I have a suggestion that will save us beginners a few $$$$$'s.

    If you don't want to go to the trouble and expense of getting rollers set up to turn your rod on, a broccoli box with a 'V' cut into the ends to hold the rod will tide you over.

    I've turned all my rods by hand and used make shift ideas like the one above.

    Which, I think is quite clever THANKYOU AGAIN VOLVO!!!!


    I also apply the filler/thread preserver using my finger, as it keeps the thread smooth, as sometimes brushes can spoil. IMO again.....it's entirely up to you. That is another VOLVO idea

    There may be someboday out there with a better idea... well that's what this weekend is all about, sharing the knowlege & learning new methods.

    Roz
    GO THE CRUISER UTES!

    ....OH WHAT A FEELING!

  12. #57
    bearclaw
    Guest

    Re: building rods

    Stuart, Roz

    Your welcome to use my PacBay wrapper, so drop me an email if you want to work out a way to pick it up or I drop it off, the night before. I will see if I can swap a shift or two to try and get at least the Sat. off, If I can I will bring in my lathe and if anyone who might want to shape their grips on a lathe they are more than welcome.

    Bearclaw

  13. #58
    bearclaw
    Guest

    Re: building rods

    Sorry, just realised bringing in the Jet lathe might be a waste of time, as anyone using cork will probably using preshaped.

    Bearclaw

  14. #59

    Re: building rods

    GOOD LUCK YOU GUYS HOPE IT ALL GOES GREAT FOR YOU
    AS BY NOW YOU SHOULD KNOW WHO I AM I AM STUART BEST MATE
    AND A DOG HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH IT
    JUST ASK STUART WHEN YOU SEE HIM >
    AND ROZ CAN YOU LET ME KNOW WHERE THIS ROD DEMO IS GOING TO BE HELD AS STUART WON'T TELL ME
    AGAIN GOOD LUCK ON THE ROD BUILDING
    WHITE KNIGHT
    MORE TO COME LATER HAY STUART

  15. #60

    Re: building rods

    White knight your not a mate of old Bob hawke by any chance are ya??..
    Spotted on one of the other posts you mentioned wanting to attend the rod bulding session to learn sumthin about putting on leather !!""..
    I have some leather out in the shed an old single tennent left in one of the boarding houses along with some spiked collars n and wriststraps if they is any good to ya!!?? ...
    Now for those attending the Rod building session if i may be allowed, i wouldnt mind adding a coupla simple things which dont cost much and esilly thrown away at days end which may assist for the beginners Rod..
    Paddlepop sticks if ya aint fussy can be used to apply apoxy resin reasonable well and like i said can be disposed off at end with no need for washing up..
    The broccoli Box as Roz mentioned with a vee cut at each end and a gap at each side allowing for thread to run to the blank is another disposabe item as a fill in.
    A toothpick to push apoxy resin into awkward areas such as under your smaller guides...
    Hope you will forgive me if i seem to be butting in especially at this stage but just thought coupla cents worth of hopefull advice mightnt go astray ..
    Cheers

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