Any tips for a novice rod builder?

[danthefisherman]

I’ve always wanted to build my own rod but have no idea what to do haha…anyone have any helpful tips to get started?  Most likely this will be a “one and done” project so I don’t want to go too overboard buying tools and materials that I don’t absolutely need.

I’m looking to build a good parabolic rod for fishing hard treble hook baits in the 2-6oz range (bigger range is a bonus). Preferred rod length is 7’10”-8’. Something as light and sensitive as a Dobyns would be perfectly adequate as that’s what I’m used to.

Mainly looking for a good blank at a fair price. I have my eye on this NFC blank that is on sale but am not sure how accurate the lure ratings are: https://northforkcomposites.com/product/mb-808-1x-ray-neo-xh/

I have some Fuji K guides that I stripped off my broken Dobyns 867, but that’s about it. Not sure if there’s a way that I can also salvage the reel seat and handle.

 

[ikaika]

I'd be looking at the NFC BB-809 if you want parabolic.  Unlikely you can save the reel seat or the handle, but a Fuji ECS reel seat like what Dobyns uses is pretty cheap ($5ish) and EVA grips are cheap too.  I buy components from either Mudhole or GetBit Outdoors for the most part, so you can click around on their sites for ideas.  Mudhole also has a good youtube channel with instructional stuff if you want to go watch a bit about the basics of rod building.

Basically you'll need to accomplish a few things:

1. Fit the grip and reel seat to your blank.  You'll need to ream the grip to fit the blank.  They sell tapered reamers with sandpaper spiraled around them, either for use by hand or chucked up in a drill.  No real way around buying a tool of some sort for this.
2. Glue the grip and reel seat onto the blank using a 2-part paste epoxy like ProPaste.  Cleans up with denatured alcohol or rubbing alcohol.  Mudhole sells little sauce packet things of ProPaste that are enough for 1-2 rods, so don't buy the bigger containers unless you intend to build more rods.
3. Lay out your guide spacing using the manufacturer recommended spacing.  Temporarily attach them to the blank using skinny masking tape, or the tiny rubber bands they sell on Mudhole
4. Wrap the guides with thread to hold them permanently to the blank.  Use nylon color-fast thread for this.  You'll need some way of holding the spool of thread, something to hold the rod while you're turning it, and something to provide tension on the thread so it's not all loose while you're wrapping.  I started out by modifying a cardboard box to hold the rod, and running the thread between the pages of a heavy book to keep some tension on it.  It wasn't great and probably caused me more headaches than it was worth.  I spent $60 on this hand wrapper from Mudhole and it's not perfect either, but it's much better than my box-and-book contraption.  They just recently released a $35 version that's no-frills but will get the job done.  You'll also need razor blades to trim tag ends of your thread, and a thread burnishing tool to make sure your thread wraps are packed closely together.
5. Apply finish to protect the thread.  To avoid having to buy a rod turner, I'd use a quick-drying urethane finish like Permagloss instead of a 2-part epoxy.  You'll need to apply several coats to get enough build to emulate an epoxy, or you can do 2-3 coats and your threads will be fully protected but still visible.  Its extremely thin and dries fast, so you never need to worry about turning the rod to avoid sagging like you do with epoxy.

[danthefisherman]

4 hours ago, ikaika said:

I'd be looking at the NFC BB-809 if you want parabolic.  Unlikely you can save the reel seat or the handle, but a Fuji ECS reel seat like what Dobyns uses is pretty cheap ($5ish) and EVA grips are cheap too.  I buy components from either Mudhole or GetBit Outdoors for the most part, so you can click around on their sites for ideas.  Mudhole also has a good youtube channel with instructional stuff if you want to go watch a bit about the basics of rod building.

Basically you'll need to accomplish a few things:

1. Fit the grip and reel seat to your blank.  You'll need to ream the grip to fit the blank.  They sell tapered reamers with sandpaper spiraled around them, either for use by hand or chucked up in a drill.  No real way around buying a tool of some sort for this.
2. Glue the grip and reel seat onto the blank using a 2-part paste epoxy like ProPaste.  Cleans up with denatured alcohol or rubbing alcohol.  Mudhole sells little sauce packet things of ProPaste that are enough for 1-2 rods, so don't buy the bigger containers unless you intend to build more rods.
3. Lay out your guide spacing using the manufacturer recommended spacing.  Temporarily attach them to the blank using skinny masking tape, or the tiny rubber bands they sell on Mudhole
4. Wrap the guides with thread to hold them permanently to the blank.  Use nylon color-fast thread for this.  You'll need some way of holding the spool of thread, something to hold the rod while you're turning it, and something to provide tension on the thread so it's not all loose while you're wrapping.  I started out by modifying a cardboard box to hold the rod, and running the thread between the pages of a heavy book to keep some tension on it.  It wasn't great and probably caused me more headaches than it was worth.  I spent $60 on this hand wrapper from Mudhole and it's not perfect either, but it's much better than my box-and-book contraption.  They just recently released a $35 version that's no-frills but will get the job done.  You'll also need razor blades to trim tag ends of your thread, and a thread burnishing tool to make sure your thread wraps are packed closely together.
5. Apply finish to protect the thread.  To avoid having to buy a rod turner, I'd use a quick-drying urethane finish like Permagloss instead of a 2-part epoxy.  You'll need to apply several coats to get enough build to emulate an epoxy, or you can do 2-3 coats and your threads will be fully protected but still visible.  Its extremely thin and dries fast, so you never need to worry about turning the rod to avoid sagging like you do with epoxy.

Much thanks for the detailed reply, exactly what I was looking for! Didn’t know that about reaming the grip…good to know. I do have a small rotisserie motor that maybe I can fashion a rod turner out of. 

Edited April 18, 2023 by danthefisherman

[tHeINFamoUS]

That’s a good primer to get ya started. A couple more nuggets: 

NFC makes good blanks…..but still check em all before you build.  Have a friend hold the tip and put a good bend in it, from different angles.  

If it’s going to be a one and done, you can build your own jig in about twenty minutes with a $10 piece of pine from Home Depot. Be sure to make an extra support, like in the pic below, it will come in handy once you get to the tip section.  

For the tensioner, you can use a fly tying bobbin ( just rotate the rod with one hand and hold the bobbin in the other).  I actually still use them occasionally, despite the big fancy carriage on my lathe.  

When you start putting the handle together, spacing wise,  a good starting point for the reel seat is about the same distance from your elbow to your palm.  

For the reel seat, you may have to build up a tape arbor to get it centered on the blank.  Go heavy on the epoxy and ensure the arbors are fully encapsulated in epoxy.  Once it’s set in place, spin the reel seat a couple times for good measure, it’ll help the epoxy cover all surfaces.  I also sand the surfaces (blank and seat) before I start my glue up

Epoxying the handle section can get real messy, real fast. I usually put a couple layers of masking tape on all the parts before hand to keep em clean.That stuff gets everywhere. Paste is easier to work with than the liquid epoxies.

If you use epoxy to seal the guides, Have a butane lighter or an alcohol torch ready to flash over the finish.  A couple quick passes will help release any bubbles in the finish.  If you can rig the rotisserie motor, your finish will be much nicer than the occasional 1/4  turn.  

For the guides, I wouldn’t reuse single foot guides.  You bend those things back and forth a couple times and they have a tendency to snap.  They’re cheap, just replace them. 

Style wise, thread inlays are simple and make for a more finished look.  Find a few videos on how to do em.  

If you order from get bit, go through PayPal.  Have read about some issues with erroneous credit charges after shopping on their site.  I always go through PayPal, never any issues.  

Edited April 18, 2023 by tHeINFamoUS

[danthefisherman]

On 4/18/2023 at 4:40 PM, tHeINFamoUS said:

That’s a good primer to get ya started. A couple more nuggets: 

NFC makes good blanks…..but still check em all before you build.  Have a friend hold the tip and put a good bend in it, from different angles.  

If it’s going to be a one and done, you can build your own jig in about twenty minutes with a $10 piece of pine from Home Depot. Be sure to make an extra support, like in the pic below, it will come in handy once you get to the tip section.  

For the tensioner, you can use a fly tying bobbin ( just rotate the rod with one hand and hold the bobbin in the other).  I actually still use them occasionally, despite the big fancy carriage on my lathe.  

When you start putting the handle together, spacing wise,  a good starting point for the reel seat is about the same distance from your elbow to your palm.  

For the reel seat, you may have to build up a tape arbor to get it centered on the blank.  Go heavy on the epoxy and ensure the arbors are fully encapsulated in epoxy.  Once it’s set in place, spin the reel seat a couple times for good measure, it’ll help the epoxy cover all surfaces.  I also sand the surfaces (blank and seat) before I start my glue up

Epoxying the handle section can get real messy, real fast. I usually put a couple layers of masking tape on all the parts before hand to keep em clean.That stuff gets everywhere. Paste is easier to work with than the liquid epoxies.

If you use epoxy to seal the guides, Have a butane lighter or an alcohol torch ready to flash over the finish.  A couple quick passes will help release any bubbles in the finish.  If you can rig the rotisserie motor, your finish will be much nicer than the occasional 1/4  turn.  

For the guides, I wouldn’t reuse single foot guides.  You bend those things back and forth a couple times and they have a tendency to snap.  They’re cheap, just replace them. 

Style wise, thread inlays are simple and make for a more finished look.  Find a few videos on how to do em.  

If you order from get bit, go through PayPal.  Have read about some issues with erroneous credit charges after shopping on their site.  I always go through PayPal, never any issues.  

Much thanks, I appreciate the insight!