|
|
Posts: 346
| Where do you get your blanks? Who makes the best? Obviously I have no knowledge of rod building, I'm definately going to start though.
MJB |
|
| |
|
Posts: 111
Location: Big Lake, MN | I get mine through Wild River distributing Excellent prices, service and good advice. I'm a novice rod builder with only five under my belt. I just ordered two St. Croix muskie rod components for me and a ultra-light set-up for my 3 year old daughter.
Wild River Distributing
41 Judd Street
Marine on St. Croix, MN 55073
651-433-2217
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 1137
Location: Holly, MI | I've built a small handfull too. It is very rewarding and not too hard to do a nice job. email me if you want and I'll give you a 10 min lesson that will be enough info to build one. I love the st croix blanks but the last one I made cost more than if I bought one in the store with the fancy components I used. It still is fun to catch fish on a rod you spun up yourself just like catching them on a hand made lure. lobbe1@usol dot com |
|
| |
|
Posts: 384
Location: Eagle River, Alaska | I have been making rods for 20 years now and my favorite place for ordering them and components just closed shop about 6 months ago. Depending on what type of blank you want to use you can usually go to the company's website and they will have a list of blank retailers somewhere on the site. Some companys will let you order them direct from their websites. Cabela's carries a limited number of different companies blanks. I have recently started ordering most of my stuff from the Anglers Workshop (www.anglersworkshop.com). They carry a wide variety of blanks. Some of the most common blanks in use today are Loomis, St. Croix, Diamondback, Lamiglas and there are others. For myself, if I am going to put the work into a nice rod (and I do a lot of elaborate threadwork) I like to stay with name brands. I've tried Cabela's own brand and some others but have generally been disappointed with the rod's action. A rather long but good book if you really plan on doing rod building for a long time is "Advanced Custom Rod Making" by Dale Clemens. Quite a long book but will pretty much teach you anything you need to know about making custom rods. If you have any questions feel free to email and ask.
Good Luck,
BrianW |
|
| |
|
Posts: 346
| Would you recommend started out with a small project, like a small crappie rod just so you don't mess up on a quality musky rod? Thanks,
MJB |
|
| |
|
Posts: 1137
Location: Holly, MI | Yes, you might want to keep the $ investment low for the first one.
My 2nd, 3rd, etc. rods got mich nicer looking and higher quality as I built them. Stay kind of basic on the practice rod, aviod things like metallic threads and other fancy stuff. Buy a rod drying motor on eBay. This will spin your rod at low rpm while the flexcoat (over the wraps)dries for no drips or sags. The motors are much cheaper on ebay than retail. There is tons of info online as far as tips and tricks on rod building. Just use a search engine loke google.com
I have bought blanks and components from mudhole.com They even have kits for the beginner with everything you need including instructions.
This time of year is for fishing for me. I have built my rods in the winter when the days are short and my time is long. enjoy -lobi |
|
| |
|
Posts: 384
Location: Eagle River, Alaska | MJB...just a note on starting out on a "smaller" project. It is much easier to wrap on a larger diameter blank than a small one. I have tried to teach many guys who wanted to start on small diameter fly rod blanks and got very frustrated. Check at some local sport shops to see if someone makes them there....most of the time these people are more than happy to help you with tips, advice and even some hands on help. The first two rods I wrapped years ago have both been rewrapped since....I just felt they looked too plain after I got better.
BrianW |
|
| |
|
Posts: 346
| Thanks guys, I really appreciate your help. So should I start with a larger rod, maybe a cheaper blank just to get the practice of wrapping. Maybe not use extremely spendy components?
Thanks,
MJB |
|
| |
|
Posts: 199
Location: Anchorage | I second the Wild River Dist. as their blanks are some of the best priced I've found and the service is hard to beat. I've built 50 some rods thru them and haven't had any real problems w/component quality. They deal mostly in St. Croix and do have second blanks for real cheap which are good practice but actually make fine rods as most just have asthetic defects and are unsanded. Only problem is their hours 9-3 or 4.
Elwood
Woody's Custom Rods |
|
| |
|
Posts: 384
Location: Eagle River, Alaska | Woody has a great idea about building on seconds. Usually much cheaper they may just have a blemish or two but work fine.
BrianW |
|
| |
|
Posts: 18
| Anyone know if Wild River has a web site or email? All I can find is a postal listing and I don't like the post office. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 111
Location: Big Lake, MN | Musky_bob,
They are not on the web and they told me that they don't plan on having a web site. As far as e-mail goes I don't know.
Good luck, |
|
| |
|
Posts: 5
| Sorry to bump an old thread. Does anyone have experience with Rainshadow's Musky blanks? They are very affordable right now and I'm thinking about ordering a few for my first rod building experience. How is the quality and what are they comparable to?
Thanks |
|
| |
|
Posts: 376
Location: Cudahy, Wisconsin | I use Rainshadow blanks on my steelhead rods. They are very light and durable. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 111
Location: Big Lake, MN | I have not built any rods using Rainshadow blanks. St. Croix rods have been my staple and I think I'm going to purchase a Diamondback blank and see what all the hype is about with those rods. |
|
| |
|
| If any of you are interested and live in the North Metro you might want to consider taking a drive up to Mora. We have a rod building class run through the Community education department. It meets every Wednesday night through March. The two instructors are very good and take you through the process one-on-one. They sell the blanks and components at a reduced price and charge you $5 for finishing costs.
The nice thing is after you are finished tying everything up - you simply hand it in to them and they apply the finish coats of epoxy and bring it back the next week. It's a really fun process and you don't have to buy any equipment whatsoever.
Another benefit is you can make custom rods that the retailers don't offer. This winter I am making a 6'-9" Avid in a MH action....something you can't buy finished from St. Croix.
If you are interested, they have class every Wednesday night at the Mora High School from 6:30 till about 9:00. You'll probably need to come next week or the week after at the latest to get your components ordered.
Bursk
|
|
| |
Rod builders?