Rod Building Questions

[AgriHawg]

1. Where can you find 10-14ft blanks appropriate for spider rigging/vertical fishing?

2. Are they as good/better than a B&M or comparable rod?

3. Can you get blanks from a company such as B&M?

4. How difficult is it to build a half way descent rod?

5. How difficult do you think it would be to teach a high school class how to build a rod?

6. Approximately what would the necessary start up costs run? (If you did almost everything by hand)

7. What are the pitfalls of rod building?

thanks...I must be crazy to be thinking about this.

[scoremaster]

hey agrihawg i would like to know the answers also as i thought about building a rod or two just to say i did it and see what it would turn out to be in the end lol.
i know cabelas and janns net craft carry blanks but don't know if they carry that long maybe in a flyrod style but don't know if that would be what you want.

but am also waiting for answers and maybe mudhole customs would have a rod will see if i can dig up and old mag and check for ya .

thanks,
Scott

[AgriHawg]

I received a catalog from Mudhole while I was attending FFA National Convention. I've found one blank that I think might work. Although, I'm not sure I want to start with a $50 plus blank to start with. Especially with all the other start up costs I'm sure there will be. Maybe I need to start with a $13 six foot rod first then graduate to a 10' 6" rod.

Glad to see that I'm not the only one wanting answers.

[Crappiekiller3]

1. Where can you find 10-14ft blanks appropriate for spider rigging/vertical fishing?

2. Are they as good/better than a B&M or comparable rod?

3. Can you get blanks from a company such as B&M?

4. How difficult is it to build a half way descent rod?

5. How difficult do you think it would be to teach a high school class how to build a rod?

6. Approximately what would the necessary start up costs run? (If you did almost everything by hand)

7. What are the pitfalls of rod building?

thanks...I must be crazy to be thinking about this.

1. Anglers workshop in Washington has them.

2. Much better than B& M or any manufactured rod because of the way
custom rods are built.

3. Probably not. I doubt that B&M build their own blanks.

4. Anyone with reasonable skills can build a rod....the fancy stuff comes
later and believe you me there are some fancy, fancy rods!!

5. I would think it would be very difficult. When I first started teaching
rod building, I had a class of 12 and could not do a good job. One,
to 5 maximum for fluidy of info.

6. To just build a average rod, these figures are appx depending on quality
and skill. blank 12.00, guides 10-25 dollarsw, handle 12.00, reel seat
5.00, thread 6.00, tip 2.00. You can build a thread holder w/ tension
for 5 or 6 bucks. supports for the blank about 12.00, x-acto knife 3 bucks. and finish 8 bucks. Keep in mind this is a bare bones deal!!
7. The only pitfall I see is becoming addicted to it and wanting a higher end
rod!


Hope this has answered some of your questions. I've been building rods for
over 40 years now and the cost and materials have increased dramatically.
So has technology. I've built over 600 rods and still enjoy it a lot.

[AgriHawg]

CK3, thanks for answering my questions. However, I wasn't able to find 10-12 foot blanks that I thought would be appropriate for crappie fishing. At least not for less than $75. Did I miss them? I think I looked at all of the blanks they have. I've also checked Jann's Netcraft with no luck.

Is there anything else a newbie should consider before jumping in?

[Hanr3]

St. Croix

[AgriHawg]

St. Croix

Sorry, but I can't see spending $150+++ on a crappie rod.

[Bassky]

Go to Rodbuilding.org :: rodboard website, join its free, post your question on forum board, or look on the left side of the forum and there are list of rod building companies that sell blanks. You might want to look at flyrod blanks or light steel head blanks.
Bassky

[Bassky]

Go there, they have B & M rods on sale in a post for $23.95 plus shipping.
Bassky

[AgriHawg]

Go to Rodbuilding.org :: rodboard website, join its free, post your question on forum board, or look on the left side of the forum and there are list of rod building companies that sell blanks. You might want to look at flyrod blanks or light steel head blanks.
Bassky

I've been there and looked at all of the vendors they have listed.