First crack at Rod Building

[oliver]

Finally decided to pull the trigger and build a rod. I wanted to make sure I enjoyed the hobby, so I bought blanks instead of making my own (making them requires a lot of expensive jigs and tools). Its a 7'3" Winston taper. 2 piece with 2 tips. Medium fast action, tip flex. Take a look at the build here:

owilliams.smugmug.com/Fishing/Creations/Bamboo-Flyrod

[oliver]

Bad link.
better one: owilliams.smugmug.com/Fishing/Creations/Bamboo-Fly-Rod

[DRYFLYPHIL]

I was considering the same thing myself last winter but never did it. I actually wasn't considering building one, but more so of doing a basket case rehatch with cane.

Other things came into play, that changed those thoughts for the time being. Who knows, maybe I'll do something this winter??

But hey, yours looks like you did a fine job, and it came out pretty nice. "The pictures tell the story"

[oliver]

Do it!

I didn't buy any special equipment, just the components and built the whole thing by hand. I just used my bobbin for fly tying as a thread tensioner and just held it in my toes while wrapping the guides.

Not sure how rebuilding an old rod would come out. It would be nice if you can get your hands on a nice rare (and useful) taper, but they are hard to come by and you never know how they will act once you tear them apart and rebuild them. I liked starting from a new clean blank because I could just focus on putting it together.

Check out theanglersroost.com for components. They had a load of great tapers to choose from and they had all of the components that you could want. Mine totaled $200 which is about a third or less of what an original Winston would cost you. Their staff (maybe one or two guys out of Buffalo) were fast to answer my questions, though I think their patience was wearing thin on me after my 15th email.

[AgMD]

Looking good.
I notice you are using green thread. Be advised that green is one of the colors most likely to turn color if you don't use a color preserver. I once rebuilt an 8 1/2 foot two tip w/ intermediates that ended up looking like it was wrapped w/ black electrical tape. So tasteful. I was able to enjoy stripping and wrapping twice on that one.
A good rule of thumb is to test out every wrap/CP/varnish permutation on a wood dowel BEFORE you commit to doing it on your rod. Most colors are not as bad as green and some color shifts can be nice. Chinese red silk becomes almost like a transparent gem and some yellow silks will become totally transparent -- glass clear.
For color preserver I prefer Aero Gloss Lacquer -- used by model airplane folks. At least 3 coats thinned 50/50 with Aero gloss thinner and another 2 or 3 un thinned. All applied with a dubbing needle and worked INTO the threads. Any fibers which are not totally sealed by the color preserver will turn black when you varnish. This is worse if you use a dip tube where the time and pressure will force the varnish into any little crack.
For this ( and other reasons) I also pre varnish my wraps before I dip. 3 coats 50/50 Man-O-War/ turpentine and 2 or 3 with 10% turps. Any problem are identified before I dip the whole rod.I hate blotchy wraps and I hate to do things twice.
Keep us posted.
AgMD

[oliver]

I had read that green silk thread would change colors if untreated. I used 3 coats of RodDancer color preservative before varnishing the wraps. The results speak for themselves. I think that the rich green silk on the milk chocolate blank looks great!

[AgMD]

I guess it does look good! -- so good that I thought I was looking at unfinished wraps.
Very nice.
AgMD

[DRYFLYPHIL]

Aug 26, 2013 10:42:59 GMT -5 oliver said:

Do it!

I didn't buy any special equipment, just the components and built the whole thing by hand. I just used my bobbin for fly tying as a thread tensioner and just held it in my toes while wrapping the guides.

Not sure how rebuilding an old rod would come out. It would be nice if you can get your hands on a nice rare (and useful) taper, but they are hard to come by and you never know how they will act once you tear them apart and rebuild them. I liked starting from a new clean blank because I could just focus on putting it together.

Check out theanglersroost.com for components. They had a load of great tapers to choose from and they had all of the components that you could want. Mine totaled $200 which is about a third or less of what an original Winston would cost you. Their staff (maybe one or two guys out of Buffalo) were fast to answer my questions, though I think their patience was wearing thin on me after my 15th email.

You only spent a deuce?? Wow, it looks like a whole lot more. With you telling me that, by the time I find a decent & straight basket case, I should just consider your avenue. I'm going to check out anglersroost & see whats cooking.

[AgMD]

Oliver,
I would really like to see how that rod casts. If it casts anything like it looks it is gonna be a hum dinger.
AgMD

[oliver]

I took it out to the Hoosic yesterday. I fished mostly dries and then I tied on a muddler to fool around with when I was walking to a new location. This is my first time fishing bamboo, so I was not sure what to expect. I had read that many are like wet noodles, so I really hoped that I picked a good taper and that this could end up in my rod rack instead of on craigslist.

It's staying in my rod rack! The guys at theanglersroost.com really hit the nail on the head. It is about a moderate-fast action. Being a bit slower than I am used to really made me think about my stroke. When I slowed down just a bit, there was no need to watch the rod, as soon as the line straightened out on the back cast I could feel it load. Very accurate but still powerful enough to reach out there across the stream (almost...)

I think this rod is perfect or something like the Green river. it makes 30' casts beautifully, but if you try to push it further it goes awry. Right as I was about to head home, the sky darkened before the rain. This drop in pressure must have triggered something in the bug world because the trout started erupting in a slack water eddy pool. I couldn't tell what they were biting on because it was all the way at the other end (maybe 75'). No bugs in the water near me, so I tied on no less than 5 very different patterns from caddis (black and brown) to gnats and midges, to attractors. No bites for me. I am convinced that one of the issues is that I could not cast that far. When I did get one close, it was a very sloppy and loud. I'll stick to the 9' graphite for the Hoosic and use the bamboo on more delicate streams.