Ned Rig Rod From Scratch

[5bites]

Very cool. Is that a single coat of epoxy?

[rps]

Very cool. Is that a single coat of epoxy?

Yes.

[5bites]

Cool deal. I've never done that but would like to on my own personal stuff. It seems like perma gloss would be perfect for that.

[dtrs5kprs]

Neat handle. My son will be jealous. We went split cork on his little rig rod this winter, but may have made some promises of tubing down the road.

Have used a couple of different wraps on the reel recently. One is Wilson tennis racket tape, after first using duct, then electric tape. It is a comfortable, cushioned grip that has held up well under use, and in weather. Cheaper than the BPS wraps too. Have even used it on a couple of factory Loomis sticks to add a little girth to the seat.

The other is a shrink wrap from Tackle Warehouse, with a quick wrap of tape at each end, and lightly taped below the shrink wrap. Lews (back in the 80's) used to supply big heat tubing with their tube TN handle rods. Put it on with a hair dryer, but a heat gun would no doubt work better.

Shrink wrap:

[Ham]

I love the look of a split grip, but honestly prefer to fish with a full handle.

[dtrs5kprs]

I love the look of a split grip, but honestly prefer to fish with a full handle.

Like the full grip for fast baits myself, but without the fore grip. Trick for me on split grips is making sure they fit the user. There is a spot on the arm I like the rear grip to hit, but obviously it varies person to person. A lot of factory splits are too long, or too short to hit that spot. To have someone else build a split rod for you, you would really need to provide measurements of the forearm. Would help get the butt grip and the reel seat area placed correctly.

That TN handle is fat. Full rings, just barely turned down. Fills the hand and prevents "squeezing" the rod, which causes fatigue, wrist/elbow pain, and muscle cramping over a long day.

[REDSOXWSCHAMP]

how much cost is involved with building your own rod, I've always been interested, just wasn't sure where to start

[5bites]

Well that's honestly a loaded question. It would be easy to drop a grand before even ordering a rod. Or you could spend under $50 easily. It just depends how much you plan on being involved.

The quality of premade grips out now helps a lot! Turning your own can add up to a lot of cash if you let it.

[rps]

how much cost is involved with building your own rod, I've always been interested, just wasn't sure where to start

Do not start if you plan to make only one.

Minimum fixed costs: a stand on which to wrap the rod, a stand with a small motor to turn the rod while the epoxy coat dries, 2 or 3 rat files and a good flat file, a thread bobbin, one or two pallet knives, cups and foil in which and on which you mix epoxy and finish, small sharp scissors, a single edge razor blade, a hot glue stick, a roll of 1/4 inch masking tape, a lighter, and toothpicks. Optional choices include a power wrapper (I bought one and reverted to hand turning), a lathe, and a dremel. In other words, 100 to 2000 dollars before you begin.

For each rod you will need a blank, guides, a tip top, thread, handle components, a hook holder, handle epoxy and thread epoxy. These will cost you 60 to 600 dollars per rod.

I find making my own rewarding on two levels. I can make it exactly the way I want, and I really enjoy catching fish on something I have made.

If you are still interested, check out http://rodbuilding.org/.

[dtrs5kprs]

Do not start if you plan to make only one.

Sound advice. Like most of tackle craft, the initial investment is the big hit.