Hi there. I have been looking at the starter kits (blanks, accessory kits, etc;) on Mud Hole and considering building a custom rod for my father, who I have convinced to get back into fishing now that his grandson is hooked (pardon the pun). My question is, beyond the blank kit and accesory kit, what else "must" be orderd in order to make this special gift for my father (from myself and his grandson)? Feel free to PM me if it is easier. I apprecaite any help / guidance so I can see if this is a realistic idea (I have a garage full of tools, drill press, etc; so it would only be a case of specialty tools).

Thanks.

Mike

Check Cabelas they have complete kits. You may want to checkout some books on rod building. Not to hard to do but there are some tricks to it.

Good Luck,

Tom D.

Check Cabelas they have complete kits. You may want to checkout some books on rod building. Not to hard to do but there are some tricks to it.

Good Luck,

Tom D.

Thanks Tom!

mcliff, how many rods are you planning on building after your father's rod? You're going to need atleast drying motor and a rod wrapper. You can build the rod wrapper or buy it and it's not big dollars, but if you plan on building a one and done, then you'll be wasting money.

I live 1 town away, maybe we can work something out. I have both of those items/tools.

mcliff, how many rods are you planning on building after your father's rod? You're going to need atleast drying motor and a rod wrapper. You can build the rod wrapper or buy it and it's not big dollars, but if you plan on building a one and done, then you'll be wasting money.

I live 1 town away, maybe we can work something out. I have both of those items/tools.

My guess is if I build one for my father, I would end up building one for my son and myself as well....and from what I've read from all of you, making lures and rods becomes addicting.....

Turning a few rods by hand will avoid an investment that you may not get your money's worth out of. It also gives you a lot of insight into how epoxy behaves. A cardboard box with notches at the ends will suffice a s wrapping jig and drying jig. Run the tread through a phone book to keep tension. If you get into the craft in an ongoing basis, get Tom Kirkman's book and scour the web for tips and tutorials. The downside to kits and guide spacing charts is that you don't get the optimum performance that is achievable through static placement and other custom rod building processes. Feel free to PM or email me if I can help. Good luck!

Go to the Mudhole site and click on their rod building tips/instructions buttons, or order a catalog and you'll find good instructions in the front of the catalog. As others have suggested, try to figure out how deeply you want to go into the hobby. That will guide you on what to buy initially for tools.

I suggest starting with a kit, and a fairly cheap one at that, and get started on it. That way the design will be OK and you won't have a tremendous investment if you screw it up or never quite catch on. If you are handy with your hands, simple tools, glue and finish handling, are somewhat patient, and have a real desire to build a rod, you will be successful.

After you have done a couple kit rods, you will want to spec your own rod blank, guides, grips, etc, and you will want some more advanced tools. A drying motor setup is really nice, but is optional. Without it you have to hand turn the rod now and then while the epoxy is curing. the quality of the epoxy job done manually is usually not nearly as nice as you will get with a drying motor rig. I made my own from a cheap motor from Ebay. I also built my winding setup out of pine, dowels for the spools, and a thread tensioner (any rod building supply house has them). It really dosn't take that much $ for tools if you are willing to make some of them yourself.

Check out http://www.rodbuilding.org/list.php?2 Check out the library and search the forum for entries on beginning rod building. Buy the book by Tom Kirkman available at Mudhole and other rod building houses. The rodbuilding.org site is all about rods, not rods and baits, so it is better for the rodbuilder.

The guy down the road from you has offerred to help, so take advantage of his offer. There would be no better way to get introduced to the craft than to have an experienced rodbuilder invite you into his shop and go over it with you.