Rod Building

I was looking at rod building supplies today, and i got looking at some of the prices for materials. my god it seems i could go buy a top of the line ready made rod for what these materials cost. Some of the rod blanks cost as much as a complete rod from the same company.  the stuff i was looking at to build the rod i wanted was around $200. And that was with going cheaper on the blank, seat, and handle choices. i priced these materials at shoff's online. Does anyone have tips on rod building? What are the benefits of making a rod, that you wont get with buying one complete? Is there anyplace anyone knows of that has good quality rod building materials cheaper?

thanks for the site guy, has a lot of info i was lookin for.

Bulidng rods is awesome, its the next step after tying your own flies and such to being a more complete self-sufficient fisherman.  Worlds of opprotunities exist in this hobby.

you don't build rods to save money.  You build them to get a specific rod that you want.  As you've found, you can't buy all the components at retail pricing for any less than you can get the built rod in most cases.  You can buy the St Croix blanks with a St Croix handle/guide kit and it comes out to the same money most of the time.  Then you have to figure in the extras like thread, epoxy, blades, mixing cups, and any equipment that you want to use like a rod turner or wrapper.  Financially it doesn't make sense.
 
However, if you want something special or different that you can't get on a factory rod then you'll want a custom rod.  No one needs a custom rod.  A factory rod will do in almost every single case where people are using custom rods.  But a custom rod might let you build in attributes that you can't get in a factory rod.  Tip weight/swing weight is one.  Factory guides are normally way oversized and low in number.  You can put smaller and more guides on a custom and end up with a rod that has a lower swing weight and is more comfortable to fish.  Grips are similar.  Factory grips are designed for the average person.  If you have big or small hands you can make a big or small grip.
 
Or, you can use blanks that aren't available in factory rods.  That's where I think you can get the most value.  Let's face it- you can pick apart the wraps on a st croix as not being perfect compared to a custom rod.  You can pull the grip off a Loomis and see that it isn't the best bond compared to a custom rod.  Frankly, it doesn't really matter in terms of catching fish.  The incremental benefit to improving those things is small.  Using a blank that you can't get in a factory rod has an infinitely higher benefit because there is a zero basis to compare to.  For instance, I picked up a 10' 3 pc 4/5 wt blank that tests out as a 3 wt.  It is exactly what I wanted in a nymph rod for trout (the fact that it was super light in the tip and swing weight was a bonus).  I don't know of a 10' 3 wt factory fly rod, and certainly not one that you can buy for under $100.  Same with the 11'9" talon I have.  At the time that was the only blank available that was designed for great lakes steel with those specs.  I don't know of a factory rod that can compare in any price range.  So I built one for me and a bunch for others.  To me, that is the benefit of having a custom rod- something that you can't get from the factory.

Thanks,
Rick