12-17-2005, 10:27 PM
What you say is exactly true. If you build a few rods a year for yourself you can save money. If you build rods for other people you'll be selling them for maybe close to the same as the rod makers themselves. Time is money unless you build rods strictly for yourself and friends. I will respectfully disagree with you that the blank on $600 factory rod is the same as a $50-$150 IM6 blank. A lot of thought goes into the taper,design and materials of a higher priced rod. Another thing you'll get on a factory rod is a good lifetime warranty (you should get a good warranty on a blank depending on the brand. When you build on a blank whether is a Sage or Rainshadow , and it happens to break, you send back the broken piece, and they'll send you a new section and your guides, unless you've already cut them off. Then you have to spine it, set the guides and wrap and Flex coat them. Factory rods you'll get back built. I do think you'll get a better looking and more customized rod if you build it no matter what blank you use, and you use good components. Shop around and get what you want.
W2D is right with Hooked handling rod building supplies. Better check them out before most of the good stuff is gone.
Here's some online links
[url "http://www.shofftackle.com/"]http://www.shofftackle.com/[/url]
link for Sage kit at $395. [url "http://www.shofftackle.com/sage-xp-kits.html"]http://www.shofftackle.com/sage-xp-kits.html[/url]
St. Croix kit is $227 [url "http://www.shofftackle.com/sc4f-2006-kits.html"]http://www.shofftackle.com/sc4f-2006-kits.html[/url]
Rainshadow blank is $84 [url "http://www.shofftackle.com/rainshadow4pcfly.html"]http://www.shofftackle.com/rainshadow4pcfly.html[/url]
All are 4 pc.
Read the warranties. You may be very careful with a rod, but it only takes an errant chuck and duck cast with a weighted nymph to ding a section and next thing you know you're wondering why your rod looks so strange-and shorter.[unsure]
The more you build, the better you'll get.
Another I and other builders have used is Hook and Hackle
[url "http://www.hookhack.com/"]http://www.hookhack.com/[/url]
For the rod building kits [url "http://www.hookhack.com/rodbuildingkits.html"]http://www.hookhack.com/rodbuildingkits.html[/url]
Pretty good prices there.
See James or Reggie at Hooked Tackle in Kaysville. HFT on this site.
EA
[signature]
W2D is right with Hooked handling rod building supplies. Better check them out before most of the good stuff is gone.
Here's some online links
[url "http://www.shofftackle.com/"]http://www.shofftackle.com/[/url]
link for Sage kit at $395. [url "http://www.shofftackle.com/sage-xp-kits.html"]http://www.shofftackle.com/sage-xp-kits.html[/url]
St. Croix kit is $227 [url "http://www.shofftackle.com/sc4f-2006-kits.html"]http://www.shofftackle.com/sc4f-2006-kits.html[/url]
Rainshadow blank is $84 [url "http://www.shofftackle.com/rainshadow4pcfly.html"]http://www.shofftackle.com/rainshadow4pcfly.html[/url]
All are 4 pc.
Read the warranties. You may be very careful with a rod, but it only takes an errant chuck and duck cast with a weighted nymph to ding a section and next thing you know you're wondering why your rod looks so strange-and shorter.[unsure]
The more you build, the better you'll get.
Another I and other builders have used is Hook and Hackle
[url "http://www.hookhack.com/"]http://www.hookhack.com/[/url]
For the rod building kits [url "http://www.hookhack.com/rodbuildingkits.html"]http://www.hookhack.com/rodbuildingkits.html[/url]
Pretty good prices there.
See James or Reggie at Hooked Tackle in Kaysville. HFT on this site.
EA
[signature]