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FLY ROD BUILDING INSTRUCTIONS FLY ROD BUILDING CHECKLIST:
*FLY GUIDE SPACING CHART
**NOTES: On longer fly rods (8 1/2' and longer) 2 stripping guides are usually used, whereas only one stripping guide is usually used on shorter rods. The balance of the guides are running guides (snake guides or Pacific Bay single foot guides of the builder's choice). Guides are usually tapered from the size opening of the stripping guide down to the size opening of the tip top. The choice of guide sizes is pretty much up to the desires of the rod builder. Many rod builders begin with a 10mm stripping guide on shorter rods and taper the running guides down to a 7mm tip top ending. Longer rods are tapered from 12mm stripping guides. Guides have traditionally been placed on the side opposite the spine (spline). To locate the spine put the rod sections together. Place the tip area of the assembled blank in the cradle between the thumb and other fingers of the right hand. Tilt the blank to about a 45 degree angle. Place the left hand about mid way down the blank (just above the left hand should be a piece of masking tape to mark the spine when found). Push down slightly with the left hand and rotate the blank using the thumb and forefinger. Where the most resistance is felt is the spine. Mark the tape at that spot. IMPORTANT: DO NOT DISASSEMBLE THE BLANK UNTIL THE PIECES HAVE BEEN MARKED. IF THE BLANK IS DISASSEMBLED AND REASSEMBLED DEIFFERENTLY, THE LOCATION OF THE SPINE WILL CHANGE! FAQ's about rod spline/spine. Q. Can I mark the spine on each piece and then put the pieces together? A. Yes, but marking the spine is a bit more difficult to do with each piece than the with the assembled rod. The pieces by themselves will be stiffer and spine detection for each will be a bit more inprecise. Thus when the pices are assembeled according to marked spines, the actual resultant spine is often offset. Q. Do I have to put the guides on the belly of the rod or can I mount them on the spine? A.This is a question often discussed by rod builders. Some feel very strongly about their method of guide placement. One thing is for sure the guides must be placed on the spine or the belly or else the finished rod will exhibit "sideways" torque. The spine results from a number of vectors in the rod blank. If the guides are placed on one side or the other of the spine, the vectors will be front to back or vice versa. If they guides are offset, the resulting vectors will be too. During casting one feels the result as the casting hand tends to turn in or out during the back and forth motion. This gives rise to a number of casting problems. One school of thought suggests that lighter weight rods have the guides placed on the belly (2 thru 6 weight lines) and heavier weight rods (7-13) have the guides placed on the spine for more efficient casting or retrieval of that particular line weight. BASIC STEPS IN BUILDING A FLY ROD 1 - Find spine (spline) and mark blank (see above). 2 - Affix reel seat and tip top in proper allignment on spine. This will provide a line for guide allignment. (Areas under the real seat may have to be built up for the reel seat to fit snugly. This is normally done by wrapping with masking tape or string. If the opening in the wood insert is too small it will have to be bored out using a file or a motor driven reamer). 3 - Ream out cork grip (rat-tail file is best) until it is snug an inch or so above reel seat. Lube cork grip area on blank with adhesive (epoxy is best). Force cork grip down to reel seat. (A bit more reaming may be necessary if a good fit is not achieved.) Apply winding check if desired. 4 - Temporarily place guides on blank with masking tape or other adhesive. 5 - Wrap guides and hookkeeper. 6 - Smooth out wraps and straighten guides. 7 - Apply color-lok to wraps if desired. 8 - Apply 1 or more coats of rod finish to wraps until desired build-up is achieved. For a really good book on rod building see Flex Coat's Start-to-Finish Fly Rod Building Book - Books and Videos
WE ALSO HAVE THIS NEW ROD BUILDING VIDEO HANDCRAFTING A GRAPHITE FLY ROD. L. A. Garcia. Meticulous step-by-step instructions by a true expert. DVD. 1 hr. #9800004 Each......................................29.95 NOTES: CORK FILLER Some rod builders prefer to make and shape their own cork grips from cork rings. That time consuming alternative can lead to mixed results to the average craftsman. Besides, the quality of cork rings is nothing to write home about these days. One problem the grip craftsman has to deal with is the holes left on the cork surface once the grip is shaped. We have all purchased cork grips with imperfections that have obviously been filled. But how. Is there a commercial source of cork filler? NO! Leftover cork rings are filed with the finest grain of sanding paper. The consistency should be like cork dust in the air. Once a small amount of this cork dust is available, it is mixed in with wood glue until it has an almost non-fluid consistency. This mixture is applied to the cork crevasses and allowed to dry. Once dried, the grip is sanded once more to remove rough spots. MARKING PENS TO PERSONALIZE YOUR BLANK Want to personalize your fly rod? Trapse off to the nearest craft shop and look for metallic marking pens with an extra fine tip (1 mm). They are usually available in gold or silver. They are fast drying so practice writing with them before use on your rod blank. Once you have personalized the rod, put a thin layer of rod finish on you text to preserve it. Pens are normally found under the name Pilot or Berol (Barol?).
ROD BLANK WARRANTIES Hook & Hackle Fly Rod Blank Limited Warranty. The warranty is limited to defects in manufacture. One can tell by looking at the damage as to the probable cause of the breakage. A defect will manifest itself by giving a nearly clean break. Abuse can be seen when the rod shatters into long strands or chards. Abuse can come about in many ways, but always involves some kind of excess pressure on the rod. For a blank broken by abuse, remove the components and return the broken blank with a payment of $20 for each broken section plus $10 for return shipping. For a defective blank, remove components and send the broken section with $10 to cover return shipping and handling. Shipping fees for overseas repair/replacement will be actual costs of shipping. ONLY the blank is warranted against manufacturer's defects. It is the customer's responsibility to recover components prior to sending back the blank for warranty service. Other Rod Blank Brands are warranted by the manufacturer. Please contact them for warranty service. ONLY the blank is warranted against manufacturer's defects. It is the customer's responsibility to recover components prior to sending back the blank for warranty service.
The use of a fly rod blank for any other purpose voids the warranty. |
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