rod blanks

[landlocked]

I have been considering buying a new fly rod and have thought about building it from a blank. The fly shops in my area haven't been to helpful as they want the extra cash for the assembled rod. I know M-D and a few others build or have built rods and was wondering if anyone knew of a good source for cheap blanks. I am considering doing a cheap blank before droping big bucks on the real deal. Any pointers from any of you pros? Is building a cheap rod for the exerience the way to go or should I start out with the real deal?

[ellisredfish]

I posted an earlier reply to your question and it did not come up, probably forgot to log in. Give Richard a call at Richard's Rod and Reel and ask him to give you a quote on a Forcast fly blank. His phone is 1-807-486-0514. I have been buying blanks from him for a couple of years. He has very good service. I just ordered three spinning blanks from him for a total $70 including shipping from Canada. His email address is: info@rodreel.com.

[fredtoo]

Landlocked,

keep in mind that a lot of your time is going into this project, and when you are done, the rod will still only be as good as the blank. Custom building a rod can only improve perfomance a minor amount over factory built. Performance is all in the blank.

why not get the best blank you can, and build something you will be happy with for many years?

just my thoughts,
fredtoo

[kirbyt]

http://www.mrfc.com/Mrfc1Clearance.asp

OR
http://www.rodbuilding.org/list.php?f=2

I do have to agree with others that building your own rod versus buying completed now in this market is not my first choice with warranty issues.

BUT it is just like fly tying and you want the pride to say "I built it myself", then by all means have fun and build yourself a rod. The first site has a good sale on better rods, blanks, and SAGE kits.

The second site is excellent for reading and finding all kinds of sources for the rod builder. I have found some of the dealers listed that had $15 blemished blanks that were a good place to start. I have built a few rods and still have my first fly rod.

Have fun

[landlocked]

My reasoning for a cheap rod is so I don't screw up the real deal. I have been considering a sage xp or orvis t3 but I didn't want to ruin a $300 blank. The cheap rod is just for practice. Do you guys think it is important to learn with less money involved or should I go straight for the real deal?

[Puck]

Before you ever touch the rod that you are going to build for yourself to actually use, practice on something. I would recommend using an old peice of rod, and the components stripped off of a dead one. Then once you are comfortable with the techniques you are planning to use, buy the best you can afford, that fits the fishing you will be doing. I've been both routes, cheap and good. I know which way I lean now!
Ask the guys here, and at the shops, for help and they will be more than happy to get you going.

[Bluffer]

anyone ever try bamboo?

[fredtoo]

Bluffer,

I tried it, but I couldnt keep it lit !

[Guest]

LMAO.

[M-D]

There's nothing wrong with the Forecast blanks. They're simply Asian-made, imported by Batson Enterprises, Inc. Building a fly rod from a blank isn't terribly difficult, but there is a learning curve, plus a few tricks. Virtually all of the tricks are posted on the Rodbuilding.org site. The learning curve is overcome by just doing it. There's no substitute for that. Ask lots of questions, and I'm sure you'll have an abundance of answers. Bear in mind that there are a multitude of ways of doing just about everything, with no one way being more correct than the others. That's not always true, but everyone eventually figures out the way of doing things that they like best.

Yeah, I've made a few bamboo rods.

M-D