Rod Building

[Adam]

Mine has just arrived in the mail today. But I used the wait time to build a manual wrapper and a few extra supports so that I can use my fly turner to turn the rod to dry.

I'll let you know how I go with it, but intend to spline and fit the grip, reel and fighting but tonight..

The manual is from Swift http://swiftflyfishing.com/collections/ ... build-book

Otherwise pm me your email address and I'll email you the pdf.

I've found a heap of youtube and some of the forums are very good eg http://www.rodbuildingforum.com/

Hope that helps

Adam

[Tony Ong]

There's lots of down time whilst you wait for stuff to cure and dry. In terms of actually working on the rod, it's probably only 4-6 hours, especially if you're getting preformed grips. If you want to form your own grips, get fancy with bindings and trims, mirror finish resin work etc, they all add extra time.
Usually takes me a week to finish a rod, working on it for an hour or two a day.

[Adam]

Well kit arrived yesterday.

Last night I fitted the butt, reel seat and grip. Wrapped 6 of the eight guides. Finished guides tonight, 1st coat of epoxy on and turning in dryer. Time so far invested about 5hrs plus drying time. I also invested a couple of hours in the wooden jig and drying system.

Very simple with all the prefab stuff and kit instructions. Better than I thought, not quite a professional finish on wraps and epoxy. 2 small bubbles on the foot of the first stripping guide and the translucent silk hides the wrap issues that practice would iron out. Still very, very happy.

Thanks to Peter and Tony for the advice.

I'll chuck another topic up with pictures when I get them together.

Adam

[Tony Ong]

Good stuff Adam. Practice makes perfect, but it becomes a costly hobby. Rebuilding old rods is a good way to practice.

[Diarmuid O Laoghaire]

There's lots of down time whilst you wait for stuff to cure and dry. In terms of actually working on the rod, it's probably only 4-6 hours, especially if you're getting preformed grips. If you want to form your own grips, get fancy with bindings and trims, mirror finish resin work etc, they all add extra time.
Usually takes me a week to finish a rod, working on it for an hour or two a day.

Ah thats not too bad. I guess the curing is the time consuming part of it all. Is it just the eyes your constantly curing? I guess you probably have to do one at a time so it doesnt run.

Well kit arrived yesterday.

Last night I fitted the butt, reel seat and grip. Wrapped 6 of the eight guides. Finished guides tonight, 1st coat of epoxy on and turning in dryer. Time so far invested about 5hrs plus drying time. I also invested a couple of hours in the wooden jig and drying system.

Very simple with all the prefab stuff and kit instructions. Better than I thought, not quite a professional finish on wraps and epoxy. 2 small bubbles on the foot of the first stripping guide and the translucent silk hides the wrap issues that practice would iron out. Still very, very happy.

Thanks to Peter and Tony for the advice.

I'll chuck another topic up with pictures when I get them together.

Adam

Good stuff, Ill be looking forward to the thread with the before during and after pics.....

[Tony Ong]

You generally do all the eyes in one sitting. It's generally best to do several thin coats to achieve the best results. Adam, if the bubbles are near the surface, fine grit sandpaper will work down to where they are. Another coat of resin will cover up any blemishes.

[Rohan]

To get a bubble free clear finish, mix the resin slowly after gently heating the mixing pot ( i hold it in warm water , not under ! ) while mixing slowly, and exact equal parts are also the secret. Done this way, once mixed it should be crystal clear with no bubbles or milkiness. Don't heat too much or it will go off very fast. Apply in thin even coats round wise first then even off with light lengthways strokes only using the brush to "grab" the surface tension of the resin to pull it along behind the stroke. Don't press the brush down to the binding as it will just leave a hole. Then once applied gently heat ( while turning rod ) all resined binds with a hair dryer or method burner. Only apply light heat as too much can burn the resin or even the blank and still, just a bit too much heat can make the resin suddenly runny resulting in an uneven finish. You just want enough to pop any bubbles in the finish. Once the rod has turned for half an hour or so, give it another go with the heat to get rid of any bubbles that have been released from trapped air pockets. Don't try to put too much resin on at once, three medium light coats is best.

[Rohan]

Also i don't use fillers or colour preservers, these just create a barrier between the resin and binding and stop the resin adhering properly. Also you can lightly run a method burner under all the binds before resin is applied , which will burn off any frayed bits of binding , which can really cause havoc with the finish, if there are any lumps in the finish after the second resin coat you can slice them off with a really sharp scalpel or stanley blade, before the last coat of resin. Make sure the resin coat is completely cured before doing this or it will leave a mark.

[Adam]

Thanks Tony and Rohan I think I got the mixing done ok. Although the supplied mixing vessel had a raised center that made it harder to mix without introducing bubbles. I think I'll look for something flat bottomed for mxing in the future.

I think the bubbles formed as the thinned epoxy "evaporated" off the surgical meths and they formed under the binding. I did apply light heat but could get them to lift out of the wraps. I kind of figure it'll give me an excuse in the distance future to strip it back and bring some better skills to the issue.

I really regret not being able to participate in the club rod building workshops you did a couple of years ago. It would have been nice to be able to sit down and see what accomplashied people like yourselves do and achieve.

Talk soon.

Adam

[Tony Ong]

The hot water bath to get bubbles out of the epoxy is a great tip Rohan. I've only discovered this recently. Just make sure that you don't get any water in the mix. I much prefer using a metho burner. The hair dryer, even on low settings, will sometimes blow resin where you don't want it to go.