Saltwater Flyrodders

Hi guys,

Since I'm about to build this new rod up, I thought I might document the process on the forum. I'm no expert builder but this is certainly not my first rod either. I've built 5 previous Epic 'glass rods and about the same number of carbon rods, all with separately sourced components. This will be the first Epic build kit I've bought and built.

I'm hoping to demonstrate that building up one of these kits is a routine job that anyone who ties flies should be able to complete. It's not very complex and needs no special tools. My rod-building stand is made with scrap plywood. I tension my thread with a book and a rubber band. I've had no problems with the 10 rods I've already built.

First up, here's what you get in the build kit:



So far, the only omissions I can see are a blade for cutting the thread and tape for attaching the guides while the thread is being wound on. I'm sure I'll find a few other little things as I go. (For instance, there is no winding check: I'm not sure if there is meant to be one, but I never use them anyway.)

Approximate weight of the finished rod (Take off the weight of the plastic bag and add some weight for epoxy resins and threads - let's say 200g or so.)



More images to follow as the build progresses over the coming week.

Cheers,
Graeme

Today's work.

The blank was wiped with alcohol to clean it, then spined. That's a simple exercise where the thin end of the section is lifted while the thick end is rolled back and forth until the blank refuses to roll due to the bend (spine). I place my guides on the inside of that bend. There are other theories and there are also those who prefer a straight looking rod over a spined rod. Each to their own.



The butt and tip were lightly sanded with 600 wet & dry paper to help the epoxy adhere.



The tip top glued on with 5 minute epoxy. I use this because it's fairly easy to reset or remove the guide later with heat if required. (I use a sticky pad to mix and leave the toothpick in place on it as the epoxy sets. I test the set of the glue on the mixing pad, not the tip top.)



After the guide spacing recommended by Epic was marked with the supplied grease pencil, the guides were taped in place for later static testing. The tape is blue painters' tape, which I use because the glue is not too strong and leaves no residue when the tape is removed.



The static test, using some angle aluminium screwed to a piece of wood and clamped to a step ladder to hold the blank. This test is done to ensure the blank bends as Epic expected it to, and I look for sharp bends in the fly line running through the guides at various loads.



I have a side-on image that looked okay on the small screen but looks terrible on closer inspection. It was done using the panoramic feature of the phone. Sorry, I can't demonstrate a good static test here ...

More to come over the weekend.

Cheers,
Graeme

Good stuff Graeme!

The first item on yesterday's list was installing the fighting butt and reel seat ring. Putting this on before the reel seat makes it easier to install the reel seat later without it tending to slip off the end of the rod.



While that was setting, I went through the process of selecting the thread to use. I had ordered black silk as part of the build kit, but I am not all that convinced that silk would be strong enough on a 12wt rod being constructed to tackle Giant Trevally and perhaps sailfish. Nylon seemed a better option, but I was keen to line them up anyway, just in case one of the colours I already had was spectacular on the rod.





I must admit to being quite partial to the green silk (fourth from the left).



I wet the threads with water to see how they will look with epoxy on them. The green still looked pretty good, but I also liked the darker grey nylon (second from the right). (I'm showing the silk ones here for the benefit of others. By this time, I had decided the nylon options were the only ones for the rod.)





With the thread decided, I cut off the samples and began the task of installing the grip and reel seat. No preparation was required for the cork and only minimal arbors were required for the seat. (I also put tape around the thread of the reel seat to keep stray epoxy away during the installation. That is removed after everything is pushed into place and before the epoxy sets.)



The butt section while the epoxy sets.



Regardless of what they may say at Epic or in the catalogs, I usually need to sharpen the feet of the guides to prepare for wrapping. If they aren't sharp, the thread tends to fall off instead of ramping up nicely. A few minutes spent sharpening them and removing burrs from the underside saves a lot of frustration later in the build. (These files were bought for me by my mother when I was 14 years old. She was hoping my obsession with gem cutting would extend into jewellery making. I use these jewellers' files for this work only and never did take up making jewellery ... )



Now it was time to begin wrapping the guides. I keep the tension in the guide wraps with some rubber bands and a brass ring, plus a book (I find John Grisham's "The Client" in hard back just right. ) I run the thread through a series of eye-screws in various locations on my stand to allow a perpendicular run final to all parts of the blank. (You'll see this on the video I'm also putting together of this build.)



The tip section completed ...



... and all work completed so far:



Only two stripping guides left to install and a little bit of aesthetic wrapping near the top of the handle. I may get them done today, but I'm keen to go fishing and it's going to be very hot in the afternoon (40 C tipped for the day), so I may end up collapsed on the couch with a beer instead.

Cheers,
Graeme

The last of the guide binding has been completed now and I am ready to start the epoxy work. I need a solid three hour block of time available for this since I don't own a rod lathe. I need to turn the rod 180 degrees every 5, 10 or 15 minutes for 3 hours (more often at the start, less often as the epoxy sets) so I won't get to this until maybe tomorrow evening.

Well done Graeme

I got a battery powered one GH if you want to borrow.

It'ld take Graeme 3 hours to get to your place and back Birchy.

He can paddle up the swan,might be faster.

Thanks but no thanks Pete. It's not difficult and I do other stuff between turning the rod, like cooking dinner for the family or tying flies. This works fine as long as nobody says "Graeme, you need to pick up the pizza I just ordered".

Besides, part of the reason for this thread was to show how much can be done with minimal gear.

Cheers,
Graeme