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Thread: What happened to rod building?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Sebastian, FL, USA, Earth
    Posts
    23,837

    Default What happened to rod building?

    When I grew up in Sacramento in the 1960s we went to the iconic Edwoldt's Rod & Reel Repair on Del Paso Blvd in North Sacramento.

    Mike and his parents, Lee and Wanda Edwoldt, taught us teenagers how to build fiberglass fishing rods of all types.

    They helped us pick a blank and all the hardware then they professionally installed the cork and reel seats for us.

    At first all we did was wrap on the guides and fishing the wraps.


    Seemed like we had blanks, all the hardware and rod building supplies in our fly shop for years.

    I think the Lifetime warranty and good casting inexpensive imported fly rods killed rod building in the fly shops?


    Maybe 20 years ago the rod building seemed to go to catalog sales then online sales with extreme specialty companies?



    Nobody would build a fly rod today to save money when you can buy an imported fly rod with a Lifetime warranty for $100?


    Rod building was very popular in the rural areas up north of here, especially in the winter.


    It is fun to build your own rod and tie your own flies and tie up your own leaders........I did it all.


    Are you building rods today?
    Bill Kiene (Boca Grande)

    567 Barber Street
    Sebastian, Florida 32958

    Fly Fishing Travel Consultant
    Certified FFF Casting Instructor

    Email: billkiene63@gmail.com
    Cell: 530/753-5267
    Web: www.billkiene.com

    Contact me for any reason........
    ______________________________________

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Anchorage, Alaska
    Posts
    685

    Default

    I used to build rods but no longer. If I broke a custom rod all I got back was a new rod section and then I had to wrap everything again and it was a pain to match everything perfectly. Now I buy factory rods and I spend my free time tying flies, fishing or working out.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Neither new or improved, but now in Redmond OR
    Posts
    568

    Default

    I built every rod I own except for the bamboo ones. Started in high school rewrapping guides that had come loose or busted from the trolling rods we used in the Chagres River and Bay of Panama. My Dad taught me how to use a loop to pull the end of the thread back underneath the wrapping.

    Built the first full rod when I was in college because it was way more affordable for a starving college kid. Used a pre-formed cork grip because I had no way to turn my own. Dale Clemen's "Fiberglass Rod Making" copyright 1974 was my guide.

    Later, Andy Puyans taught me how to glue up and turn a cork grip. I still build them for friends and people who need a rod.

    I think one thing that works against building your own is the cost of blanks has gone up faster than the cost of factory made rods. That said, if you do a little searching, you can still find some really nice blanks for well under $100, which means you can build a top notch rod for under $150. If you like fast action rods check out Brian's blanks at Ye Olde English Fly Shoppe.
    Last edited by DLJeff; 11-24-2019 at 11:20 AM.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    Carson City NV
    Posts
    461

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Kiene semi-retired View Post
    When I grew up in Sacramento in the 1960s we went to the iconic Edwoldt's Rod & Reel Repair on Del Paso Blvd in North Sacramento.

    Mike and his parents, Lee and Wanda Edwoldt, taught us teenagers how to build fiberglass fishing rods of all types.

    They helped us pick a blank and all the hardware then they professionally installed the cork and reel seats for us.

    At first all we did was wrap on the guides and fishing the wraps.


    Seemed like we had blanks, all the hardware and rod building supplies in our fly shop for years.

    I think the Lifetime warranty and good casting inexpensive imported fly rods killed rod building in the fly shops?


    Maybe 20 years ago the rod building seemed to go to catalog sales then online sales with extreme specialty companies?



    Nobody would build a fly rod today to save money when you can buy an imported fly rod with a Lifetime warranty for $100?


    Rod building was very popular in the rural areas up north of here, especially in the winter.


    It is fun to build your own rod and tie your own flies and tie up your own leaders........I did it all.


    Are you building rods today?

    In the 90's I use to build quite a bit for friends and family.
    Pre-internet, I would scour my Anglers Workshop and Hook and Hackle catalogs for supplies/components to purchase.

    The accumulation of "rod building tools/supplies" was probably the biggest pain in my rod building venture back then.

    I'll still build a rod or two if my needs/wants are there.

    Just last winter I wanted a "specialty two handed rod" for our local trout.
    I wanted a light 11 foot IM6 blank and could only find one overseas, so I ordered it from there.
    Cork rings here in the states looked to be poor quality and expensive, so I ordered those from Portugal.
    The rest of the components were ordered domestically.

    When finished, I had exactly what I was "wanting".
    My selected color, finish, wraps, hardware, seat, guides, cork, and all the rest of the options that a factory rod wouldn't include.

    I may have saved just a (very) few dollars to assemble and complete my custom rod, however, my labor was "a labor of love".

    So, yeah, I'll still build a rod if my "want/need" outweighs making do with what I have.



    Bob

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
    Location
    Monterey
    Posts
    218

    Default

    I'm in the process of building a 2 handed spey rod for a friend of mine. I love doing it.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Sebastian, FL, USA, Earth
    Posts
    23,837

    Default

    When I was young I worked in a wonderful "bait-n-tackle shop", West Capitol Rod & Gun, where I worked on rods and reels all day long.


    People brought in their complete well used outfits where the tip was broken off a little, a guide was missing, half the mono was gone,

    the bail spring was broken, the spinning reel handle was missing and it was covered with fish guts and scales.

    I would put on a new tip top, replace the missing guide, add 100 yards of new mono, fix the broken bail spring, replace the missing

    handle and wash off all the fish guts and scales. Customers would always say, "Are you sure this in my outfit?"


    I got so fast that my boss, Harry Boley, would bet people that I could put a new set of guides on their rod while the two of them ate

    lunch next door at the Tower Club (bar).


    In over 50 years in the fishing tackle business in Sacramento I have thousands of stories I can tell here......

    _____________________________________

    Right out of high school I took a mechanical skills test for the City of Sacramento where I came in 3rd out of over 500.

    I got the reputation for being able to fix anything....

    Had my first motorcycle (Harley for $75) at 13 that I completely rebuilt, worked on very old outboard motors, fiber glassed old

    wooden boats, worked on cars, did some hobby gun smithing, started building fishing rod in my teens, hunted and fished for

    everything.
    Bill Kiene (Boca Grande)

    567 Barber Street
    Sebastian, Florida 32958

    Fly Fishing Travel Consultant
    Certified FFF Casting Instructor

    Email: billkiene63@gmail.com
    Cell: 530/753-5267
    Web: www.billkiene.com

    Contact me for any reason........
    ______________________________________

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Fresno, CA
    Posts
    2,749

    Default

    I built a number of rods in the 70's. Most of the blanks were fiber glass, Saxton blanks. They were one piece, so we had to cut them and install the ferrale. These rods were used to fish the Smith River for salmon. Then I started building graphite rods using the J. Kennedy Fisher blanks, which were made in Southern Cal. Then they moved to Moundhouse, NV. My first store bought rod was a Fenwick HMG 9010 graphite rod.
    Those were the good ole days
    Jay Murakoshi

    Commercial Fly Tier

    Travel Coordinator

    Web site: http://www.fliesunlimited.com/

    Email us at: jaysflies@me.com

    Call us at (831) 809-4221

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Sebastian, FL, USA, Earth
    Posts
    23,837

    Default

    My old friends from the Greatest Generation who are almost all gone now bought blanks from Art Dadini in Ferndale, California on the Eel River. They were one piece fiberglass Lamiglass seconds that were very inexpensive. Perfect for steelhead and salmon on the coastal rivers.
    Bill Kiene (Boca Grande)

    567 Barber Street
    Sebastian, Florida 32958

    Fly Fishing Travel Consultant
    Certified FFF Casting Instructor

    Email: billkiene63@gmail.com
    Cell: 530/753-5267
    Web: www.billkiene.com

    Contact me for any reason........
    ______________________________________

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    North Idaho
    Posts
    360

    Default

    I think my first rod was built on a Fenwick blank bought at Broadway Bait (I think). All I remember is the many pull out shelves of blanks for cheap. From there I built a few from Bills Shop (Sages). Now I build Bamboo rods from blanks and restore vintage ones.
    My latest was a Quad 7.5 foot 4wt. Next is going to be a Edwards "Bristol" that only needs a little resto.
    "For years, every time he stopped at the house to collect his paper money, it was the same routine. The old man in the wheelchair would ask him how he'd like it if he took him fishing and showed him a few things. He always said he'd like that.
    When the old man finally passed away, his wife gave the kid a box of flies. He has them today, tucked away in a closet, never to be fished."

    Walt C.<---------------------------- not me, though I wish I had written it.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Truckee
    Posts
    835

    Default

    I have a friend on the east coast who builds beautiful custom rods and gear. He says blanks are becoming harder to find. Orvis and st croix are no longer selling their blanks, only rods.
    I have wound up a couple of rods as fun projects with my dad, but pretty infequently. I think he does it because of a ‘why pay someone else if you have the time and the skill’ Kinda the same way my parents are remodeling their bathroom themselves at age 77. Notable rods we’ve done (to me) are a powell ‘summer run’ rod we did around 25 years ago. It is green blank with purple thread and wierd guides. We just did a 9 wt sage vxp a couple of years ago.

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