[Ben Dixon]

Enthused by the fact that there are now a couple of 27g floating shooting head events in the UK comps these days, I decided to build a rod specifically for the event.  Naturally, there are a few others I know that could not see me own such a thing without them having one too so rather than ordering one blank, 4 sets were ordered.  Hamish being the chancer that he is, gave me some excuse about being a hamfisted bafoon ad suggested that I could maybe build his rod up for him.  I thought about it and decided that a practice build to to make any f&*k ups on before I started building Mikes or mine was probably a benefit, despite the time it would take.

The blanks came unpainted from Orvis, handles were crafted by Kevin Muir snakes & strippers being used are Fuji titanium SIC lined guides supplied by H&H.  The aim was to take the blank we like best for throwing the ST27 and build it for throwing shooting heads rather than massive bulky saltwater fly lines.  Smaller guides that would last longer, be kinder to running line and weigh less were selected.  The Fuji T-LSG lined guides are actually lighter than the chromed snakes fitted to the factory rod by quite some margin and being single leg, there would be less thread & epoxy too not that I'm currently convinced that it will weigh enough to make a difference at this time.




Thinking about starting with freshly built Sage Method 790 just out of the turner....




Blank taped for handle




Reel seat fitted




Butt section built, thread winding check, logo and trim wraps in place ready for a coat of Flex Coat.


More later.....

[Mike Barrio]

Great stuff Ben

[Rob Brownfield]

 

Just a thought, if you want to paint them, standard car spray paint works wonders...perhaps you could "experiment" on Hamish's rod

[Ben Dixon]

I asked for them unpainted Rob, I have cast a number of proto rods over the years, many of these come unpainted but with production hardware.  In every case that I can think of, the unpainted sample has felt better.  Paint is weight and when the ring sets for these things come to about £60, it would be counter productive although I did toy with the idea of using blue & yellow wraps on the Coastguard rod, I've decided just to leave some gaps in the whippings for Hamish instead.  It will save some weight and give him something to grumble about   

Ben

[Rob Brownfield]

Still think Hamish would like a painted rod

As for a Coastguard rod, a chap did one on Rodbuilding.org for the US Coastguard, very impressive with a wee logo woven in to the butt.

I think you should

[Ben Dixon]

Fuji KWSG anti tangle strippers going on, these required a good bit of grinding to get them to wrap well

[Marc Fauvet]

these required a good bit of grinding to get them to wrap well

funny how so many manufacturers haven't figured out yet that the vast majority of rod blanks happen to be round... 

anyhow, rods are lookin' good Ben ! 

[Mike Barrio]

funny how so many manufacturers haven't figured out yet that the vast majority of rod blanks happen to be round... 

 

[Hamish Young]

It will save some weight and give him something to grumble about   

Smirk 

Still think Hamish would like a painted rod

Negative, I second Bens' note about the unpainted prototypes of various rods nearly always feeling better than the painted production models.

Great stuff Ben

Just so, looking good 

[Rob Brownfield]

Negative, I second Bens' note about the unpainted prototypes of various rods nearly always feeling better than the painted production models.

Interesting. The only "painted" rods I have ever owned have been Orvis Zero Gravities. I have had "coloured" rods from Harrison which have a dye applied to the final coat, but I cannot say I have noticed a difference, but they have all been 9 weights so not "subtle".

I am guessing the extra weight on a lighter rod is what you refer to when "feeling different"?

It does seem that fly anglers like there coloured rods.

[Ben Dixon]

Rob,

The Access you have is painted too, most production fly rods I know of are painted.  Rods often feel softer, slower & less crisp once painted.  I've playted about with rods up to #7 that have been unpainted and painted, the unpainted rod has always felt "better" to me but, better is highly subjective I suppose.


Cheers

Ben

[Marc Fauvet]

it's to keep the carbon from rusting ! 

[Iain Cameron]

Rob,

The Access you have is painted too, most production fly rods I know of are painted... 

I quite like that raw, unpainted look. Opposite of shiny. Wonder how much a coat of paint/varnish protects the blanks from scratches?

[Rob Brownfield]

Rob,

The Access you have is painted too

ooops..i forgot about the Access!..and the western....infact, I only have Orvis rods that are painted..lol

[Ben Dixon]

Finished, will get some pics up later.

Some figures for comparison to a factory rod, F is factory, CR is Coastguard Rod

Overall weight
F                           142.3g / 5.02 oz
CR                         153.8g / 5.43 oz

Butt Section
F                          88.7g / 3.13oz
CR                        107.4g / 3.79oz

Mid Butt                
F                          32.8g / 1.16oz
CR                        29.4g / 1.04oz

Mid Tip                 
F                         14.3g / .51oz
CR                       12.2g / .43oz

Tip
F                         6.6g / .23oz
CR                       4.9g / .17oz

I expected the butt to be heavier, the Struble SW seats are chunky bits of kit and the standard seat fitted to this model by Orvis is minimal Al hardware with a carbon spacer.  Factory build uses Pac Bay #4 sized snakes on the tip and 5's & 6's lower down.  I fitted #6 T-LSG Fuli SiC lined titanium framed guides on the tip with matching tip ring, I'd love to know how much the paint weighs.
Built rod feels very stiff, seems to recover dead and seems to flex less than a factory rod using the standard shop waggle test.  Be interesting to see how it is with a line through it.

Cheers

Ben

[Ben Dixon]

Measured the coastguard rod yesterday, comes out as having ERN of 15.1 & AA of 72, that means it needed to have 400.5 grams hung off the tip to deflect it by 1/3 of its length and, it is very fast 

Cheers

Ben

[Ben Dixon]

Some pics of the finished rod



Oversized handle as requested





Cheers

Ben

[Allan Liddle]

Like that Ben, looking good. 

[Hamish Young]

Ben has put together a very fine rod indeed - talented that lad 
I believe we would agree it's turned out even better than we anticipated, it's a hugely effective casting tool. Recovery is incredibly quick and boy is that rod fast it will take a wee bit of getting used to and it's very different to the factory build on the same blank.
Will be interesting to see how its cousins turn out when they're completed, a side by side test will be in order I think
By the way folks that's a 'man' handle not over-sized . Fits my hand perfectly

Come the CLA 2014 I know which rod will be coming with me 

H

[Scolopax]

Great post, thanks - I am now really interested in building my own rod.  Trouble is I am a poor struggling artist and the main reason to try, is to obviously save money on an expensive rod.  I have been looking at blanks, but when you take into account all the other bits you need, the savings are not as amazing as one would think.
Are there any really good value blanks out there for me to start with?  The thought of spending around £200 on a blank that might not turn out that well, is not possible for me.
A question: in this post you talk about painting the blanks - are all rods painted as a matter of course ?  I have a SAGE RPL (donated ) is that painted ?  When you receive a blank from the supplier, does it come just as rough carbon, or is the finish smooth??
Sorry to ask so much, but I am very new to fishing

[Ben Dixon]

You probably won't get a home made rod for less than you could buy a cheap built rod from a shop for.  You will probably find that you could get something better for say, a £250 budget if you build yourself on something like a CTS blank.  There are cheaper blanks available but I have no personal experience with them so could neither recommend or advise against their use, quite a few in USA seem to rate the MHX blanks.  All CTS stuff I have used to date, both single and double handed has been good. 

CTS blanks come either painted or as plain carbon, you specify how you want it.  Very few blanks are available truly unfinished (unground), most are sanded smooth even those that are not painted.  I would not recommend trying to paint an unfinished blank yourself, if you want it painted and shiny, buy it that way.  I think an RPL would be painted.

Cheers

Ben