Hi, Brad....Rodwork is loads of fun, satisfying, and rewarding. Those are the good things. One of the the things rendered nugatory would be running before walking, then tripping, possibly being disappointed with the result, by jumping right in, on ~the~ project rod.
If you can locate a tramp rod at a jumble sale, or a beater from your own collection, you can work on those by guide removal and then re-spacing the additional new guides to get the feel for threadwork.
If you are doing a gear or pin rod, you might want the last guide on the butt section to be adjacent to the first guide on the tip section, (the one by the ferrule) when dis-assembled. Much easier to re-assemble yea stick when these guides are either right opposite each other, or within a couple of inches.
That arrangement makes for some interesting challenges RE spacing, but it's fun, and totally do-able.
It's best to work with dark D thread at the start of your adventures....dark D will wrap faster, cover gaps (by burnishing) easier, and keep frustration levels lower. I'd stay away from the NCP (no colour preserver) threads for the first while....it will reveal every flaw in the wrap once the resin is on. Dark D's 'camo' very nicely. And they look good, too.
The internet has lots of resource material.... youtube can be your friend, if you pick the right clips. Mudhole Tackle has some nice ones.
Tooling can be storebought, or fabbed at home or shop. You will need a thread tensioner, maybe a couple of supports, some razor blades, a pair of scissors, and a slow turner to keep the applied resin from sagging till it sets. Also: some 1/4" masking tape, threads, guides of choice, regular dollar store 'scotch' tape,
The internet has scads of support options. I don't use supports: I wrap freehand, and when the rod goes long, I use the crook of a captain's chair to hold it.
Then I reverse the rod to do the other sides of the wraps.
For the resin app, I use a BBQ rotesserie motor with the 3 jaw chuck from Rod Builder Supplies.
Before I bought the chuck, I used a spark plug boot from a 1970 Toyota Corolla on the chopped off shaft stuck in the Q motor.
My support is an old microphone stand with the collet, for infinte adjustment within its 3'-6' range, with a bent hook-shaped plastic coated coat hanger to hold the rod level.
Have fun, ask lots of questions, and good wraps. KD.
Oh yeah: corkwork can be a bit of a hassle....your options would be to farm that out, buy prefinished grips, or roll your own. In the beginning, I did not have my lathe, so I just used sandpaper, and did an OK job. Had to mask off the rod to avoid scuffs, and spend lots of time.
I sold several rods hand done at the start, and the proceeds were used to have the local machine shop build my dedicated 6' cork lathe. In 1985, it was reasonable, at 250.00. I found 4 working motors 1/4 - 1/2 HP at a garage sale, for 5.00 each.
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Topic: i wanna build my own rod but....... (Read 4181 times)