First custom rod build - Nov 2020

Several months ago I finally gave up the search for an off-the-shelf casting rod with some fairly specific features.  There is probably a very long list of very good reasons which justify why none of the rod manufactures offer the kind of rod I was looking for, and there is a high probability that I will learn each one of those reasons the hard way, but being determined to fish with what I *think* I want to fish with...I decided to take the plunge an build a custom rod. 

I do most of my fishing in the surf and my go-to rod is a 10' spinning rod.  The rod is rated for 10-20 lb line, 1/2-2 oz lure and has moderate fast action.  The thing I like the most about this particular rod is the layout of the handle and reel seat.  The reel seat sits about 18" up from the butt cap and the rear handle is a really comfortable split grip.  For me, this layout has great balance and my hands just seem to always be in a good position when casting.  I can easily flick a 1/16-1/8 oz c-rig in front of a sliding bean or tie up 2-3 oz dropper loop and pitch it out to the first break, but most importantly, I can use a two handed whip-action cast for throwing lures, and its this last technique I've been thinking about how the inherent benefits of a casting reel may improve my experience.  I don't think its a big secret that when it comes to throwing lures in the surf its pretty much a grind, and for me, fingering the line, working the bail, wind knots, etc. on a spinning reel has become a burden I no longer wanted to bear.

So throughout this past spring and summer I bought several casting rods and took them to the surf.  I did find that surf fishing with lures was better using a "properly dialed-in" baitcaster.  I feel like I can make more casts with quicker retrieves and better line feel/sensitivity.  No statistics to back this up, just a feeling.  My only issue with the off-the-shelf casting rods was casting distance and/or casting accuracy.  Without the longer surf rod handle (and two-handed casting motion) I would either get good distance but land way off target, or, put the lure right where I wanted it but only 20 yards away.  The other major benefit of surf fishing with a long handle, something that your only realize after you've had it and then its gone, is the ability to set the rod butt down in ankle deep water and not have to worry about the reel taking a bath in sandy saltwater. After every session with a typical casting rod I would drive home saying to myself, "if I could just find a casting rod with a longer handle".

So there it is...the first specific feature that I failed to find after weeks of exhaustive searching through just about every rod manufacture product lines.  A rear split grip with handle length somewhere around 16".  I think that was the point when the thought of building a custom rod started to creep its way into my skull.  Eventually, I started watching a few YouTube videos and casually checking out blanks and where to get supplies.  Along the way I imposed a couple other features on myself to include in the build.  Longer than 8' and single piece blank.  I notice when I'm really whipping lures with my 10' surf rod (which is 2-piece) that the upper section will rotate just a little after 20-30 casts, not a lot, but enough to affect casting distance.  So I figured just eliminate the 2-piece joint.  I have a really nice 8' St Croix surf rod that is well built and has good balance, but I just feel like I'm under prepared when I step onto the sand with that rod.  Hence the desire to have a blank longer than 8'. 

Once I had made the decision to just build what I wanted I settled on purchasing Rainshadow blank for a couple reasons.  First, this past March (right before the onset of COVID) I won a custom tuna rod at the Long Beach Fred Hall show in a raffle held by Batson Enterprises.  I had a brief chat with Bill Baston after the raffle and he seemed like a pretty decent, no BS guy.  Baston is a family owned business and it appears as if they are operating with good intentions, so, why not give them a little business.  And second, turned out the guy who built the rod is local and active in the San Diego angling community.  I contacted him and got his input/opinion on a couple different Rainshadow blanks that I had on my short list and he had very positive feedback.  I ended up with a RSLB810-L.

 

In the process of procuring the blank (if I do this again I will just order one from GetBitOutdoors) I sourced all the other materials and began to work on the rod layout.  I definitely went overboard at this stage, but I had time while I was waiting on the blank and access to a suite of engineering design software so why not make a thorough plan.  Before the blank arrived I had a solid model of the finished rod and generated engineering drawings for the handle assembly and guide placement.  I also whipped up a graphic design and had a decal printed from a company in Tennessee.  I practiced a couple under wraps on the Forecast hand wrapper I had purchased and quickly realized the stock set-up could be improved by adding a spring tensioning arm.  I made a new dovetail slider out of a scrap piece of walnut and added a 0.065" spring wire arm.  The addition of the spring arm really helped over the whole project and I don't think the end product would have been as good if I didn't take the time to add this upgrade.

 

 

The official build started on 7-November with the glue up of the cork rings.  My beloved surf rod has EVA handles, but I really prefer the feel of cork when using a casting rod.  I had a couple different variations of cork rings and stacked them on a 1/4" mandrels in symmetrical pattern.  Rings were glued with U40 Rod Bond.

 

 

The next day I shaped handle profiles using pattern-makers files and successively finer grits of sandpaper.  The last pass was with 400 grit which left the cork surface velvety smooth.  I also could see a huge difference in the quality of the cork.  These rings are basically free of voids did not require any filler (which you do see on almost every production rod).

 

After the handles were profiled, I reamed out the inside taper using Forecast reamer kit.  The biggest reamer in the kit was too small to for the bottom handle so I had to ocilate the handle around the base of the reamer while it was spinning in the lathe to open up the bore.  It was a little dicey...the wall thickness at the butt end of the bottom handle is only around 1/8".

 

After the handles were done I moved onto the trim (winding checks) pieces.  I bought a couple stock trim pieces when I ordered the reel seat, but the inside diameters were too small for this blank.  So I ended up making a custom ring for both ends of all three handles.  I matched the blank taper on the inside of the trim rings and allowed a small gap for epoxy.

 

 

The handle assembly epoxy had set by 17:00 on 10-Nov (Happy 245th Birthday - Semper Fi Marines).

  

Given this was my first wrap I didn't go overboard on the thread work.  The under wraps are D-size thread and have a double trim band at each end with a single contrasting inlay at the center.  Color scheme is basic black with white and silver accent bands.  One thing I learned during this phase of the build...you will forget to put the tag end pull-throughs at the end of your wrap on every wrap except the last one.  After the under wraps were complete I sealed them with 1 coat of high build Flex Coat epoxy.  This was another opportunity for learning.  Applying the finish was definitely more difficult than I had expected and I quickly realized that finishing the guides would likely be the most time consuming (and challenging) step of the build.

 

 

I stuck with basic black for the actual guide wraps, but changed to A-size thread.  You may wonder why I wrapped the guides with a smaller diameter thread?  Several rod building forums recommended A-size because a tightly packed, smaller diameter thread allows for a lot of wraps over the guide foot.  More wraps of smaller diameter thread is apparently stronger than fewer wraps of larger diameter thread.  The logic seems sound so I went with smaller thread on the guide wraps.

All the guides were on the rod by 15:00 on 15-Nov.

 

 

Then came the finish.  UGH, I sucked at applying finish.  This step was absolutely nerve wracking and less than enjoyable for me, but I think I learned quite a bit and may be more prepared if I wrap another rod.  I really had trouble with the Alps rod dryer, the speed (XXX RPM) was just not right for applying finish while spinning, the chuck is an absolute piece of junk and kept opening up and dropping the butt end of the blank, and the steady rest pinch arm would pop open if the rod rotated towards the tension spring.  This dryer free and available to anyone who wants it.  I also struggled with finding the correct amount of finish to apply for each coat.  I've painted industrial machines, cars, airbrushed racing helmets, applied every kind of woodworking finish that is available on planet earth and never had much issue finding the correct "thickness" for each coat of the process.  After all every think I listed is just a coating and if you apply it as a coating it typically works well.  Not this stuff.  I just couldn't find my groove but did a good enough job to call it quits and take the rod out for a test run.

Rod was finished around 16:00 on Nov-17.  10 days total duration with about 50 manhours of effort.

   

 

Even though I built this rod for a very specific purpose, my selfish need to be successful on my first session forced me to make the first cast into a body of water that is filled with skunk killing spotties.  Two dinks later I was feeling pretty good.