# Newbie rod builder questions



## pods (Sep 10, 2013)

Hey y'all,
I decided this winter to try my hand at some rod building stuff. Mainly rerunning guides on a rod with a broken tip top, and trying to limit the line slap on a surf rod with an 8000 series reel on it.
I am going to pick up some stuff from Mudhole and I wanted to know if y'all thought this should work.
I am looking at the combination hand wrapper and rod dryer:
http://www.mudhole.com/RBS-Hand-Wrapping-System-with-9RPM-Dryer-110V

Then I will pick up various thread, epoxy, guides etc. Anyone have any experience with this setup? From the videos I have looked at it it seems like it should be more than enough for me.
Also, my end goal for the winter would be to build my own shark rod from scratch. 
Batson blank 5' 6" X-heavy
Unibutt
Roller stripper and tip top

Would this be too big of a deal for a newbie? I am already good at finding a rod's spine and have fly tying experience from my younger days. I think I could pull it off, but I might have to cut the blank once I see how the whole unibutt works. Seems simpler than mounting a seat then a butt. And the blank is a bit shorter than I want to end up so I think a short uni-butt would work well for this setup. (I want a final length to be around 6 foot, maybe 6.5 tops) 
I was just going to double wrap the guides and do an underlay of thread on each guide.
Do you more experienced builders think a newb can pull this off? 
Thanks for the help in advance!


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## ez2cdave (Oct 13, 2008)

Pods,

I think that you can do it yourself. A little practice wrapping before doing the actual rod and you should be good to go.

CAUTION : Since this is going to be a Shark Rod, I recommend building up a good, SOLID, "Arbor" on the lower end of your rod blank. Make sure it is close to the inside diameter of your Unibutt. DO NOT rely on the Epoxy to be "good enough / strong enough" to "fill in the gap" . . . Similarly, DO NOT rely on a "Soft Arbor" ( Masking Tape, for example ). 

During the fight with a Shark, there will be a TREMENDOUS load at the base of the rod blank, inside the forward end of the Unibutt . . . Be SURE it is SOLID !!!

Tight Lines !


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## MadDawgJ (Apr 16, 2016)

http://www.rodbuilding.org/library/buildjig.html

Spend $40 (or less if you have spare lumber) and build your own wrapping jig. Put the savings towards epoxy and thread. Find something to practice on first you will make some mistakes so do them on something that doesn't matter. 

Is that a boat shark rod? I use an 8' for the pier and some times still wish I had more length for fighting them away from pylons. 5'6"-6' is a good boat length but I'm not sure I'd use it for anything else. Just my $0.02


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## william1 (Nov 30, 2003)

Go to this site http://rodbuilding.org/list.php?2 If your handy there is a lot of items you can build and its loaded with photos and suggestions. Tom Kirkman runs the site He's written several books and they are very informative. There is also a library section on site which gives most of the basics. Sorry didn't read the other posts didn't mean to step on anyone's toes.


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## redfishnc (Sep 12, 2008)

I built quite a few with 2x4 lumber and some cheap stick on felt. Nothing fancy required. Duck tape grill rotisserie motor to the vertical upright and instant dryer. I had no money and wanted custom rods. You will do great. Picking the blank to get what you want after you put on handle and guides is much harder... Good luck


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## straps57 (Nov 19, 2008)

That will work but is pricey IMO. Building and repairing rods is easy. Decorative wraps, guide layout on surf rods etc can be challenging. The shark rod should be pretty easy.


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