Building Rods?

Anyone have experience building rods?  Is it hard, easy, worth doing, etc? 

I know that Flying Portagee has done a bit of rod building and some other guys on here as I recall. I think it would be a lot of fun to do, but I'd be leading the bull into the china shop if I tried it.

It's like tying your own flies or making lures and catching fish with them. Very satisfying. I've built quite a few from offshore rods to 4 wt. fly rods. All of the rods I've used up to this point I've wrapped myself with parts from Angler's Workshop in Woodland. I wrapped a few for clients, but now-a-days I just stick to just building rods for myself. It's just one more piece in the fishing-puzzle.

Fred "True" Trujillo

I have built over 25 rods of various kinds during my younger years. It is satisfying to see the end results (if it turns out good). The biggest draw back is if the custom rod breaks, you get a blank from the factory instead of a finished one. If the lower portion breaks (very seldom) then you will have to buy the grip and reel seat to refinish it. Start up cost can be expensive if you do not own or borrow the tools. It is not difficult, just tedious like fly tying.

I have ordered the components from here: http://www.angelfire.com/ks/bingham/blanksf.html
They used to carry full line of Gloomis, Pac Bay, Struble etc. They send you a catalog when you ask. Their wholesale price is 40% off retail if you could produce a business license (not necessarily yours).

Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with this company.

Anyone have experience building rods?  Is it hard, easy, worth doing, etc?

Just like everyone else has stated: It's very satisfying, and similar to tying flies in difficulty and diversity.
Keep in mind that your first rod may have the tendency to become the most expensive one ever.

I would say that it's definitely worth doing, if you want another addiction.

The guides and the grips/seat are the main parts of any fishing rod with everything else being bells and whistles. One cheap and easy way to find out if this is something you want to try seriously is to take all the guides off of one of your cheap or abused rods and either tie new ones on or clean up and tie on the ones you just took off. Don't buy one of those building kits yet. Just take a medium size cardboard box, leave it open on top and cut V's into two sides to support the rod. You can also just run the thread through a heavy book to act as a tensioner. Use a store bought 1 hour epoxy and rotate the rod quarter turns every 5-10 minutes to get an even finish over the threads. If that revs your engines to get better at it, go out and make or buy something to hold the rod, a thread tensioner and a drying motor along with all the adhesives, tapes, markers, etc.

I typically use mudhole for my rod building supplies. I have also used Barlow tackle int he past. You can pick up a lot of the stuff at your local hardware store. Mudhole has some videos you can watch to get an idea of what you need.
http://www.mudhole.com/
http://www.barlowstackle.com/

The guides and the grips/seat are the main parts of any fishing rod with everything else being bells and whistles. One cheap and easy way to find out if this is something you want to try seriously is to take all the guides off of one of your cheap or abused rods and either tie new ones on or clean up and tie on the ones you just took off. Don't buy one of those building kits yet. Just take a medium size cardboard box, leave it open on top and cut V's into two sides to support the rod. You can also just run the thread through a heavy book to act as a tensioner. Use a store bought 1 hour epoxy and rotate the rod quarter turns every 5-10 minutes to get an even finish over the threads. If that revs your engines to get better at it, go out and make or buy something to hold the rod, a thread tensioner and a drying motor along with all the adhesives, tapes, markers, etc.

I typically use mudhole for my rod building supplies. I have also used Barlow tackle int he past. You can pick up a lot of the stuff at your local hardware store. Mudhole has some videos you can watch to get an idea of what you need.
http://www.mudhole.com/
http://www.barlowstackle.com/

+1 - catching fish on a rod you built is both satisfying and a way to appreciate the workmanship of a quality rod.