It is currently 28 Mar 2024, 07:05


New Topic Add Reply
Author Message
Post 04 Jul 2017, 10:40 • #1 
New Member
Joined: 06/17/17
Posts: 2
Location: US-WY
Good morning and happy fourth of July to everyone. I have a quick question for the group. I am looking for input and suggestions on a couple of budget friendly glass builds. I would like to build a couple of 4 wt glass rods for a few friends of mine. To this point I have not build a glass rod. I have in the past messed around with building graphite rods. Although that was about 10 years ago. So these glass builds are going to server as a crash course and refresher for me and hopefully will turn into something nice I can give to my buddies as payment for helping me re-model out basement. So here is the question. Are there any decent glass blanks out there lets say in the range of 30-80 bucks that you guys have put together and are happy with? I have been looking mainly at the blanks from Hook and Hackle, as well as ones from the Anglers Roost. I am just curious if for that kind of money you can actually get a decent rod? Also as an FYI these friends of mine aren't currently fly fisherman which is why I would like the rods to be budget friendly yet get a rod decent enough out of it for them to learn on. Thank you in advance. I am new to the forum and have really appreciated looking through the information compiled here thus far.


Top
  
Quote
Post 04 Jul 2017, 11:04 • #2 
Master Guide
Joined: 05/24/13
Posts: 364
Location: US-PA
PM sent to ya, I enjoy building on budget blanks as well .
Cheers
Mike


Last edited by mtnbrook on 04 Jul 2017, 11:20, edited 1 time in total.

Top
  
Quote
Post 04 Jul 2017, 11:12 • #3 
Master Guide
Joined: 02/24/12
Posts: 456
Location: US-MI
PM sent.


Top
  
Quote
Post 04 Jul 2017, 11:57 • #4 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 09/18/09
Posts: 5561
Location: Relocated to the Drought Stricken West.
Cheap glass blanks are a sensitive topic. You get what you pay for and what is cheap for one person is expensive for another.

The spigot ferrules on all these cheap glass rods are not perfect. They sometimes need tuning. If the gap is too much, you can lightly sand them to bring them down to 1/4" to 3/8" but if they are under 1/8", you will have to build them up which is a bit more difficult (search back through the forum) but not impossible. I haven't used the angler's roost blanks, but the Proof kits are good. The components are top notch and the blanks are good for the price, though the ferrules may need tweaking. I also would buy a 3wt blank if you want a 4wt rod, but that's me.

Jann's netcraft has a very reasonably priced 8' 5wt 2pc blank.

MtnBrook also has a blank that I think is tip over butt and is a bit more expensive.

(wow, Matt and Mike both jumped on this before I posted).

There is also the old "Tadpole" route. You can search the forum for old build ideas, but with the availability of glass blanks now, I don't see any advantage to doing this.

Good luck on getting back into rod building.


Top
  
Quote
Post 04 Jul 2017, 14:24 • #5 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 04/12/07
Posts: 1292
Location: western Massachusetts
Quote:
Are there any decent glass blanks out there lets say in the range of 30-80 bucks that you guys have put together and are happy with? I have been looking mainly at the blanks from Hook and Hackle, as well as ones from the Anglers Roost.


ARE's Klassic Glass sound like the perfect choice for what you want to do. They are not Winston blanks, but the price is right, they are fun to build, and they are decent fishing rods. Don't let ferrule gaps stop you, after all, this is not your first rod build and you know that tuning the blank is part of the game. If the gap is a problem, I have not found a Klassic ferrule fit that could not be fixed with a little judicious trimming of the female ferrule. The 7' is a 3/4 weight, and the 7'6" is a 4 weight.

I offer Klassic builds as my budget glass builds on my website, and the 7, and 7-6 are my most popular offerings.


Top
  
Quote
Post 04 Jul 2017, 16:19 • #6 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 09/18/09
Posts: 5561
Location: Relocated to the Drought Stricken West.
Archfly,

I must say that the trimming of the female ferrule is something I didn't think of until after I had done a thinned coat of 30min epoxy (which turned out fine).

How do you trim those blanks? Do you fit a dowel into the blank and then cut, or do you grind it? I haven't done an ARE blank, but on other blanks I've tried a variety of techniques and they all have their problems.

Is there a source for those old Jenkins PLG blanks that got copied and were appearing everywhere? Those were nice blanks.


Top
  
Quote
Post 04 Jul 2017, 19:13 • #7 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 04/12/07
Posts: 1292
Location: western Massachusetts
Trimming blanks has been discussed a number of times on this, and other rod building forums. Most use either a fine abrasive cutoff blade on a dremel, or a fine hacksaw blade. You can also use a model maker's mini backsaw with very fine teeth. Tearing-out can be a problem with a saw, just like when cutting wood, and most suggest you wrap the area to be cut with a few turns of masking tape, then cut through the tape. I used to enjoy doing the work by hand, but lately, with diminishing motor skills, I now use a mini-chop saw-carefully.

Carl, PLG blanks are rather hard to come by these days, as I am sure you know. I have an extremely small stash that I use for finished rods I build-out and sell on my website. PM me with what you are looking for, and I will see what might be possible.

b1aedwards, forgive us for hijacking this thread. Welcome to the forum, and good luck with your blank selection and build!


Top
  
Quote
Post 04 Jul 2017, 22:20 • #8 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 09/18/09
Posts: 5561
Location: Relocated to the Drought Stricken West.
I'm not actually looking for a PLG, but these blanks were fairly common for a while and I was going to suggest them if they were readily available. They were a bit more expensive, but still a good bargain. I don't like to send beginning rod builders off into ferrule adjustment. The cheap, tip over butt, graphite blanks are so consistent.

As for the cutting, (I've tried a few methods) but none that seem perfect. I always get micro chips or cut that isn't flush.

And yes, b1aedwards, welcome to the forum and good luck on that selection.


Top
  
Quote
Post 05 Jul 2017, 09:07 • #9 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 04/26/06
Posts: 3837
Location: Northeast Of Heaven
Hello
First Off Welcome ! You Came To The Right Place For Help In Your Quest For Budget Fiberglass Rod Building Help And Advice !!

Trimming a rod blank irregardless of material is a needed basic rod building skill that should be seen as a normal task,if your afraid of trimming a blank or are having issues,you're either using the wrong method or suffer from a lack of coordination or both.
It's a skill that should be learned early on as we very often need to adjust ferrule fit on blanks before any work can proceed,often we need to trim a blank butt section to make an adjustment for the reel seat I.D.,also cutting sections to be used as butt extensions etc.

A few years back I put up a bunch of Sceptre blanks each and every one of them needed to have the ferrule re-qualified/trimmed.
Should I have scrapped the lot ???

Or is it that your only trying to steer folks away from a certain supplier in favor of others ?

Graphite ? really you would rather a new comer to Fiberglass Rod Building work with Graphite because you think Graphite Blanks are better made.

FYI this is the Fiberglass Fly Rodder's Tackle Tinkering Forum, we primarily discuss
Fiberglass Fly Rod Making ,Building,Rebuilding,Restoration,Etc.
Occasionally we may have threads where other types of material are discussed however we don't as a rule recommend that a new comer work in another medium.

The guys question was "Budget Friendly Glass Builds".
To That I couldn't agree more that the fellow was on the right track.!

If you have any problems and need help or someone to talk you through the ferrule fitting process on one of the A.R.E. blanks or any other, don't hesitate to contact me I'll help all I can to be sure you get the proper fit.

Quote:
ARE's Klassic Glass sound like the perfect choice for what you want to do. They are not Winston blanks, but the price is right, they are fun to build, and they are decent fishing rods. Don't let ferrule gaps stop you, after all, this is not your first rod build and you know that tuning the blank is part of the game. If the gap is a problem, I have not found a Klassic ferrule fit that could not be fixed with a little judicious trimming of the female ferrule. The 7' is a 3/4 weight, and the 7'6" is a 4 weight.


As to your question/comments about the P.L.G. blanks Yes Archfly purchased the lions share of the P.L.G. blanks I had in house as I'm winding down due to health issues.
I held out a handful of the 7'6" blanks where I already fitted reel seats and flor grade cork,a few of the 7'3" P.L.G. blanks that I re-taper to make my 6'8" Ultimate replicas ! hopefully god willing.

"The blanks were not copied,the broker mislead Mr Jenkins by promising that his blank tapers wouldn't be offered to anyone else.
Then after Mr Jenkins did all the work to mimic the feel of bamboo in a fiberglass medium,the broker offered the blanks to all takers,first in Europe and then here in the states in a different color."
Or at least that's my understanding of the situation.

Unfortunately this created a cloud of uncertainty about the origin of the blanks,The bottom line is that the P.L.G. make a fine fiberglass fly rod.

Steve Jenkins is a honorable man,Steve is one of the finest Rod Makers in the World in my opinion a fellow whom I'm proud to call my friend.

The Rods That Archfly is putting together on the P.L.G. blanks are second to none.
As Rod Makers we all have our own style,While Archflys style may be different than Mine or Steve's possibly a mixture of Classic and Contemporary ? the rods Look and Perform Absolutely Outstandingly !

Now I'm sorry for hijacking your thread !

Tight Lines And Budget Fiberglass Fly Rod Building Loops
Andy M

PS
Carl next time your trimming a blank give me a jingle I'll see if I can help you sort out your issues. ;)


Top
  
Quote
Post 05 Jul 2017, 19:00 • #10 
New Member
Joined: 06/17/17
Posts: 2
Location: US-WY
Hey guys. Thank you for all the info thus far. I appreciate the opinions and knowledge. I did seek out the fiberglass fly rod page for a reason. I know glass is making a comeback these days and I am very interested that is for sure. I am looking forward to figuring this all out and will keep you all posted on how this project comes along. Again thank you all for the info and for the offers to help with other questions that might come up.


Top
  
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  

New Topic Add Reply



Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 8 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Jump to:  
Google
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group