Building drc #1 - An MHX 9Ft 2Wt Fly Rod 06Jun20

All the parts and tools I need to start building my own fly rods arrived. I got a power lathe/wrapper to aid in building, and I built several tools myself - mainly for creating and turning custom handles, which will not be addressed here. Here are the drc #1 parts and the new bench setup for rod building.

The first step (if you already have a cork handle) is to bore out the butt end of it to receive the reel seat. I did it with a normal vise and drill.

The second step is to find and mark the spline on each blank section. One does this by rolling the blank under pressure. Finding the spline and placing the guides and reel along the belly of the spline yields the most predictable and powerful rod. The spline is a result of blank manufacturing and is basically where the rolled graphite sheet material "stopped" in the rollup.

The third step is to mount the reel seat onto the butt of the blank. I used a masking tape built up in 3 places on the butt end, marked and dry fit it till snug but still mountable, then I assembled the reel seat and epoxied it to the blank. Remember to align the fixed reel hood at the top of the seat with the belly of the spline! There are poly sleeves that can do the job of the masking tape but my sense is that this method is fine and still results in a solid connection.

Step four requires reaming out the cork grip till it fits snugly against the top of the reel seat and leaves no gap between the blank at the top end of the grip. I used a drill-driven reamer to get the proper fit to the rod. This connection is key as a great one gives the best feel while a messed up one might bugger the cork.

Step five is a modest customization of the stock grip. I burned a stonefly onto the top of the grip. This requires making an image, printing it - then transferring it to the cork to trace with a wood-burning tool or soldering iron. I 1st tried an image from the laser printer and used denatured alcohol to render the image onto the cork. Grrr... needs to be ink-jet and all I have is a laser printer in COS. I tried again with an ink jet image and still the transfer was way to light and incomplete. I persisted and printed (via ink jet) onto wax paper and pressed that onto the grip - presto, it worked. I then burned the image into the handle. My only issue on the burn is that the cheap cork grip on the drc #1 used plenty of wood filler and that stuff both tended to fall out under heat and not burn darker. Oh well - looks cool I think.

Step six is mounting the grip onto the blank. One should rough up the graphite blank in the area where the grip is to be glued to it. For sanding custom handles and to otherwise create strips of sandpaper I created a tool using a hacksaw blade screwed to a piece of wood. I sanded the area of the blank to receive the epoxied grip and then masked off and assembled.

Step seven requires mounting the tip top with (strong) hot glue and then measuring and marking the locations for the various guides. Most blank suppliers have specifications for guide placement - mine was no exception. I marked ten spots along the belly of the spline of the blanks.

The eighth step of thread wrapping the guides and other features onto the rod requires a rod wrapper (powered like mine or much simpler and cheaper manual version). I won't go into the process much here but this is the more tricky and time consuming part of rod-building. It also provides a significant chance for customization, expression, and creativity. I simply wrapped the guides on and added a metallic spiral at the thread check and at the ferrule (this is a 2 pc rod).

After wrapping all the guides (some multiple times due to my lameness), step nine, applying thread epoxy, is again best done with a rod wrapper with a very slow "drying speed." My rod wrapper employs a different drying motor for applying epoxy and allowing it to dry: 11 rotations a minute I think. So - I engaged the drying motor, mixed the thread epoxy and applied it. Here's an examples of the glued wrap - I combined the guide wrap and ferrule wrap since they were so close. I made a simple metallic thread spiral in this wrap. I signed the rod beneath some epoxy but it doesn't show well in the picture - just in bright sun. I'm done (except for the trial use and fish catching part).

UPDATE... Wow, the in yard casting experience went way beyond expectations for a 2 wt rod. The  ~$80 MHX graphite 9ft 2 piece blank is sweet built out - sure it is heavier than my 7'9" GLoomis 3 wt but the drc #1 casts with much more authority. I outfitted the rod with a Lamson Guru II reel (entry level machined reel) in silver matching my reel seat and accents and loaded simple SA Frequency Trout line on the setup. Balance is a thing with me and the rod loaded is balance right where I like it at the top of the grip - I love being lucky (and that my math and build seemed to work out correctly. I think this may be the perfect Grape Ck rod - and just in time for an outing there given raging river flows elsewhere. We'll see on durability as the guides, grip, seat and even the blank are all fairly entry level - but it is amazing to see what one can get when DIY.

In closing, Batson (a company group of rod-building brands from WA) sent me a Team Rainshadow hat with purchase of my rod lathe and other tools from them. Kala said, "they should send more, I saw the Visa bill." Ok, but still. Now my friends and I can build the rods we want for cheap... just need the right parts from Angler's Workshop or Mud Hole. I will definitely go for it again... next time with a smidge finer parts for a ~10ft Euro nymphing 3 or 4 weight with a more customized grip.