Right folks, a guy on my little bit of water has recently built his own rod. He was telling me that if you are reasonably manually dexterous and are able to tie a decent fly you can build a rod, so i reckon i tick those 2 boxes therefore i am having a bash!

My question is, i want to build a rod with a softish action like my orvis superfine trout bum, without using a blank from orvis( a lot of outlay if i ****** it up) using mantra of "try before you buy" how do you achieve this?

also if there is such a place,where is the best one stop shop for all my components? UK preferably.

Thanks in advance, Jon.

Not built a rod since I was a yoof, have thought about it latterly but add up the components prices nowadays and you're soon up to the price of buying a factory built rod, so I haven't done so. Anyway, these are the places for bits I know of, others may know more:
Fishing tackle & fishing tackle components - Hopkins & Holloway Limited
Rod building components for fishing rod builders, repairs & refurbishments

__________________

Jon

He's right, building is not difficult. I've not used the trout bum but understand that the action is quite soft. I'm sure the more experienced people will be along soon but drop me a line if you want some help. I've got a couple of reference books you can borrow. Also if you look at the 1st build thread and would go for fibreglass, Taniwha and myself are available as a support group.

regards

Vince

A couple more

Harrison Traditional Range 2 Piece Fly Blanks
Rod Bits - Fly Rod Blanks Tradition II Rainforest II Pac Bay
ROD BUILDING MATERIALS
Rod Building Materials

Gatti blanks get good reviews in the US, are supposed to have a slower action and aren't too expensive try http://www.fishboneshop.be

If you are willing to spend £150 on the blank then the Winston Lt's at Foxons seem decent value - R.L.Winston LT blanks | UK Game Fishing and Course Fishing Shop | Foxons online. I build a 7' 3 weight 3 piece WT but it looks like they are sold out.