rod building bench - Striper Talk Striped Bass Fishing, Surfcasting, Boating

DRUMCORPFAN · 10-04-2002, 09:03 AM

What does your rod building area consist of ? (what type of bench,how long it should be,) I will be setting aside an area in my basement and would like to see what other s-b members have done. any pics of your working area would be cool

JohnR · 10-07-2002, 08:45 AM

I don't have any photos eight now but I have a 6' bench that when I'm rodbuilding, I place the wrapper on top of a 10' x16" plank. This keeps my wrapper level but out of the way when I'm doing other things. This winter, I'm going to find a 10-12' slightly damaged kitchen counter at HD or Lowes and mount that on one wall for my wrapper and move my other table (a very nice one built by Bill & his dad) to the other wall...

It's probably best to have 1 foot longer than any rod you intend to build which for me is probably 10-11 feet...

DRUMCORPFAN · 10-07-2002, 08:57 AM

Thanks for the info john

Goose · 10-08-2002, 08:53 PM

Here's mine. It's made up of 2x3's and scrap's of wood. Mine to is in the basement. Take into consideration the bench height and add 5" to where the blank will sit on the rollers. I feel more comfortable to stand and work over my rods. I can wrap up to 11'er's on home made track. Florescent lighting is the way ta go (save$$energy), good buy at home depot. Tack all wiring neatly under your bench and add a switch and outlets w/breaker.... things get pretty messy in a hurry so take the time to add organizers and shelfs. Have fun

DRUMCORPFAN · 10-09-2002, 08:30 AM

Thanks Goose that is what I wanted to see.

dramakaze · 10-09-2002, 08:39 AM

Nice setup Goose.

JohnR · 10-09-2002, 10:53 AM

And a suggestion for your drying motor, when you are applying the epoxy, if your drying motor is on a surge strip, you can turn it on & off with your foot when you want to work around tight spaces, like guide feet....

Saltheart · 10-10-2002, 04:13 PM

I have a 12 foot Clemens Lath. It comes with 3 - 4 foot base sections. i have 2 sections permanently mounted on an 8 foot shelve. I hung the first section off the right end of the shelve as far as the motor so i have the full 8 feet of the shelve to work on. That leaves about 8 inches of shelve on the left side with no base rail. I add the third base rail section with the allen screw when I need to build long rods. I find up to 9 footers , the 8 feet of base is enoung since the first guide is 5 to 8 inches down from the tip it ends up right next to the rod guide. Its nice because it allows me to use the full 13 feet of the room its in without always having the last 4 feet (blocks a door when used) in the way all the time. Since most of the work , even on a long rod is within the first 8 feet , I only have to use the last 4 feet occasionally when actually working on the tip end. If you will be doing long rods , you do need the extra length when working on the tips so be sure its there when you need it.

Saltheart · 10-10-2002, 04:21 PM

Oh yeah , I have another shelve above the rod lathe. that's where my two dryer motors are. that way I can build one rod while two others dry. i seldom work on three at once but when I have been behind in deliveries , its nice to have that capacity to catch up. Some guys can dry about ten rods at once and stiull have the lathe area clear for building.

Smokey helped me set the whole thing up. We took our time and planned everything so that when doen , we had exactly what I needed.