While walking through a familiar sporting goods store I came across a fishing rod holder in the shape of a ship’s wheel. I wanted it desperately but had no need for one that could hold that many rods and costs what it cost. So, I decided to make my own.
First, there was the matter of placement. Where would I put it once it was built, in the garage, the basement, my workshop, or my office? Would it hang from the ceiling, mounted on the wall or made to stand on its own? I had to think of my wife since it is her home too. Where would this annoy her the least?
Before I could answer that question I went online to look for some simple patterns to use. I thought that for the time being I would make one that could be mounted on the ceiling or on the wall. I found a photo of a homemade rod holder that used a nice curve in the shape of a wave to hold the tips in place.
I had a basic plan of what I wanted it to look like and I wanted to add a little something with a folk art feel to it. To make my holder I purchased several pieces of red oak from a big box hardware store. I had no idea what I was buying but the grain looked nice and I didn’t want to use pine.
The first mistake I made was drilling my holes first without really thinking about what I was doing. This resulted in a holder meant for five rods not the four I had used in my design. My next mistake was drawing the rip curl waves freehand while talking with my brother. Each wave held a different shape.
Since the wood was expensive and this was a prototype for my own use I decide to press onward with my plan.
As I mentioned before I wanted to add something of a folk art quality. I decided on carving out the profile of a trout. Since we practice catch and release in my family and we are not trophy hunters I thought it would be sensible to add the ever elusive trout to my rod holder. If I can’t catch them I’ll make them.
I sketched the outline of the trout in pencil and then used my Dremel with the router adapter and bit. I had trouble using this set so I went to using chisels and carving tools borrowed from my dad.
This process took the most of my time. Once I decided to stop I moved on to sanding.
Sanding the fish was the most difficult task. I’ve never liked sanding for some reason. In middle school during shop class the shop teacher, Mr. P, never seemed satisfied with my sanding. I would sand my project, take it to him for approval and he would have me go back and sand some more.
Once I had tired of sanding I applied two coats of stain. This was completed with one coat of satin polyurethane.
The next step was conjoining the pieces. For this I drilled holes in the two pieces I then placed small rods of wood in each hole and applied a liberal amount of wood glue. Unfortunately, the pieces are not flush. They are secured but not cleanly.
When the glue was set I made a few screw holes and mounted the pieces on the ceiling in my workshop above my drafting table.
In comparison, it would have been nearly just as costly and less time consuming to have purchased the ship’s wheel. However, it wouldn’t be as unique and I wouldn’t have the satisfaction of creating something.
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