How it's Made | TFO Fly Rods

people always wax about the arts of the perfect fly cast but not today we focus on the beauty of the building process find out how temple Fork Outfitters fly rods come to life oh I get a lesson in ping-pong two people are passionate about outdoor equipment Americans spend more than twenty billion dollars a year on gear if no one ever really sees how their stuff gets me well that's where we come in each week we throw open the factory door and give you a behind-the-scenes look and how your favorite care is made made for the outdoors the arts of the perfect cast the act of fly and rod in one silky motion beauty in raw outdoor phone [Music] temple fork outfitters headquarters set aptly guarded in a quiet section of Dallas Texas silent until you get inside [Music] all day long workers ship rods to supply international demand in an hour each of us will pull about ten quarters see lots of people like to fish with fly rods a fly rod consists of four main components the rod blank the grip a reel seat and several line guides fly casters throw the weight of a fly line instead of simply chucking the weight of a lure that means building a fly rod take different technology and a little different approach hit center your blood and into your soul and pretty quick you're not making a very good living but you do what you love to do Jim Chulan of temple fork Outfitters offered to shuttle us darn near halfway around the world to the busiest city I've ever seen [Music] South Korea's Incheon and Seoul area population a few more than 24 million people major manufacturing hub on the Yellow Sea right in the middle of Incheon a modest facility home to magic [Music] this is where the entire rod building process starts what they call the rolling room boxes of raw material lined the walls inside temple forts production center three times a week it's coming in its like eat warm donuts every day there's this really fresh material which is which is important fresh carbon fiber fabric a lightweight and ultra strong rod material all pre treated with a resin that will eventually cement each rod blank as you lay the residence I mean they start to cure just out here in the air they're gonna cure exactly when mr. Kim gets right to work prepping new fabric he first lays out a full sheet on the cutting table and then marks each pattern for each individual fly rod it's so fun to watch him work everything is so exact Rock makers called these fabric pieces flags stacks of labelled flags end up on the production shelf [Music] neighbor will see surah put up to 9 foot Terrier puppies young Jin ehmmm knows everything about the fly rod building process and these rods we know him as BJ DFO's rod engineer and the owner in charge in Incheon I was just a lobby that is fishing that's why I love to fishing and - my job and my hobby BJ brainstormed this entire facility and all these steps how many puberty men do number zero three zero three he designed the mandrels to there are a ton of them and they mean everything absolutely everything has its own taper for his own rod these steel rods represent the genetic code of every single fishing rod some of these mandrels are used for more than one fly rods right yes yeah yeah Team TFO gears up for a production run we'll take a quick break while they prep the mantles coming up temple quartz rod process really gets Roman maybe outdoors is brought to you by banks outdoors Aquarius home services border view lodge fvp and Husqvarna [Music] [Music] temple fork outfitters cranks out fly rods with the carbon fiber fabric cut to spec workers prep the rod mandrels Mr Kim first brushes on a release agent it is rolled around this in preparation to put it in an oven secure the resins so each one of these represents a specific rod model yes Mr Bond lines up and lays each rod flag against each mandrel I couldn't have the patience to do it I bet he could deal some cars too he melts the resin right along the edge of the flag now mr. Kim twists each flag into a rod section you roll dozens of pieces in no time the pad is just warm enough that each time he rolls it starts to have that resin adhere there we go then adds a little extra flag of carbon fiber see that it's a bit of reinforcement he's just adding a little piece on the fly rod that'll be where the two parts join they make a lot of rods but when you watch this you realize that there and produce each of these steps is done by hand and then after they get rolled they'll go over to the taping yep taping [Music] all they're doing is taking cellophane tape and wrapping that section of the rod so when they cook it it stays perfectly around now the blank building process really warms up BJ says literally this is the most important part of the process literally make her break everything that we've looked at this far it's raw material right this machine turns it into a fishing rod blank pretty simple shut it lock it pin it and then one of those buttons the oven cooks each rod section all this oven talk makes us hungry workers take a break for food and team TFO always eats together get this PJ buys lunch every single day right after food the team burns calories and a bit of steam table tennis official sport of TF Oh can't play too long remember the ovens still on each rod blank now cooked - rod buildings version of perfect medium-rare [Music] Mr Kim Pop's each rod section off each Mandal so after they dry yes there is a job in here I can do somebody's got to pull all that tape off of every single rod while now comes one of TF OS most important steps trust me [Music] grinders eliminate extra resin from the baking process they smooth out each blank but there's something more going on here is fitting Farrell's we know what the ferrule is on the female side just because we know the exact diameter taper of the mandrel this machine can replicate that on a male in the point is it allows you to have two sections that fit together perfectly every time time we could take a rod that we've built out of here ten years ago and fit it with one of these he's running through the Machine right now and it will fit okay time up when we come back TFO leaves a story of technology and the rods finally earn their colors made for the outdoors is brought to you by central boiler Summit beer ice castle fish houses smoky hills outdoor store and magnum research the art of fly rods isn't just in the act itself but in the dance and rods come to life with carbon fiber blanks rolled baked and sanded TFO adds a twist okay actually a bunch that's called braiding it looks pretty put it has function it adds function it helps reduce the oval in effect when you take a round hollow object and bend it just got it oval this helps reduce it a technology unique to several of TFO rods series is a patented process [Music] dancing spools are fun to watch the next step not so much [Music] mr. chote weeks every rod blank to test for integrity I know that's totally normal for a rod but it just gives me the willies every time I see it he wrenches on fly rods and conventional rods to make sure they all pass spec with his approval a mass goes on and paint goes in the can watch this mr. Lee runs rod blanks through a simple latex diaphragm he tips the paint can and polls the result magical the paint booth doubles into the drying rack fans pump lots of warm air over freshly colored rods they're brought up to a temperature at that paint kiss there's not as much mad science from that part of it though same story adding logos a very simple process squeegees info on to each rod seems so simple that it's just incredible to watch rolls it on perfect [Music] only now can they leave the factory at least for a quick trip about 15 minute drive across town BJ's buddy shop well follow me downstairs [Music] BJ funnels all the fly rods through this shop where workers put the pedal to the metal that is where the guides are wrapped on it's a pretty simple process but it's a very important process the guide spacing everything straight and alignment he's friends with these people and part of the community he wants to give them the business and keep them and their families and happy and healthy and working so once that thread has two layers of epoxy they just stay in here for about an hour under Heat spinning and then a car ride right back to TFO we're rod parts start to really stack up that's mr. June he's BJ's nephew and he pops a grip onto each fly rap then he whips up a stew of epoxy mixed with the not so secret ingredient it's like putting couple rocks in concrete that grit is actually Emery powder it's the same stuff used in nail files and sandpaper and it goes into the epoxy because when the handles dry it just locks everything together forever [Music] mr. June twists on epoxy and then slides the handle into place just right he passes the rods over to mr. Kang who finishes by adding the real seat notice how he takes time to make sure the grip guides and real seat all line up exactly right [Music] the epoxy needs a bit of time to set out so we'll take a break up next the last step which finally takes a PF o rod from factory to fishing made for the outdoors is brought to you by Banks outdoors Aquarius home services border view lodge [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] two days into the production process all these TFO rods still need a bit more TLC before the rods can go out the door the final production processes start with very steady hands matching colored dots help anglers match all four sections of fly rod after the paint dries final and very thorough look see workers check every component on every rod yeah checking for any imperfections to make sure that some of these thread wraps are all perfect the guys are aligned perfect there's no blemishes in the paint they've got to be good and they are AJ's the best they also make sure each rod section fits together just right any blemish any hiccup means the rod will not pass inspection anything they might see gets a little red dot like this one it's a part that they'll either go back and fix and make right again otherwise goes into the garbage can ron's that do pass QC get a quick wipe down and then a special label [Music] the work actually the art of crafting fly rods the passion of these people it's a sense of pride no question about that once that passes inspection they're bagged and sold throughout stores all over the US but not before a stop back in Dallas Texas USA lots of walking [Music] where'd you get a better feel for just how many rods TFO ships out [Music] that's it rinse and repeat and just like you have James and Cleveland your orders ready to go along with the rest of them fly rods tools of the outdoor trade that help dreams become well this days on the water they help everyday people forget about their stressful lives and make memories of a lifetime for them and their families [Music] very often the right time yeah understand [Music] I think I'm gonna be here a while [Music]

Channel: TempleForkOutfitters

Views: 55,910

Rating: 4.768014 out of 5

Keywords: tfo rods, temple fork outfitters, fly rods, how fly rods are made, how its made

Id: M_xMCJJuio4

Length: 20min 56sec (1256 seconds)

Published: Wed Jan 08 2020