Hi Mauser. What I did for building a new rod is two fold. 1- I do not use my rifles rods for range work only follow up shots or cleaning in the woods. 2- I bought T/C's pack rod for range work and a spare if needed it has four sections that can be put together for different lenghts and is very rugged.

As far as building a rod I made mine out of a hickory dowel that I had to sand by hand to the right size. I do not own a lathe so I cut it oversized put it in my 1/2 chuck drill and did it by eye and it came out just fine.