Bamboo Rod Build

[dave 0]

A dremal tool with a honing stone does a great job of tapering the guide feet.  Don't know if this has been mentioned or not but Tom Kirkman's book on building rods is an excellent guide. and reasonably priced.  Tom is the owner/administrator of the rodbuildinf.org site.  A wealth of info on that site.

[DFoster 0]

9 hours ago, niveker said:

Very nice, DF, thanks for the progress report.  I like your bobbin holder, I'll have to remember that.  

Now for a dumb question:

As the ferrules have not been installed, when measuring for guide placement, do you account for any extra space for the ferrules when finished? 

+ 3 on the classic fly rod forum, btw.  An astounding amount of knowledge on that board.  

 

 

In this case the ferrules were installed by the maker. On my last build I installed them and from what I read/watched with the tip section installed and seated the rod should measure overall the exact length from the tip top to the but.  In this case a 7' 6" and then the guides land in there locations measured from the tip top to the butt.  That said I'm NO an expert, just going from what I watched on youtube and read online and we can all trust the internet to be 100% correct...right?

[DFoster 0]

1 hour ago, dave said:

A dremal tool with a honing stone does a great job of tapering the guide feet.  Don't know if this has been mentioned or not but Tom Kirkman's book on building rods is an excellent guide. and reasonably priced.  Tom is the owner/administrator of the rodbuildinf.org site.  A wealth of info on that site.

Thank you Dave.  I actually removed the guides that I felt were not tapered enough.  (VC Rider's post got me a little worried) I tapered them some more using essentially the same method -not a honing stone but a sales sample of our counter tops that I didn't throw out because it seemed like it would become useful at some point.  I was able to get a much better taper that way.  

These 3 rod builds have given me much respect for the pro's.  $3,000 sounds expensive for a bamboo rod until you try to make one yourself.  Now it seems quite reasonable. 😉

[skeet3t 0]

niveker, only seen that number of guides in a 12 foot feeder/quiver rod. The only dumb queation is the one not asked.

Thread should "flow" up the guide and not leave a gap in the thread. Was grinding a guide and got a catch. Flew out of my hand. Fortunately another builder had one. Found the guide six months later...in my workbench drawer! Only place I didn't look. BTW, when I ground the guide feet, I also polished top and bottom to remove burrs and rough spots.

[niveker 0]

13 hours ago, DFoster said:

In this case the ferrules were installed by the maker. On my last build I installed them and from what I read/watched with the tip section installed and seated the rod should measure overall the exact length from the tip top to the but.  In this case a 7' 6" and then the guides land in there locations measured from the tip top to the butt.  That said I'm NO an expert, just going from what I watched on youtube and read online and we can all trust the internet to be 100% correct...right?

Thanks DF, I didn't realize it was a 2 piece until after I asked, now it makes sense. 

[DFoster 0]

Well sadly it's back to work today- Last week was very productive for me working on the new rod.  I began Monday morning with a blank and parts and over the week was able get 85% of the project complete.  I'm not going to win a rod assembly speed contest. As a lot of you know wrapping can be tedious but it's important to get it correct.  I enjoy the process- so no rush.  I was able to reach the point of applying color preserve to the wraps.   The tip tops I received with the original order were the wrong size and and Brian mailed me the correct ones at no charge.  I expect them sometime this week, so installing them still remains.   All the guides, winding check, hook keeper and ferrules have been wrapped,  burnished and have their 1st coat of color preserver, see below. The gap you see on the winding check has epoxy below it  to water seal it.  I will fill in the edge after I apply the varnish.  The new preserver seemed to work really well on the silk and I really like the look of them once they dried.  I'll apply coat 2 tonight.  I can see the finish line from here.

[DFoster 0]

Well the rod is finished.  It's hard to see in the photos (photos taken in bad light)  but overall it came out really nice.  I did have some trouble with the spar bleeding on a few of the wraps.  It's an easy fix.  Here are some photos of the finished rod.

 

[SalarMan 0]

As a cane rod lover, all I can say is just super Dean!!! It is always a pleasure to see the work of a good and caring craftsman.....

[partsman 0]

Very nice, have you had it out in the yard/snow for test drive?

mike.

[chugbug27 0]

😎👍

[niveker 0]

Nicely done, what a beauty!.  The natural cane, the flaming, the thread color all look great together.  

[Sandan 0]

24 minutes ago, SalarMan said:

As a cane rod lover, all I can say is just super Dean!!! It is always a pleasure to see the work of a good and caring craftsman.....

Ditto!!

[skeet3t 0]

) Straight bourbon over ice without the "are you sure you want to have another one of those" looks only a wife or cardiologist can give. 

As for the cardiologist, there was a comedian whose doctor told him to stop drinking or it would kill him. He replied that he knew more old drunks than old doctors!

[DFoster 0]

1 hour ago, partsman said:

Very nice, have you had it out in the yard/snow for test drive?

mike.

No and it's killing me!  Maybe this weekend but I'm a little concerned about my mental state knowing I'll need to wait another 2 months for decent weather.  Winter seems to go on forever in New England.  

 

1 hour ago, chugbug27 said:

😎👍

Thanks Chug!

1 hour ago, niveker said:

Nicely done, what a beauty!.  The natural cane, the flaming, the thread color all look great together.  

Thanks- I honestly I wasn't crazy with the butter scotch color the Spar turned the gold thread at first.  Now after seeing it with the flamed bamboo Its growing on me.   I think if I ever do another one I might not use color preserve and just let the spar turn the wraps clear.  That happened on this rod in a couple of spots and I actually think on flamed bamboo it would look great. 

1 hour ago, Sandan said:

Ditto!!

Thanks-  The photos don't do her justice.  She's not perfect but like my wife say's I'm the only one other than a pro who would notice.  All in I only spent $391 and some time for the blank and materials.

 

1 hour ago, SalarMan said:

As a cane rod lover, all I can say is just super Dean!!! It is always a pleasure to see the work of a good and caring craftsman.....

Thanks George that's kind of you to say-   After seeing the work of the pros at the fly fishing show I wouldn't say I'm a craftsman.  However I was patient and worked to get it as perfect as I could.  I did end up with a decent rod that should be perfect for fishing the size rivers I love to fish.  I don't expect to run into Bill Oyster on any of the small streams I frequent so I think I'll be ok- 😉

[DFoster 0]

1 hour ago, skeet3t said:

) Straight bourbon over ice without the "are you sure you want to have another one of those" looks only a wife or cardiologist can give. 

As for the cardiologist, there was a comedian whose doctor told him to stop drinking or it would kill him. He replied that he knew more old drunks than old doctors!

So true- I do projects occasionally at hospitals and it always amazes me how many Dr's and nurses smoke.