So I have gotten a couple of weeks behind
I have been working on a new project. That project is node-less rods. I feel like this will benefit me in the style of rods that I want to build, and also make better use of bamboo. Node-less rods are also a little quicker. This will help in making the longer hollow built light line rods. I will post some of the process once I get some photos together and get everything in order.
Rod #421602
I now have the blank cleaned up and polished. The ferrules have been mounted and the cork rings have been fitted and glued. The Spanish Cedar reel seat timber is ready and the rod bag is complete.
Above is a photo of the bamboo being prepped for the ferrule fit. The reason it takes so long to build a bamboo fly rod, it is because there are many steps in the process. Some of which are very tedious. Fitting very short ferrules takes a lot of time. The short ferrule leaves little room for error. The ferrule station must be checked to make sure it is straight enough to fit the ferrule before turning the station. If not you will end up with a ferrule that is not mounted correctly and then you have big problems. The rod sections will not line up etc.
Here is a photo of the reel seat area that has been turned down to the I.D. of the timber being used for the reel seat.
Ferrules are glued and then the tabs are bound with binding string.
Below is a photo of the butt section of the rod below the cork. It has been turned down to fit the reel seat. The writing is just to keep things in order. It will be covered by the reel seat. You can see all the power fibers in the rod. This is what we strive and struggle to protect as a bamboo rod maker. If this were above the grip it would look very poorly. Here the power fibers will be fine. They will be covered in epoxy when the reel seat timber is mounted.
As for signatures. I only sign My name on the bottom flat of the rod along with the serial number that I have in My log book retaining all the details about each rod made. I do not like to crowd rods with a bunch of writing. Especially My mediocre writing.
Ready to turn the cork and blue the ferrules for tomorrow. The rod will be wrapped this week, and then varnish.
Not all bamboo is rod worthy
Tonkin cane is relatively cheap (besides shipping). Just like any other natural product you get some good and some bad. Some culms that take a little more work than others. You may have to cut out sections with water marks and bug holes. Then there are digs from it being dragged around China. Also the big dips behind the nodes. Those are no good at all. I built a blank recently and thought that I had discarded all the strips that were generally beat up. I do remove most of the enamel down to the fine haze that appears over the power fibers of the cane before deciding on strip use. Sometimes you just don't see a water mark or there is a dig that you think will have a good chance of sanding out when removing the glue. Sometimes you just mess up and use strips that are marginal cosmetically. I did just that with a blank I just sanded the glue from.
Here is the end result of a bunch of work down the drain. One water mark is not bad, three in the butt section of the rod is no good. So in the trash it goes. Sure I could have kept it but, I already have the taper for My own use. Give it away? Well, I only put out rods that are made with the best of My ability. I take pride in giving away or selling something that I made personally. To put in all the time and effort to finish out a blank that I did not like just seems crazy to me.
We learn from our mistakes. It won't be the first and it sure as hell won't be the last. I still strive to improve on anything I can and learn something new with every rod.
Time for a beer and a break.
Thanks for looking.
