#431605 Ready To Dip

Ready For Dipping

Here is a shot of the threads during the thread varnishing process for Rod #431605. This rod will be ready to dip after a couple more thinned coats. Three dips in the tank. Let it dry and then polish it out. With a lot of sanding and prep in between dips. You can see the very end of the splice sticking out.

Rod #431606

This will be another Seven Foot for a Four Line. The Strips are ready for roughing. It will be an alternating Light and Dark strip spliced node-less rod. Two piece with Two tips. This rod is not spoken for. Soooooo. If anyone is interested it will be available.

Rod #431607

Got the sticks for this one heat treated, split and ready to splice.

Culm With The Nodes Cut Out and Half Flamed Half Blonde

Strip Prep

Jig I Made For Getting All The Strips The Same Width

Ready For the Splicing Block

Thanks for looking. 

#431605 Ready To Wrap

Ready To Wrap This One Up

Everything for the 7' for a Four Weight is made and now it is ready to wrap.

Here is a shot of the winding check being made.

The Cork Grip Has Been Turned. It is a 5 1/2" Modified Ritz.

Showing The Fit of the Grip

Winding Check Fitted and Blackened

Ferrules Blackened

Thanks for looking.

#431605 Update - 7' Four Weight

Progress As Of Today

Here is the ferrule end of the the tip section after being cleaned up. You can see the power fibers. 

Cork rings were fitted last night.

Glued and then clamped overnight.

Blank trimming shown here with the extra short step down ferrules fitted and glued.

Reel seat and spacer fitted to blank and ready to go.

Tomorrow the grip will be turned on the lathe, I will make a winding check and blacken it. Ferrules will also be blackened and then a coat of Tru - Oil before wrapping.

Thanks for looking.

Rod #431605 Progress and Cape Cod Stripers

Rod #431605 Progress and some Cape Cod Striper Fishing

Took a couple weeks off to spend time with the family up at Cape Cod. This is a trip we have been going on for 15 years now. The weather was great and the fishing was pretty good too. I did fish a graphite 9 weight when I was up there. Hope I don't get kicked out of the bamboo rod makers club for this.

I am going to finally put in the time to make a 9 weight light enough and strong enough to cast an intermediate line over and over for hours while fishing the beaches of the Cape. This has been a goal of mine for a while now. Just never got to it. 

Anyway here are some of the Striped Bass from the trip. All pictures were taken from screen shots off of My GoPro. There are also some videos of the trip on My Instagram page. There is a link on the blog for it.

Rod #431605

Here is the progress for this rod. It will be a 2/1 Seven Footer for a #4 Line. I got a little behind while away.  This is a flamed no nodes rod. I chose to flame it because I wanted to do a darker rod and I like the fact that you can see the splices.

Here are the spliced chopsticks clamped together and drying.

The sticks after they were cleaned up and the enamel was scraped.

Here the strips are planed to Thirty Thousandths over the final taper.

The strips in this photo are planed to final taper and prepped for gluing.

Ready for gluing this morning.

Glued up strips that are powdered so that the string comes off the blank easily.

I will post more steps in this build as it progresses.

Thanks for looking.