Links
here and out there
Index
what I have to say about:
- Stuff
you need stuff not in many books
-Tools
you can make
-Forms
Wood, steel, or both?
- Planes
New and use 9½. How to tune, judge, sharpen and fix them.
- Re-builling
Bamboo
rods, a step beyond refinishing.
-Bamboo
Rod tapers Why a taper. Ways to judge a taper
...and more.
-
On the Net
Bamboo Rod making
FAQs
Tons of information on bamboo rod building
Rod Builders Home page
lot's of information on bamboo rod building and builders.
Bamboo Rodmaking Tips page
a ton of tips for builders
Jann's Netcraft
Most everything you'll need to build a rod -- and then some.
Anglers
Workshop
Almost every thing you'll need to build a rod -- and then some
Charles H. Demarest, Inc.
A second generation supplier of Tonkin Cane, Charles Demarest has live
an interesting life
Hock Blades Sharpening
page
Hock Blades Are said to be the best, I copied my sharpening style
from the owner.
Performance Fly Rods
Dave Lewis' web site. A good man to do business with
Harry Boyd's site.
When Harry isn't tending his flock or building fine bamboo fly rods he's
involve in
The Southern Rodmakers
GatheringAt Mountain Home, Ark.
Twin Pines Rod Company
Jon Clark builds some beautiful and pleasant casting bamboo rod!
Scary Sharp FAQ
A way to sharpen plane blades without water stones.
There are many more fine rod builders and suppliers
I wish I could list them all. |
The many faces of rod building
Graphite rod building
It's the place to start. It may be
the place that you want to stay. There are real masters of the art
of rod building who do nothing but build custom graphite rods.
One such person is Dave Lewis.
When I decided that I'd like one custom fly rod (a rod built for
me, just the way I wanted it) I chose Dave. He's also very good at
helping answer rod building questions.
If you're building rods for yourself
graphite is great. You get to do the major tasks such as find the
spline, (A topic that is hotly debated among rod builders.) set the reel
seat and handle and wrap the guides and ferrule. You can learn to
make decorative wraps and weaves. Catching a Fish on the first rod
you've built is a real blast!
Refinishing
Mostly done to older bamboo rods, it can be as little
as polishing the existing varnish. It will probably require some
polishing of metal parts and cleaning the cork grip. It may require
the old varnish be removed and a new coat of varnish applied. Graphite
rods usually only require cleaning.
Re-wrapping
This is done when the threads holding the
components in place are worn. It usually requires the rod be stripped.
It's a task often performed on older rods that are going to be fished.
Older rods that are of historical or personal interest
probably should be left in their original condition. On rod
of historic value the rule of thumb is do as little as possible.
On bamboo rods, re-wrapping usually requires removing
old varnish and applying a new coat. Graphite rods require the wraps
be re-coated with protective material, such as Flexi Coat.
Repairing
Broken components are usually replaced. However,
in some cases they must be rebuilt to original specifications.
It's often impossible to find original replacements for older rods, especially
bamboo rods built by companies long out of business. A decision has
to be made between keeping the rod original or updating parts.
Reel seats, new cork grips, new guides, new ferrules and even new tip tops
can replace older parts. Care should be taken to make sure the parts
are compatible. A plastic reel seat looks out of place (looks
like hell) on a bamboo rod.
Re-building
Actually setting out to change the rod should only
be done to rods that are of no historical or sentimental value.
Often parts of rods can be found at garage sales and flea markets.
Parts and pieces can be matched to use on one rod. If you go
beyond simply replacing the reel seat and/or grip with one of your own,
or changing the size or location of the guides, you'll need an understanding
of how to set a ferrule, how bamboo rods are originally built and/or how
rod tapers work.
Building bamboo rods
When done by an expert, bamboo rod building is undoubtedly
the highest form of rod building alive today. Hand built bamboo rods
are among some of the most beautiful of objects. The combination
of materials and craftsmanship lend to a warm piece of art/tool that's
a joy to behold (and hold). Most bamboo rods are made with
six planed strips of "Tonkin" bamboo, each an equilateral triangle in cross
section. These six strips are glued together with the more powerful
fibers on the outside. A special jig, called a
planing
form, is used to form these strips. Most builders use adjustable
steel forms, while others use hard wood forms. The other components
are a VERY sharp block plane and some way
of gluing, binding and heat treating the strips into a rod section.
(Heat treating is another topic of much discussion among rod builders.)
Learning to set a ferrule on a bamboo rod is important too. It's
the number one place that a rod will fail. Beyond that, assembly is fairly
standard.
If you don't want to build your own rod, but would
like a link with the past, you can always buy used rods from such places
as E-bay, or from a reputable re-seller of rods. Unfortunately Dick
Spurr is no longer in business |
