Project Bamboo

[Dark Cloud]

I have always been intrigued by bamboo flyrods and am finally getting started on my first one. I would love to build from scratch but it involves quite a bit of tools, equiptment, and knowlege. The nearest place offering a class is about an hour and a half away plus most classes run a week and cost between a grand and two! So I decided to buy a blank which turned into a bit of a pain. Did some reading and research and was more confused Ended up buying a cheap forgien made blank from evilBay. It came and I was real excited till I opened the tube! Even with my limited experience I knew it was junk! I wasnt going to put the time and new technique into this rod and not enjoy or fish it, back to the drawing board - ie read anything I could get my hands on, and talked to a bunch of blank/rod makers. I ended up buying a blank from a small maker out in Oregon and am completely satisfied so far(havent cast it yet,lol). I chose a Payne 102 taper hollow built 2 piece 8ft with 2 tips. Its a classic taper that should fit me plus be versitle.

Heres a quick "how its Made" video of what goes into a bamboo rod. Of course there is more than one way to skin a cat but this coveres it well. They use a beveling machine, most of the small makers hand plane each strip...

[bobbymalone]

this will be awesome to see develop

[hydro]

I like the nails in the beam for hangers!

[upnorth]

Scott is a good guy.

[Kris Kristufek]

Ah Bamboo. The lovely reed. Fishing with bamboo is such a treat.

Certainly there are several ways to skin a cat, so there should then be other ways to varnish bamboo. I use an extraction motor set-up that moves at 1" per minute. Using a tube filled with thinned Man O War varnish, this leaves absolutely no runs or streaks and no drips. Maybe a little rottenstone is necessary to clear up a blemish is all that is necessary. The key is to be deliberate and work slowly. 4-6 "bath" treatments may be required to get it right.

This could take 2-3 weeks between each dip. Rushing the project is akin to setting the hook before the fish has the bait... not going to work well.

Will be interesting to see your finished project.

Think you learned about purchasing quality on evilbay. You often get what you pay for, nothing more. Bamboo is not one of those things that need to be sold in that manner. It is better to deal with people you know or have been recommended.

[Dark Cloud]

The first coat of finish came out great! I do have a few dust boogers to sand out but need to let the finish harden a bit more before doing so, then another coat or three...

Hydro - two of the best things about a log home are: nothing to ever paint and you can add and remove nails where ever you want

Kris - I was scarred to evilbay by the thought of $600+ dollar blanks! 80 bucks sounded great but it wasnt fit to stake up tomatos. I did alot of shopping while saving and feel like I got an awesome blank for 4 bills...

Im going to take my time but I cant wait to cast and fish this rod!

[Dark Cloud]

Well, tonight I sanded the blank gently with fine steel wool. The varnish needed about 5 days to cure enough to sand. Took my time and got all the flaws out in about an hour. Tomorrow i'll give it another thin coat of spar...

[mainbutter]

Sounds like it's coming along! good luck

[A.W.Wolfram]

I thought I would bring this to this thread. Are you going with an agate for the stripping guide?

Have you seen any of the new variegated thread by Fish Hawk?

[Dark Cloud]

Captain - Sounds like you have some bamboo experience?

Yep Im going with a yellow banded agate stripper guide. Going to pair this with clear wraps and some combination of green and yellow tiping/trim...

Did some cork work tonight and I went for boom or bust!

I built it up with 1/4 inch thick cork rings instead of the normal 1/2. Lots of older makers used this and I like the look especially if the glue lines show a bit. This was my next challenge ans most modern rods are built with hopefully no glue lines showing. Modern epoxies and techniques virtually eliminate them. Years ago the glues used were brownish. Anyways, I like the look so im trying. Worse case, im out 15$ in cork and an evening of time...

Heres what I did...

first I tried tinting the epoxy with dust I gathered from around my lathe - too coarse though. So then I got the idea of sanding a piece of ruberized cork and collecting the dust...

then I mixed up some epoxy and made 1 inch sections...

After they set up I drilled em out a bit and glued them up and clammped em...

Looks pretty rough now but hopefully it will spinn up nice

[Dark Cloud]

Well, we have success!

I turned the handle on the lathe and got the "look" I was looking for. I still have a little bit of final shaping and sanding but im a happy camper.

[Dark Cloud]

Worked on the handle a bit more this afternoon. Had to fit the reel seat to the blank. I used a round file on the inside of the reel seat and a dremel tool with a sanding wheel to take some off the blank...

I went with a canary rood reel seat hoping it would match up well with the blank color and it did. I also used Payne style hardware on the reel seat as the rod is a Payne inspired taper. Years ago builders came up with styles of reel seats so thier rods were recognizable and put a patent on them...

Ended up shaping the grip into a traditional cigar shape...

When I first started thinking about this project I picked up this reel off evilBay....

It is a Bronson Royal, they were a bigtime reel manufacturer in the 40-60's out of Michigan. They started back in 1922 and lasted into the 70's. This was far from a high end reel but functions great. Im not sure how old this one is but I dont think its an early model. And it has seen very little use. I also have an old Pflueger medalist that will see time on the rod...

I cant wait to cast and fish this puppy...

[upnorth]

Looks sharp DC.

[Dark Cloud]

Thanks UpNorth! I spent some time this evening playing around with guide placement. I used mini hair bands to hold the snake guides on each foot then strung up the rod with some line and did some flexing to come up with final placement.

Wrapped a few guides also. First time useing silk thread and wow it is thin. I actually had to borrow my dads reading glasses and sit real close to see well...

[upnorth]

Cheaters are a clear sign of getting old DC I have to wear them for thread work too. And I have a movable light with 60 watt bulb that I can put directly over where I am working.

I wrap a lot with size 40 embroidery thread that is a bit smaller diameter than size A rod thread and it is bit more difficult to work with, but with lighter rods you can still get some nice detail to the cross wraps. If anyone ever want to try embroidery thread makes sure it is the polyester version, the other stuff is junk and just doesn't work well.

[Dark Cloud]

Yep, I light up my wrapping area with an overhead room light and two lamps!

Looks like 10 wraps of this Pearsalls gossamer silk is about the same as 4 wraps of standard size A.

The neat thing with silk is how it goes translucent/transparent when finished with no color preserver. When done right with white silk, I've seen rods that looked like nothing was holding the guide on. I'll take some picts with my attempt...

[upnorth]

I can see where you would need the cheaters for that, sounds pretty darn fine.

[Jim Uran]

Hey DC is there any way you can make those pictures bigger???

Just kidding but man they're huge.

Sharp looking rod though.

[Dark Cloud]

I usually "resize for message boards", thought I did... Maybe it's your settings? lol...

Hows your rod project going?

[Dark Cloud]

Ok Leechy, you were right. Thanks for the heads up. I checked my settings on imageshack and it was no longer set up for forums. I fixed all the picts in this thread

[Jim Uran]

Ahhh what relief!!! My first build is coming along. A lot of yard work and the kids took a big bite out of my time but I've got my grips cut reamed and fit, tonight I'm going make some arbors for my reel seat and dig out the epoxy and stick her all together, next is wrapping the guides. It's going good, I'm having fun with it.

[upnorth]

Good to hear things are going well Leeech. Once you start down this path there may be no going back

[Dark Cloud]

I got one of the tips wrapped up and put a coat of finish on. The white silk went nice and transparent for me.

Before...

Half done...

And almost done, when I do a final dip finish it will clean up the edges...

[Eric_Kruger]

that is sweet looking what thread is it that does that?

EK

[Jim Uran]

Silk.

Looks goot DC!!!!!