Last week I purchased a bamboo blank from Mark Fitch. My question is whether there is anything peculiar I should know about finishing out a bamboo rod? I've built about two dozen graphite fly rods, so I have the basics down. Is there any reason why I shouldn't use a modern two-part finish on the wraps?

the traditional finish on bamboo is varnish but there is no reason why you can't use a two part epoxy to finish the wraps. some traditionalist might scoff but it will be very attractive if applied with care. i would use the minimal coverage to cover the threads. don't "football" it. you can use silk or nylon. they both work well and will go transluscent if no cp is used. i am going to build one with single foot ceramic guides. why not?

one more thought. i don,t think i would use the two part finish to coat the whole blank. unless you purchased an impregnated blank you will need to finish the blank to seal it from moisture and protect it. i would use marine spar for this. i rub it on in thin coats with my fingers, steel wooling between coats. then i would wrap.

single foot ceramics on bamboo????? why not? why not????? BLASPHEMY!!!!!!! ;-)

i've seen the work using modern wrap finish and it looks fine. GREAT. go with thin coats to minimalize the football look. finer silk thread is usually used but i hear it can be a challenge to wrap. i think it looks great, especially without CP. when i wrap a bamboo soon, i'm going the more traditional route with snakes and fine silk, no CP.

one other detail that's different with finishing bamboo blanks involves the ferrules. did fitch's blank come pre-ferruled or do you have to do it yourself???


eric
fresno, ca.

eric, i know your comment is tongue in cheek. i have three bamboo rods all of which i have built from blanks. all three are very traditional. i wanted to rebel and do my own thing on this next one. did you see the work of eden bromfield at this link: [www.rodbuilding.org]

as for blanks coming ferruled, i would advise that since a mistake here can pretty much ruin a blank. i have done it successfully on one rod that i had to re-ferrul and it certainly can be done if you know how. i was able to do it working carefully and following the instructions that i read in a bamboo rod making book. did it without special tools but it is slow going.

Good, I'll stick with two very thin coats of modern lite-build finish. I plan to use traditional snakes and silk (hopefully, unless it's just too frustrating) thread. His blanks come ready to wrap. I asked about that and he said: "The rod blank has a deep penetrating hand rubbed finish(it's like a tung oil but I have my own mixture of solution) and is ready for you to put on the component parts as is. Although you would be able to put varnish over this hand rubbed finish if you choose to do so- you would need to lightly steelwool with extra fine steel wool before applying varnish."

What about wrapping the ferrules? How far up the actual metal, and how far up the blank from that? It's coming with NS ferrules installed. That was an additional, pretty minor, charge.

You will see a line on the ferrule, above the serrations, that is where you would normally stop the ferrule wrap... as for the start ????? Up to you, 4-5 wraps before the ferrule, sometimes about 1/8" before the ferrule... Remember, what you do to the male end, do the same to the female end.

Did he lap the male end for you??? If not, you'll have to fit it to the female end.

Do you know the guide placement layout yet??? There is a certain placement for the bamboo rod, not necessarily following the graphite layout. Are you going to use a ferrule guide before the stripper or not ???

Just some questions I thought you may ask yourself BEFORE you start wrapping..

Any questions, feel free to email me privately,

Tight lines & smokin' drags,

Art

I have used the two part finish Klass Koat [previous sponser] and had very good results. This was a very thin finish that is classified as a paint. I also used Permagloss for both thread and rod finish.

Ditto on the Klass Kote. Too much build-up with anything else around that hex shaped blank. In fact, I am conducting an experiment now with Gudebrod 811 and KK versus varnish as the top coat. As to ceramics, I have thought to use H & H strippers as they are traditional in appearance. Still contemplating an appropriate running guide.