A friend of mine has been picking up old bamboo spinning and fly rods at some sales lately, and has offered me the opportunity to refurbish them for him. Is there anything that anyone knows that may turn this into a bad decision? ;-) Most have been stripped and the finish is very poor. A chemical stripper I assume would be the first step. What product would the final finish be? Should I use a regular epoxy like Pro-Coat on the wraps? Any input would be greatly appreciated! Thanks all!

It all depends on what he intends to do with these rods. If his goal is to keep them fairly original (a must in the rare case that any of them are high end, valuable rods) then you'd want to use original parts, pieces and finishing techniques when refurbing them. If these are just conversation pieces or decoration, then modern epoxy finish may be okay (you can make epoxy mimic varnish, if you know how).

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Be careful with chemical strippers as they may in some cases effect the glue holding the bamboo strip together. There are some less aggressive strippers that are citrus based that work well. Most bamboo rods are finished with varnish if attempting to be somewhat authentic, otherwise spar urethane works very well. Epoxy or varnish on the wraps will work, varnish again if trying to look authentic.

Just for jokes and laughs do a search on the net on Bamboo Rods See what rods are going for

Bill - willierods.com

If the rods have been stripped of their original components, their value has been greatly reduced!. If they were rare collectables, the damage is severe.

Go to several Classic Bamboo sites and ask with pictures if or what it may be worth
Here is one that deals in classics [classicflyrodforum.com]

Bill - willierods.com

Thanks for the input guys. Bamboo is all new to me. Bill, you suggested I do a search to see what some are going for.. Browsing around @#$%& a bit, and am not impressed with what I see as far as the prices are concerned. Am I missing something?

Well
From what I have seen There are builders ( that have grown a name ) over years and selling or asking 2 grand for there blanks
As fare as I have researched Tonkin Cane is the best The area it is grown ?? More power fibers ??? How to find out if your rod is that ?? I asked and never got an answer Seems there is no way to tell
Bought a blank and even seen the builders supplier China Built it Nicely Could not even get 100.00 for it
Supply and demand ?? Economy ??

Bill - willierods.com