I always put a hook keeper on my bamboo rods, to me a rod with no hook keeper looks like a pair of dress pants with no belt. I figure my customers can either use them or not but it doesn't hurt anything to be there. Yes, it takes a few minutes to wind one and the nickel silver strap and ring keepers aren't free either, but it looks right and it seems a better choice than sticking the fly in the
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I use Flex Coat Lite and Diamondite, both thinned about 30% with denatured alcohol. It works fine and if you mix the finish together first then add the alcohol, it kills the bubbles in it. You won't get one coat finish this way, but when done on silk thread gives the most transparent wraps with no "shimmers" or microbubbles that you can get. john
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try using the appropriate size piece of brass hobby tubing from the hardware store, I just cut a length of what I want and sharpen the leading edge. You do get some tear out on the back side, but just arrange to drill the first and last rings from the side you want out and it doesn't matter. john
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I've had the best results on bamboo rods with YLI size 100 in Natural(I don't have the number anymore, sorry), coated with FlexCoatLite thinned at least 1/3 with denatured alcohol. john
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I wouldn't use Gossamer for that, mostly because I don't like it and find that YLI 100 is not much bigger but a lot easier to work with. If you want the best clear wraps, get it in Natural. john
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If you're used to size A nylon, Gossamer will make you crazy. Size 100 YLI is almost as fine, but easier to work with. If you can find it in Natural it will make an absolutely clear wrap when coated with FlexCoat Lite thinned with denatured alcohol. White works,too, but is sensitive to some finishes, Diamondite makes it have a bluish haze when the finish dries that is really unpleasant, again, FC
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Calvin; I make bamboo rods and I highly recommend Snake Brand guides if you are going to use traditional snake guides with 2 feet There is no foot prep necessary with Snake Brand guides, they are ready to wrap with size A or 00 as they come, if you are going to use finer silk thread then you may want to use a stone and taper the end of the foot a little more, but there's still no need to use a
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Calvin; Why use use an expensive imported guide when there are many American made guides that are at least as high quality and cost much less? As for one twist wearing diferently from an other, sounds like hooey to me, consider the source. john
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Ken; I don't know if you know about this site or not, but if you don't you might find it useful, try john
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Ken; What you outline might work, but I don't kbnow how you will make the ferrule ends come together. What speeds up or slows down the taper is it's pitch, or the rate of change from the tip to the butt. With bamboo rods a medium action has a rate of change of between .013 and .015 per 5", a lower pitch than that results in a slower rod, a steeper pitch makes a faster rod. Generally speakin
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there is no silver in it, it's nickel, copper and zinc. What you want is 18% nickel. Try Bob Vennerri, he sells raw materials as well as finished reel seats. john
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What ad, where? john
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The worst colors that thread was ever dyed is undoubtedly what is known to bamboo rodmakers as "clown wrap", it's all the primary colors and a few extra's all on the same spool, the color changes every few inches and it was the hallmark of the cheep rod in days gone by, no good rod was ever wrapped with the stuff. Second worst to me are the jaspers(two colors twisted together). While n
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All the Chinese import lathes are made in the same factory, the names and colors are changed to tell the difference between "makes", but each company that orders them also has their own spec's and quality control people in place in the factory in China. You'll find that Grizzly and Enco models are made to higher specs and have more stringent quality control than HF, Chicago Tool and wh
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I've never had a tip top come off with Gudebrod ferrule cement. I'm pretty sure this stuff was the first hot melt glue, I'm 57 and it's been around longer than I can remember, I remember when there wasn't any hot melt glue of any other kind.. john
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Try REC(www.reccomponents.com). they have a wide variety of reel seats and will sell individual parts. Go to their website and look under "company" and email Dan Lanier, he's been very helpful to me in the past. john
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There's no good reason to use a stripper any bigger than size 10 on a bamboo rod of any line weight, I would never use anything bigger than a 8 on a 4 weight bamboo rod. From there use 2 each size 2 ,1, 1/0 and 2/0. I would have to look it up to be sure, but Payne might have put 10 guides on that rod, I usually use 9 on a 7'6" rod, stripper and 2 size 2 snake guides on the butt, the other
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Many bamboo rodmakers turn their grips right on the blank and use a metal lathe of some sort to do it. Mine is a 7"x12" from Grizzly. I wouldn't even consider a wood lathe for rodmaking,, for what I do most they would be completely useless. Metal lathes have a hole thru the headstock that accomodates the biggest rods I make easily, allowing me to turn grips concentric with the blank eas
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Use heat as Phil says, but just hold the rod in your hands and bend it the opposite way while turning it and moving it back and forth over the heat source. You'll feel it "let go" when it warms enough , then take it off the heat and hold it against the curve for a minute until it cools a little, it will stiffen up again (hopefully) straight, if not work at it some more. Note that it is
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silk and varnish wind up transparent,too, but for some reason there is more of a chance of getting microbubbles, or "shimmers" with varnish than with thinned epoxy. In another thread someone mentioned having white silk thread stay white with Permagloss on it, so I suspect it's like Varathane 900 and acts as a color preserver of sorts. john
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The USPS has been in the business of getting things from point A to point B for longer than most anybody I know of on the planet. They have the best rates and the best service of any shipper there is, it's just not worth considering shipping a rod any other way. I do take the precaution of putting my bamboo fly rods in schedule 40 PVC tubes to ship them, but I can still send a rod across the coun
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People actually fall for this stuff? john
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Tru Oil makes a good finish for your own rod, a rod built to be sold should have a traditional varnish finish because that's what the guying public expects for their money, varnish is perceived to be a better finish, certainly it's a lot more work, but I'm not sold on how much better it is than Tru Oil. Use multiple coats, TO is quite thin so it needs to be built enough to seal and protect the ro
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The major differences are that nylon is easier to work with and silk is better looking. Compared to even 2/0 silk, size A nylon looks like rope. Silk turns transparent without color preserver, so it might get lost on a blank blank, I make bamboo rods and the colors show up very well on that color back ground. Be aware that silk darkens quite a bit with no cp, so experiment first. If you are go
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You can seal the blank if you want, it's debatable about if it makes any difference, wood will stabilize with the environment even after it's varnished. Most find it easier to work with the thread if the blank is wrapped first, the wraps sealed and then the whole thing varnished afterward, usually in a dip tube, stopping at the ends of each wraps, as was said, briefly(10 seconds works for me)
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REC usually has good cork. john
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I've used a Sharpie to touch up guide feet on black snake guides on dozens of bamboo rods with the wraps finished with spar varnish and never had any sort of bleed thru problem, I've even done it on wraps done with white thread and finished with varnish to make the wrap clear , still no problems.. If you smell most permanent markers like Sharpie and other brands you'll notice that they smell like
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I don't believe in filler, I've never seen a filled grip that didn't lose the filler after a few outings. Anything you mix with a binder or that has a binder in it will be harder than the surrounding natural cork and will eventually work it's way out from the difference in expansion and from compression when the rod is used. Use the best cork you can find and justify the expense for and don't a
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I worked on Mackinac Island one summer when I was between high school college and fished the pond on the golf course at the Grand Hotel , or tried to. There was a family of muskrat in residence and every time I thru a lure to the huge northern that lived in the pond they went after it. Darn things were smart enuf to know that a rock thrown to the other end of the pond was just a decoy. john
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Gene; While it's true that dipping has become the modern standard, the vast majority of bamboo rods made when they were the only thing around were either brushed or sprayed. The easiest and quickest way to get a rod varnished is to spray it, it will also be better than dipping if you color preserve the wraps. There are various brands of varnish and polyurethane available in spray cans, use one t
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