Rod Number 8 is DONE!

Yep...it's done. Woo hoo! From charred busted up pieces of bamboo to the finest sporting tool on earth...a bamboo fly rod. It's a 7 foot, 4 weight, 4 piece, with a mid flex progressive taper.

It looks pretty good. But more importantly, the action is spot on with the spreadsheet version of the taper. I designed this taper with a deflection analysis spreadsheet developed by another rod maker (Jim Utzerath). The thing performs much better than anticipated. Four piece tapers are rare in the rod making community. I asked why on the rodmakers list a few months ago. Several reasons were given, but my guess is that the cost of 3 sets of ferrules and the extra time to mount and fit them up is the primary reason. It's certainly not the performance of the rod...at least not in this case. The cost of the ferrules isn't a problem for me since I make my own. The extra time isn't a problem since I don't sell rods. If I'm making one for a friend...well, they can wait a little longer. I've already completed the planing for the butt section of another 4 piece with a different taper. I'll get back to work on that one in a couple weeks.

This rod is not perfect. There's a little trash in the varnish below two ferrules. I was using masking tape to attach the dipping fixtures to the rod sections. In those two cases, something from the masking tape bled down onto the blank. I'll find a different way to attach the fixtures on the next rod. I might clean up the finish on this one with a little wet 1000 grit paper at some point, but that's unlikely. I made the rod to fish, not to look at. I'm probably going to move on to the next rod...and do some fishing. I've spent way to much time in the shop this spring. There are more pictures of the finished rod in the rod making album.

If you've been following this rod making thread the past several months, I hope you found it interesting. If you're an experienced wood worker (I'm not) or just handy around the shop (that's me), you could do this too. Check out the rod making links to learn more. With the exception of a couple books, most of the resources I've used are listed in those links.

If you're interested in buying a top of the line bamboo rod, I've included links to a couple master craftsmen that are personal friends. I don't sell rods...and you wouldn't want to buy one if I did. I'd have to charge way to much to cover my time and my rods are not master craftsman quality. I might get there some day, but at the pace I'm making rods, it's going to be a very long time.

db