SRG 2011 Pictures

Here's a few pictures from SRG 2011. Another gathering in the archives and a long wait for next year.  We had 85 attendees from 24 states.  The KOA in that mortised butt looked really good (third picture).  The rod was made by a rodmaker in Japan for Jeff Hatton.  Very impressive rod.

Southern Rodmakers Gathering (SRG) 2011 registration is open!

This heat wave has got me thinking of cooler fall weather. With fall comes the biggest event of the year for me...the Southern Rodmakers Gathering. Make that the eighth or ninth biggest event, after Mary's birthday, the kids birthday's, our anniversary, Christmas, etc...

SRG is usually the third weekend of October, but, technically speaking, there are five weekends in October this year. So...it's the fourth weekend if you're counting weekends. It's October 20th, 21st, and 22nd. So put it on your calendar...NOW. Stop reading this blog and write it down.

Here's a link to the registration form. It will be available soon on the SRG web site. But for now you can get it here.

I'm just back from the Colorado Rodmakers Reunion. Had a great time. Honestly, I really just wanted to reconnect with some friends I hadn't seen for a couple years. Got that done and made more friends. Finally met Michael Hackney...the reelsmith. If you've ever dreamed of making your own fly reels for your bamboo fly rods (be honest, every rodmaker has at least thought about it), Michael can help you get that done. Check out his book and kits at The Eclectic Angler. And his Reelsmithing Forum.

See you at SRG,

David

Kathy Scott's new book

I had an opportunity to meet David and Kathy at CRR a couple years ago. They were as kind and inviting as Kathy's books. But that's common among bamboo fly fishers. If you haven't been to a rod makers gathering you owe it to yourself to get out of the house for a few days and meet some really cool folks. David untangled the mystery of ferruled leaders for me in a brief conversation. I had overlooked the varnishing process.

Here's the intro to Kathy's new book from YouTube and a link to Ron Barch's site where you can buy her books.

"In September, the forests of Maine are as vibrant as the autumn run of brook trout. This is a glimpse at the life behind the pages of Kathy Scott's new book, Brook Trout Forest, due out March 2011."



http://www.aldercreekpublishing.com/kathy_scott.htm

Video of my shop

Alan Peterson, a student at Harding University produced a short video of my shop for a class project recently.  It's amazing what they can do with AV equipment.  I thought Alan did a great job.  Here's the video...

Away From The Desk from The Link on Vimeo.

SRG 2010 Pictures

Another gathering is on it's way to the archives.  The weather was great, water was low, presentations were excellent, food was good, and the live band is almost ready for a record deal.  They just need a mandolin player that builds bamboo rods...maybe next year.

Here's a few pictures.  I expect there will be a lot more on the SRG web site in the next week or two.

SRG Day One

It's day one at SRG.  Beautiful weather and lots of rods to cast.  We have 75 registered this year from 22 states.  If you're not here yet, you'd better hurry...

SRG 2010 Registration

The gathering is October 21st - 23rd.  Registration deadline is October 8th.  Register now...or get an early start on cabin fever.

Jimmy T's Tungsten Beads

Some secrets are best kept close to the vest.  But I'll let one slip this time.  I've been tying with tungsten beads for several years now.  It's always been a painful experience to pay for them at 25 cents a bead or more... until Jimmy T started carrying bulk beads in his fly shop a couple years ago.  Jimmy is a fly fishing guide.  So his fly shop is sparse.  It's not you're typical shop with 27 versions of every fly gadget ever created.  He just stocks what he needs to outfit his clients.  And he buys in bulk.  Maybe there are better deals out there on the internet somewhere, but at Jimmy's prices, I'd be wasting my time looking for them.  Besides, Jimmy is one of the good guy's in the local fly fishing business.  It's not like you're ordering from a big mail order warehouse.  It's just Jimmy's cool little fly shop in Bull Shoals Arkansas.  If you're looking for a good deal on tungsten beads, check out Jimmy T's web site.  Or if you need a guide on the Norfork or White Rivers, Jimmy's the man.

http://flyfisharkansas.com/fly-shop

By the way, I suppose I'm being a little selfish about this.  I figure if Jimmy sells beads, he'll continue to stock them.  So I admit this post is partially for my personal benefit.

David

Southern Rodmakers Gathering 2010 Registration

It's time to register for the 2010 gathering!  Lowell Davis is working his way out of the SRG chairman's job this year.  Denis Dunderdale and Paul Craig are co-chairmen for 2010 and Bill Armon is the program coordinator.  I'm doing registration.  Fulton's lodge is a perfect place for a gathering, but space is limited.   If I remember correctly, attendance has been in the 70 to 90 range the past few years.  And 90 was pushing the limit.  So register early.  The committee didn't set a registration limit for 2010, but don't wait until the last minute just in case.

If you've never attended a gathering before, we'd love to have you at SRG.  You'll meet fly fisher folks from all over the country.  Full timers, hobby makers and folks that have never made a rod will be there...and several FFF CCIs.  The highlight of the gathering is making friends, catching up with old ones, and casting dozens of bamboo rods.  The presentations are always good too, but it's the social networking that keeps everyone coming back.

Fishing, well that's a hit or miss thing.  We have world class brown and rainbow trout fishing on the White and Norfork rivers.  But flow rates can vary dramatically throughout the year.  Generally speaking, low water will provide lots of wading opportunities.  High water requires an experienced guide with a river boat.  If you come to fish you may never wet a hook.  It just depends.  If you come for the gathering, you won't be disappointed.

So anyway...it's time to register.  Here's a link to the registration page and the form.

http://southernrodmakers.org/registration.htm
David

Bob Milward's new Book

Bob's new book is available.  The first one was very interesting.  Lot's of testing and myth busting.  Looking forward to reading the new one.  Go direct to the order page here.  Or click the photo below to read more about it.

Arkansas Generation Tables

For those of you that fish the Arkansas and Missouri tailwaters, I maintain a blog with generation charts and other related links.  It's a one stop shop for all the river level information that I can find on-line.  I made some changes today to make it easier to read with a Blackberry or IPhone.  Check it out if you fish Tanycomo, Bull Shoals, the Norfork, or the Little Red.  Bookmark the site on your phone if you want check river levels on the fly.

The web address is http://www.tailwatergeneration.blogspot.com

The Guitar Project is Finished

I put rod making on hold this winter to build a guitar.  It's finally finished.  Started with a Stewart-MacDonald kit, added Groover tuners, a couple quarts of lacquer and a few specialized tools.  It turned out much better than expected.  It has first build issues, but they're cosmetic and hard to spot.  Sounds great and the action is low and easy on my amateur fingers.  It was a fun build.  Looking at kayak kits now.

I realize this is off topic for a rod makers blog, but for what it's worth, stringed instruments, wooden boats, and fly rods seem to be common to the secret society of bamboo rod makers.

The Reelsmith's Primer

A while back I mentioned a reel making kit at The Eclectic Angler.  I haven't had time to work on a kit yet, but it's on my list...along with making a couple rods, finishing up a guitar project, roasting coffee, doing SRG registration and spending some time with my family at the lake this summer.  I'm almost too busy to go to work...but very thankful to have a job.

The proprietor of The Eclectic Angler, Michael L. J. Hackney has just finished his Reelsmith's Primer.  The book is available for sale on his web site. 

The Snake Rod

Check out Bob Nunley's new book at Whitefish Press.  Or order direct from Bob here.

Routing Caps for Hex Rod Cases

I've made a few hex rod cases.  They're fairly simple to make.  But I've struggled with making the end caps safely.  Routers and small pieces of wood scare me.  So I've been using the sled on my table saw to get close to finished dimensions without risking losing a finger.  But I found this cool video doing research for a guitar project.  I haven't tried it yet, but this should work perfectly.  I'll just cut a little off each end of the glued up tube and use it as a guide to route the caps.  Watch the video and that should make sense.

RL Nunley Bluing Formula

Bob has a new bluing formula available for sale.  Here's his post from the Classic Fly Rod Forum:

Well, after reformulating the old Mega Blue I used to sell, I have the new stuff ready to ship.  I'll start shipping orders out on Monday, Feb 8th.  I'm simply calling the new Formula "RL Nunley Bluing Formula". 

Here's what it does... Most of this, I copied form my posting on the Rod and Reel makers forum.

RL Nunley Bluing Formula
for
Nickel Silver, Brass and Duronze

This ferrule was sanded with 600 grit paper and blued for
2 minutes.  Very nice dark gray black finish on it.  Polishing
the hardware out to a bright finish will yeild a more blue-black patina.

I have now tested this on Nickel Silver, Brass and Duronze.  With the Nickel silver and Brass, you get anything from a dark gray black to a blue black depending on the finish on the metal.  A finish with 400 or 600 grit comes out more black.  I finished some out with 1200 then polished it on the buffer to a mirror finish and it comes out a deep blue black. 

Same on the Duronze.  You can get anywhere from a dark gray black finish with a rough (400 to 600 grit sandpaper) finish, but with a polished finish on the Duronze, it comes out the most beautiful blue black that I've ever seen on ANYTHING!  It's absolutely gorgeous on Duronze.

No harmful or toxic chemicals are needed to clean or prep the parts.  I simply clean them with Dawn dishwashing liquid. You don't have to use lacquer thinner or anything like that to clean the parts for bluing. Just wash them well with Dawn and water, put them in the solution and 2 to 2 1/2 minutes later, depending on the color you want, you take them out and rinse them with cold water.

Another nice thing about this is that it DOES NOT have any adverse effect on the bamboo.  You can mount your ferrules on the rod, clean the glue off of the tabs then dip the ferrule in this with it mounted on the rod.  That way, you can make sure your ferrule tabs don't have to be reblued after the ferrule is mounted.  The solution doesn't discolor the bamboo or affect the way it takes varnish or sealers.

Personally, I don't do anything else to the ferrules, because I varnish over my ferrules, but I do seal the butt caps.  You can use any kind of clear coat you want on them from Lacquer to Aerogloss and it will protect the finish.

The shelf life on this is undetermined at this point.  I have some I've been using for over 8 years and it still works great. Harry Boyd also has a bottle of the old formulation, which contains the same basic ingredients as the NEW one, and it's from my first batch in 2002

Price for an 8 ounce bottle, which should be a lifetime supply for many rodmakers, is $20 US plus shipping.  Shipping in the Continental United States is $5 US.  For those outside the lower 48, email for shipping costs.  Payments accepted by PayPal.  PayPal username is bobnunley@rlnunley.com .   Buyers are welcome to send a check or Money Order, but I prefer PayPal as it makes it much easier to keep track of shipping status as opposed to having a bunch of envelopes laying on the desk.

If you have any questions regarding the Bluing Formula feel free to email me at bobnunley@rlnunley.com or ask them in the Rod and Reel Makers Forum or by PM.

Thanks,
Bob
www.rlnunley.com

Rod Finish Failures by Bob Nunley

There has been a recent discussion on the rodmakers list about the failure rate of various types of rod finishes.  Bob Nunley chimed in a day or two after the discussion had trailed off.  There are a few things you should know about Bob if you haven't had a chance to visit with him.  He's not particularly reserved about his opinions.  Actually, confident might be an understatement.  And he's probably one of the most experienced full time rodmakers in business today.  You know I don't really know, but I'll say he's in the top ten by number of rods made and years in production.  So I usually pay attention when he posts something on the list.  I thought his post on finish failures was helpful.  So with his permission, I've included here so I can find it later.

Bob's post:

This finish failure issue is very interesting to me. I use, and always have, some sort of Tung Oil based varnish. The current, and has been for about 8 or 9 years, is Last and Last Marine Door and Spar Varnish, same stuff the late John Channer used (we both got that idea from Ron Kusse). Before that, it was something else, can't remember what, exactly, but it was also a Tung Oil based Marine Spar Varnish. I have had no issues at all with the finishes degrading or breaking down.

The "Snake Rod" went from 1992 until 2007 before it was refinished. Actually, there was NOTHING at all wrong with the Tung Oil Varnish finish that was on the rod, but I fell, on the rod of course, and broke it, so after the repair, I just refinished it. My current rod has four hard years of fishing on it. It lives in the back of my Envoy 24/7 365 days a year... it's in there right now. It has sat through three years of blistering southern heat, ice storms, snow storms, including our current one, has laid in the rod tray on my boat, getting bounced around like a rubber ball as I run that jon boat wide open up and down the river

When I fish, I fish hard. VERY hard. It's not unusual for me to put in 8 hour plus days in the winter and 14 to 16 hour days of fishing in the summer. Considering the number of days I fish, I'd say it gets at least 1200 hours of fishing each year on it... no exaggeration. Those on this list that have fished with me, know that sometimes I depend on moonlight to get from the truck to the river and then on the NEXT round of moonlight to get back to the truck. I've even, after the last knee surgery, sneaked to the river when my wife wasn't home, slipped on my wading boots, grabbed my walker and got in the water to fish. I fish ALOT and 95% of my fishing is done with the same rod, my "Daily Driver". Many of you have seen it... 8' 5 wt with 141 red with black/red/black tipping, rattan handle, amboyna reel seat and 141 3-turn wide red intermediate wraps.

My "Daily Driver" does not have one place, anywhere in the varnish, that needs attention. I never clean it, I never dry it off before I throw it back in the tube and have, on more than one occasion in the winter, had to lay the rod bag on the dash of my Envoy over the defroster vent so I can thaw it out enough to get the rod out of the bag. (yeah, I know I should at least dry it off with a towel or my shirt before I put it back in bag and tube in the winter, but hey... I'm usually tired when I finish fishing and, frankly, just don't care)

I don't have issues with varnish failures, or varnish deterioration. I do NOT have any big finishing secrets, except this. You know those directions on the can where it says it's best to apply thin coats at temperatures between 70 and 75 degrees? Well, I figure the guys that make the varnish probably know more about varnishing than most people do, so I follow their directions... METICULOUSLY. I DO NOT heat the varnish. I DO NOT cure it in a 100 degree plus drying cabinet. I DO NOT put it on thick, I put it on VERY thin.

I'm not knocking anyone's way of doing things, I'm just saying that from the days in the 70's and 80's when I was making violins and over the past 22 years of making bamboo fly rods and the past 30 years of doing repairs, refinishes and restorations, I learned a long time ago that they don't just write on those cans for fun. They're putting USEFUL and CORRECT information on them.

Now, I cannot speak for what Polyurethane finishes do. Don't like them, too much, probably never will. They just don't look right to me! Well, there is one out there that does have a deep rich look to it that I like, but for my rods, I have found that I can't beat the durability of a good quality spar varnish, especially when applied the way it's supposed to be applied.

Bob

RL "Bob" Nunley

Custom Bamboo Fly Rods

www.rlnunley.com

www.bamboorodschool.com

Guitar Project

I've taken a time out from making rods for a couple months to build a guitar.  Started with a kit from Stewart McDonald.  I'm about ready to begin the finishing process with epoxy pore filler and KTM-9 water based laquer.  Here's a link to a photo album of the project.

I hope to get started on a rod for my younger daughter in a few weeks.  The guitar project has been fun, but I'm ready to get back to making rods.

Making Fly Reels

A friend of mine, who cares absolutely nothing about the financial well being of my family, just sent me a link to a reel making page with a book and kit to make fly reels.  I just spent every dime of my beer and cigarette money on a guitar kit and he thinks I might want to make a reel.  So...he was probably right.  Check this out at The Eclectic Angler...

John Channer

A long time member of the rod makers list passed away yesterday.  I don't read every post anymore.  I just don't have time.  But there are a few folks that I always read.  John Channer was one of them.  I never had the privilege of meeting John in person, but it was always a pleasure to visit with him through the rodmakers list.

A month or two ago several of us introduced ourselves on the list.  Folks have come and gone over the years and there were lots of new names appearing.  Harry got the ball rolling and the introductions seemed to go on for weeks.  Here's John's introduction:

"My name is John Channer and I'm an (oops, wrong intro). Anyway(no, I'm not really) I've been here since either the day before or the day after Harry joined back in nineteen hundred and nintey seven, I forget which,and have been here every day since. This list is one of the better parts of the day, it's nice to sit down when I get home from work and see what's new in the bamboo world. Harry and most of the guys who joined the same era we did have long passed me up in numbers of rods built, tho I'm working on #75 now and I'm pleased with that, I've also had to work full time+ all these years doing carpentry and concrete building custom homes and have not gotten any younger doing it. I also consider myself fortunate to live in Durango,Co., which is a darn fine place to be, lots of streams and rivers with trout in them, not too crowded,unless you're on the San Juan, and a pleasant climate for a place with four seasons.

I got into bamboo rods at a flea market back in Illinois where we lived until '95. I saw a Heddon that was all there, but needed some help and it cost just what I had in my pocket , musta been kismet. From there it wasn't long until I began hanging around fly shops and noticed that there were actually books on making these things. I bought the books back there, but didn't get it together to make the rods until we moved here to Durango. Thanks to all my friends here who have contributed so much to my life since then. john"

My heart hurts for John's family and friends.  He was a big part of life on the rodmakers list.

David