I’ve been at the bench for a few days planing a new 8′ 0″ 3 piece, 4 wt rod. Lots of hours with a Stanley 9 1/2 in my hand, but finally finished. It always amazes me to see how small the tips get on these lighter rods. And, how much bamboo shavings get created from the planing operation. Next step, on to hollowing these sections prior to gluing.
Hand Planing Set-Up with my Bellingers Planing Form.
Finished Strips. The Tips on this rod are 0.028″.
Chris sent me this great photo of his first rainbow on his new bamboo rod I built him (below). This photo was from the Ruby Valley in Montana. He sure looks like a happy angler, although he might need a little work on his “posing for pictures”. Thanks for sharing Chris.
A Great Rainbow on a New Bamboo Fly Rod.
I just finished a great new rod for a good friend and fellow angler whom I’ve known for several years. Chris and I have been in conversation about his first bamboo fly rod for quite some time, and this rod is his retirement gift to himself. After casting several of my rods, he chose an 8′ 0″ 5/6 wt progressive action rod from my Signature Series of rods. It has a wonderfully smooth action to it, and it’s a good all-around rod for a variety of fishing conditions. He and I will hit one of our local trout streams tomorrow to test drive the rod. Here is a quick look at what he’ll get getting:
My 8′ 0″ 5/6 wt Signature Series Bamboo Fly Rod
I just finished another bamboo switch rod this week that will be heading out to a client next week. This is a 10′ 6″ 5 wt Hollow Built rod that effortlessly throws a 300 to 350 grain Scandi Line. My light switch rods have been getting quite a bit of interest from trout anglers who enjoy two-handed casting and have been looking for a bamboo switch rod for casting streamer flies and soft hackles.
A 10′ 6″ 5 wt Hollow-Built Switch Rod
It’s been a very busy past several days for me in the rod shop. I’ve started two 10′ 6″ 5 wt switch rods and have been planning the bamboo strips for the butt, mid, and tip sections of both rods. It always amazes me how much bamboo shavings come off these thin strips from the planning operation…a mountain of shavings! And, using a small block plan to do this isn’t exactly an ergonomically friendly process so I take breaks often. I finished the planning this morning…here is what it looks like!
Hand Planing Bamboo
We got hit pretty hard with an early winter storm for the past two days….temperatures in the teens and 18″ of snow at the house. So, we’re not planning on going anywhere for the next couple of days. I had to shovel my way out to my workshop this morning:
Winter in Sisters, Oregon
But, my shop is heated and it hasn’t slowed down my rod building. I put on a 4th coating of varnish on a 7′ 6″ 5 wt. rod I’m building for Rudy H. from Eugene, Oregon. Here is the rod hanging up in my drying cabinet. It will get one more coating of finish, followed by a hand polish, and then gluing on the reel seat.
7′ 6″ 5 wt rod drying after it’s 4th dip of varnish.