Another bamboo rod building class is completed

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It was busy in the workshop last week as I was conducting my bamboo fly rod building class for two great guys (Mark and Jeff) who came up here from Davis, California. First we got them on the Fall River to test out some bamboo rods to figure out what taper they each wanted. Funny…they each like the same rod, my 7′ 6″ 5 wt Progressive Action Signature Series Rod…so that is what they each built. We spent 7 days going through the bamboo rod building process. They each had strong woodworking backgrounds so they took to the rod building process well. Their rods came out great, and they are now back in California completing the final finishing steps on their rods. Here are a few pictures of our week:

Testing out bamboo fly rods on the Fall River.
A nice catch on bamboo.
Mark is splitting strips for his rod.
Mark and Jeff tag-teaming it on the beveller.
Jeff working hard on his hand planing of thin strips for his tip sections.
All glued up and checking for straightness.
Shaping the cork grip.
Proud and happy students with their bamboo fly rods.