Jimmy,
I started out with bamboo in 1945 long before glass
and graphite. Like a lot of others, the bamboo was set
aside when glass came along and then graphite. I
always had an interest in how bamboo rods were made
and finally got to make my first bamboo rod in 1999. I
never gave up totally on bamboo and still took my old
bamboo rod out and fished with it. I now use bamboo
about 90% of the time. I like the way it feels and the
slower presentation.
New custom made bamboo rods are a lot faster than the
old ones. We now heat treat the bamboo, this gives it
a lot more life that the old bamboo rods though not as
"fast" as graphite. What I like most is the feeling
all the way down the rod, some tapers are softer than
others and you can feel the rod motion all the way
into the grip. These tapers are generally based on the
old tapers that were used back in the 30's. With the
computer generation, new tapers are generated, that
makes a whole new look on bamboo tapers. Some of the
new tapers are almost as fast as graphite but the
bamboo people are not trying to imitate graphite.
Getting back to fishing bamboo, it is my roots and I
enjoy making bamboo rods. It is a challenge and I like
challenges.
A bit about making bamboo rods.1/4" Strips are split
from a 2" bamboo pole. The strips are then
straightened and the nodes flattened using a heat gun.
The strips are then hand planed to a 60* angle in a
rough planing form. From there the strips are heat
treated in an oven. After heat treating, the strips
are planed to the taper set in the adjustable metal
forms. The taper is set by adjusting the groove in the
forms to given numbers using a dial indicator. After
the strips are planed to the taper, they are glued up.
>From there it is fitting the ferrules, grip, reel seat
and finishing up the rod by wrapping the guides and
varnishing the rod.
That is the short of it, there are a number of other
steps not mentioned. It takes up to 60 hours to make a
bamboo rod from start to finish when hand planing the
strips. The enjoyment comes from taking the rod out
and catching the first fish on it. I have made bamboo
rods from 1 wt to 7 wt. My favorite is a 7' 4wt that
is the firat rod I made. I am presently wrapping a
7'9" 5 wt that I will be using a bigger water.
Tony
--- "Jimmy D. Moore" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Hey Gang, how bout an old fashioned VFB/FFW
> discussion? One like we
> used to have on "spine vs spline" and "furled vs
> mono" leaders. Those
> continued for days, until everyone had their say.
> Are you partial to
> bamboo or had you druther fish with graphite, boron,
> etc. I'm a bamboo
> man myself because I get more feel of what's going
> on down my fly line
> and even the fly and with the fish. The smoothness
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