Wednesday’s rod building class went by like a blur for both of us! Joe ran right through the planing of butt and tip, and was gluing up early in the afternoon. I think this might be a record!

Joe and I have been fishing after class. The river is dropping fast, we have found some nice fish, figured out what they are eating, and, well, we’re gonna catch em! Splitting cane during the day, and fishing for wild Upper Sac rainbows in the evening is not a bad way to spend the week!

I am beginning to like these slide shows! Building bamboo fly rods is a process, and it’s nice to see what goes on in the rod making class each day. So here is some more of Joe and his work from Tuesday’s rod building class:

Joe has traveled down from Alaska to have a go at making his own bamboo fly rod.  He is off to a great start.  Joe selected the Upper Sac Special for his build, as he fishes for grayling just outside of town.  Here is a slide show from Monday, showing Joe in action:

Click on the link below…..cause I can’t figure out anyway else to do this right now!  Gotta go to class.

Jeff and Jon finished up the week Saturday with two beautiful bamboo fly rods.  Their rod building class went along seemlessly, resulting in each of the students having an heirloom rod.  Finished rods were flexed and cast across the street in the parking lot.

Jon flexes his newly-built bamboo fly rod

Jeff casts his newly-built split bamboo fly rod

It was a great end to a fun-filled week of rod making.  Jeff and Jon learned a great deal, and in the process both ended up with great bamboo fly rods.  Here the two of them, long-time friends “bump cigars” in celebration.

Jeff and Jon celebrate the successful completion of their rod building class

Friday morning had both students busily wrapping their bamboo fly rods.   Affixing the guides and strippers in the correct intervals ensured that the rods would cast smoothly, as well as take in and let out line effortlessly.  Some tricks of the trade were handed out, and both Jeff and Jon got to wrapping their rods.

Seeing the humor in cutting the wrong thread while wrapping a bamboo fly rod!

Jeff hard at work wrapping his bamboo fly rod section

The two friends were having too much fun together, so I had to separate them.  Jon was busy in the time-out room doing his work.

Wednesdays are hump days.  The rod building team of Jeff and Jon finished in record time with both bamboo rods glued up by 6 pm.  Thursday mornings are kind of like Christmas at Raine Hollowbuilt Fly Rods, as all of the students can’t wait to unwrap their rod sections and see what’s inside!   Before anyone starts cleaning up bamboo rod sections,  cork rings must be glued together to form the handgrasp for the fly rod.

Jon on the Hardinge turning down his cork grip for bamboo fly rod

After the grips are turned on the lathe, students jump over to cleaning up their freshly-glued rod sections.  All sections are glued up with URAC 185, one of the classic glues for bamboo rod making.  Care is taken in sanding off the excess glue, so as to assure that only some of the enamel is removed from the rod, protecting the valuable outer power fibers.  Removing the outer power fibers of the rod by careless sanding or intentional sanding down of the strip compromises the rod sections, leaving them soft and lacking the nice quick action of a bamboo fly rod that is made the correct way.

Carefully removing the glue from the bamboo fly rod strips

The day progressed with both students fitting the ferrules of their rods, and turning the ferrule stations to size.  Gluing the ferrules in place comes next, then the grips.  Afterwords, the rod sections are dipped into traditional marine spar varnish.

Rod section extracting from dip tube.

Wednesday’s are “the long day” of rod building here at the shop. Strips for the bamboo fly rods are bound and dry-fit, any adjustments are made, then the strips are bundled together and glued up.

Jeff and Jon were fastidious in their planing and ended up with some very nice bamboo strips. The glue up can be an anxious time, as this is a no-going-back part of bamboo rod building. Any deficiencies in the glue up process can result in a lot of extra time straightening the rod section.  It is always best when the rod section comes out of the binder straight!

Surrounded by bamboo shavings, Jon puts the finishing touch on his strips

Jeff removes excess glue from his rod section

Jeff and Jon were busy today planing out their strips for the Upper Sac Special rods they are building this week at Raine Hollowbuilt Fly Rods.  Both students did a great job straightening their strips as well as dressing the nodes of their rods.  Shavings were all over the table and floors as both builders put the tapers in their strips.

Jeff and Jon prepping strips for their bamboo fly rods

Prepping strips for bamboo fly rods

Razor-sharp plane irons are a must for building bamboo fly rods.  The Lie-Nielsen block planes make quick work out of tapering the strips into the correct dimensions.  Clean edges assure gap-free rod sections.

Jeff is hard at it planing strips for his first bamboo fly rod

Jon planing his strips during rod building class

Jeff and Jon got off to a quick start Monday, splitting cane, staggering nodes, straightening strips and pressing nodes!  The classroom looked like a job shop for bamboo fly rods!

Jeff starts his week of rod building by splitting cane for his fly rod

Jon prepares to start splitting cane

Jon and Jeff cut strips to length after staggering nodes

Both Jeff and Jon made quick progress, going from the culm of bamboo to straight strips, ready for roughing in less than a day.  Both students remarked how easy it was splitting cane  into equal widths using my method.

Hand splitting cane

Jon, splitting cane, surrounded by bamboo rod strips

Both students quickly learned how to keep the widths of their strips even along the entire length.  Jon and Jeff transitioned to straightening and pressing nodes in the afternoon, and by quitting time, had their strips straight and flat, ready to be roughed into triangles.

One of the hardest things to do as a rod builder is to “get the bamboo fly rod in the tube”!  While work in progress can consist of an impressive number of cane rods, actually getting them in the tube can be a real challenge.  So fait complete, or how ever it’s spelled, really means work done.  Here two happy rod makers pose with John Rivera’s brand new bamboo fly rod.  Completed in one week! 

John and Chris outside Raine Hollowbuilt Fly Rod Shop