Build Your Own Three Piece Bamboo Traveler

When the three piece Bamboo blank arrived from China www.clubwaterman.com E-Mail [email protected]. The kit was complete and the blank after extended observation appeared straight and glued together with care! Many blanks I have encountered were not as well constructed or as straight. I have sent a few blanks back and turned down possible articles because the blank was not as advertised. This blank and the related gear turned into a pretty nice three piece in about five days. Perhaps a bit of my personal Bamboo back story?

Other then the unofficial world record for light Bamboo that I shattered eleven years ago that has been covered more then enough ( see last column ) my love for fine Bamboo began in the days when America knew no bounds in its strength the early 1950s. My Grandfather, uncles revered Bamboo fly rods and maintained a fine collection. Life moves on and the sport angels smiled at me when Mr. Bamboo himself Walton Powell came into my life and became a friend. Mr. Powell educated me slowly and in his last days presented me with one of his last handmade 6 weights. By my early forties Bamboo became a way of life which left nothing but contempt for man made plastic garbage with fancy names and claims. All of you are aware of the absolute criminal insanity endemic in the rod companies charging you six hundred or more for a man made stick with little if any character, sensitivity, style, feel. Carbon, plastic whatever name these companies give these sticks they all feel lifeless and dull to me! Yes, often great tip action, that is about it.

Before the current economic melt down Bamboo fly rods wre garnering huge prices on E-Bay and other web venues. Those days may not come back soon, still quality well made Bamboo will never depreciate only escalate in value. If one wants to buy a finished Bamboo rod expect three to five thousand at least! Used Bamboo great way to begin unless you have a few skills working with wood, wrapping, glueing, enlaying and all the often tedious details involved in building a quality Bamboo you can use for 40 years then hand over to your grand son. In my mind one does not have to be an expert shopsmith to build a Bamboo fly rod from blank to finish. If one moves slowly does his or her homework and simply takes the time to study a fine rod can be made my friends, it really ain’t that difficult !

Inspection

It took me about an hour to carefully check the hardware that came with my new Blank. The guides all single foot were accounted for, all the farrow connections fit well other then the main large farrow connecting the middle rod with the Butt was too tight and needed work. The reel seat dark wood with silver fit well togther. I had another three piece to use as a model which helped. After counting the guides and dry fitting the farrows to make sure of alignment it was time to decide on what kind of varnish, shellac to apply to all pieces before the glue up session. In this phase many problems can easily be avoided by working slowly, carefully..... For me the prealighnment before glueing was the most tedious with no allowance for mistakes. I have built a few rods from blanks, not for publication though!

Varnish or old school Shellac ?

I decided to opt for the old school Bamboo look in this buildup, contemporary fine Bamboo is usually finished with one of the newly refined varnish’s of which many exist. I decided to go with a very fine old style thin Shellac namely Zinsser Clear finish and sealer. The idea being two fold keep the water off the bare wood and provide a great looking finish. I applied three light coats and rigged a drying rack out of card board. I waited several hours and then applied the final coat the next morning. A critical stage indeed, the rods had to be pampered and turned so no drips blemishes etc.... From bare Bamboo to highly reflective deep tone a metamorphosis that will get the amateur rod builder excited and ready for the messy tedious glue up routine. In my amateur mind knowing how critical the finish and sealing process is caused some reservation. Did I get in over my head, will this fine blank actually become a functional not bad looking tool I can be proud to carry? At this point I’m hoping and moving carefully, a mistake and no article just wasting time! After the third coat dried I took the four pieces out in the sun and carefully looked for mistakes, found a few and with a very sharp knife cleaned and recoated a couple of areas. One thing to keep in mind almost every mistake can be fixed redone if one does a bit of homework and moves carefully.

Alignment And Glueing Session

Those who have built fly rods from blanks are aware the accepted practice is to use the messy two or three part Epoxy to glue both farrows and secure the butt section and reel seat. Epoxy another highly over rated modern miracle in my opinion! I found after some research an easier just as solid, waterproof and completely impermeable as the best epoxy. Gorilla Glue a fast cure truly tough glue! It does dry white so one has to be careful at first and keep extra oozing glue wiped up. This glue is to be used sparingly as well. Very easy and I’m happy with results. Making absolutely certain the reel seat is aligned with butt guides and so forth critical. Simply sight down the blank maybe mark it with crayon and hold that line. After being vigilant during curing time wiping all excess and allowing the job to stand over night just make sure before wrapping begins.

I decided to do a bit of inlay work to make this three piece my own. I took two fine Chukker hackles and carefully placed and shellacked them several times on each side of the butt near the hook keeper. Turned out very nice, quite pleased. One can use the imagination and inlay almost any fly related object even a special fly can be inlayed! Personel satisfaction at this stage is sweet, the rod is coming together and looking pretty nice. At this stage I understand how this game can become addicting. Its like any activity that is so tedious you loose all since of self, love that!

Choosing Thread Color And Wrapping

I suppose creativity knows no bounds when it comes to fly rod thread and color? I decided to stay old school and go with silk bright red with silk green cap. Looks authentic to the period in history where Bamboo caught my imagination.... Those souls who take this tedious craft to the outer limits buy or build wrapping drying stations and all the fancy stuff that goes with it! I opted to stay rank amateur and use the kitchen sink, card board, without a fancy wrapping set up. Exactly like most of you would go about building a first Bamboo fly rod. As the photos explain the process is more fun then messy though talk about tedious!

I started with the hook keeper and then did a small three step decorative wrap and then the large butt guide. By the time I finished the butt wrap work I felt fairly confident this work might actually produce a quality trout/salmon stick? Continuing with the remaining three pieces involved careful wrapping followed by light coats of shellac, same process over and over.

Zen Wrapping !

I highly recommend fly rod wrapping for chasing everyday issues straight out the back door Pilgrims ! After getting over the angst of messing up a fine Bamboo blank by screwing up the critical guide wrapping process. I settled into the groove one finds while doing delicate tedious work. Wrapping reminds me of water color painting which I enjoy. Great activity to still the savage beast Dexter. One must be careful in placing guides along the blank so they all align perfectly. No room for mistakes.

Summation

This Bamboo blank is Tonkin Vietnam Bamboo, known to be the best for making fly rods. The owner of the small company in China is Korean. Andy Shin migrated to China to build high quality Bamboo blanks with Korean techniques and special blank building machinery. The blank I worked is obviously higher quality then others I have inspected. I’m pleased with the results and will be proud to take my new three piece custom made Bamboo along on the next fly adventure.




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“ ADVENTURES OF FLETCHER QUILL “