fishing rod building photos

cstephens · Dec 23, 2012

I thought I'd share some photos of some recent rod building efforts:
Here are a variety of Bamboo and carbon fiber/graphite fly rods of varying lengths/weights and components.

I mostly build fly rods, but here a couple of spinning rods. The first is a rod I donated to the auction at my daughter's school. It is green graphite with the school logo at the hook keeper, blue Titanium Chromide guides and a maple reel seat. The second is a rod I just finished as a Christmas gift for a friend. The reel seat and butt end are turned out of deer antler. I had a ball building it for him.

I have more I'll post, and I need to take better photos...

Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

73mountaineer · Dec 23, 2012

Fascinating and very impressive work! How would someone get in to something like that?

cstephens · Dec 23, 2012

I started fly tying and rod building when I was a teenager because I wanted to fly fish but couldn't afford the necessary equipment. I learned the basics from a friend's dad and then did a lot of reading and practicing. That was 30+ years ago. Basic rod building is not all that difficult. It is just time consuming and requires patience. There's lots of information online and some great vendors of supplies and components. The basic steps are as follows:
select blank, guides, reel seat and thread
determine the blank's spine and where to place the guides
wrap the guides onto the rod blank and glue the tip top on
clamp and glue cork rings into place for the grip
mount and glue the reel seat
turn the rod in a lathe to shape the cork grip
apply several coats of urethane to the thread wrappings

Bamboo rods are another story. Building the rod blank requires some specialized (and hand made) tools and a lot of time/patience to split the bamboo, precisely plane the strips into tapered triangles and glue 6 of them into a hexagon.

These days, I make my own reel seats also. Turning exotic woods on the lathe has added another level of enjoyment to the process.

Thanks for the feedback.

oldbluelight · Dec 24, 2012

cstephens, The fourth rod over from the left looks like it has an oh-so-classic rattan grip. Did you create the rattan grip from scratch or refurbish an old one?

mountaineer73 there are several books about building cane rods with publication dates from the early 20th Century to more modern ones. One of the most comprehensive is "Handcrafting Bamboo Fly Rods" by Wayne Cattanach which was published in 1992 and came with a set of video tapes to accompany the text. Another is "A Master's Guide to Building a Bamboo Fly Rod" by E. Garrison and H. Carmichael. It's possible that your local library can get a copy in for you to look through. That will give a chance to decide if building cane rods is something you want to do. It is a very complicated process but it's also very satisfying and certainly not beyond the capabilities of someone who has manual skills.

JeffM · Dec 24, 2012

When I first saw the subject title, I thought what most people consider rod building- gluing handles and guides on a pre-made blank. But creating rod blanks from bamboo is true craftsmanship. As an avid fly fisherman I applaud your efforts and and impressed with your craftsmanship.

cstephens · Dec 24, 2012

oldbluelight said:
cstephens, The fourth rod over from the left looks like it has an oh-so-classic rattan grip. Did you create the rattan grip from scratch or refurbish an old one?

I created the rattan grip from scratch. I've been having fun with that approach to create a modern take on a vintage technique. The rattan also has a single strand of silk thread between every rattan wrap which matches the silk wrappings on the guides. Here are some pics of it close up and of another example. The other two cane rods have traditional cork grips. On one I used standard 1/2" cork rings. On the other, I used 1/4" rings for a unique look. It has a more custom/vintage feel. I shape these and then sand them all the way to 600 grit wet/dry paper. They are silky smooth in hand. When I build a rod for a specific person, I ask them if there is a grip style they prefer. I also measure their grip size and shape the grip accordingly for a perfect custom fit in hand. I use extra fine silk thread on the guide wrappings. It takes more time/patience, but the effect is worth the effort--it becomes translucent after being varnished. I made the top three reel seats. The bottom one is commercially produced. While not pictured, I also mount agate stripping guides on the bamboo rods, just like on 19th century rods. The jewelry grade agate rings are sourced and I mount them in nickel-silver frames. Regarding the rods themselves, the top is blonde and based on a P.H. Young Midge taper (6.25' 4 wt). The middle two are flamed and 6' 3 wt. They have a very sweet action. The bottom blonde is 8' 5 weight. All are two-piece rods and they all cast very well. I personally love the relaxed pace of casting a cane rod.

cstephens · Dec 24, 2012

JeffM said:
When I first saw the subject title, I thought what most people consider rod building- gluing handles and guides on a pre-made blank. But creating rod blanks from bamboo is true craftsmanship. As an avid fly fisherman I applaud your efforts and and impressed with your craftsmanship.

Thanks, Jeff. See the additional handcrafted bamboo examples above. Below are some high end graphite models. While the blanks are pre-made, everything else about the rods is hand-finished (with two exceptions: the dragonwood grip/reel seat combination pictured on the bottom was commercially produced [it was too cool to pass up!] and the green graphite reel seat in the middle.). The top reel seat is made from briarwood.

Cheers!

cstephens · Dec 26, 2012

Here are some close up shots of some recently finished blanks. Three are traditional hexagon shapes and finished with a hand-rubbed penetrating oil. Two are flamed. The fourth is a pentagon and is finished with a gloss urethane. It is my first pentagon rod. I'm looking forward to building it out and testing it. Enjoy!

gadabout · Dec 26, 2012

Nice work Chris! Now, if I could only talk you into down-locking seats .....

Obiwan · Dec 26, 2012

Very impressive. Thanks for sharing!

cstephens · Dec 26, 2012

gadabout said:
Nice work Chris! Now, if I could only talk you into down-locking seats .....

I love down-locking seats! If you look at the photo of the 4 bamboo rods, the top three seats are all down-locking. The top one (threaded) has an insert I turned out of walnut and the other two (cap and ring) are burl maple.