|
Post by kilgortrout on Feb 5, 2012 21:02:05 GMT -6
Now that the strips are a uniform 60* it is time to set the forms to the taper, I will do the butt section first, easier than the really thin tip strips. Here is the taper notes, as well as some calculations to check my depth gauge with a drill bit method to make sure I am no off. The depth gauge has a heavy steel piece to ensure the gauge is tight to the forms, as well as a 60* point to match the 60* V in the forms in which the Bamboo strip sits. Bot of these pieces I made so they do not look as nice as store bought but do the job just as well. You could spend a fortune on all the extras if you wanted to. The weight is a easy cut and file flat. The point is filed by placing it in a drill press and touching it with a triangular file while keeping it flat on the drill press table. A little sandpaper to take off the rough spots and it is ready to go. Ron
|
|
|
Post by kilgortrout on Feb 5, 2012 21:28:17 GMT -6
Every 5 inches along the forms is two bolts, one pushes the forms apart one pulls them together. By adjusting the two the correct depth can be set and then the two bolts can be set tight to hold the forms in the exact place. Ron.
|
|
|
Post by kilgortrout on Feb 5, 2012 21:41:59 GMT -6
A few bags of shavings for the fireplace, a few sharpening and a lot of good tunes things are starting to take shape. For some reason some of the photos come out on their side despite me correcting them but their you go. Ron.
|
|
|
Post by kilgortrout on Feb 5, 2012 21:56:57 GMT -6
To hit the taper as close to the thousandth as I could, since a error is magnified when you put all six strips together. I set the forms a bit bigger, if you make the strip a hair to small it is toast. Measured the strips and adjusted the forms and planed again. My forms are not the best on the butt side so it took me 3 goes to zero in as close as I could. The tip was easier and I did one go and a tweeking. Here is my Log book of each of the six strips and the measurements at 5 inch intervals, plus the extra strip as the stand in.
|
|
|
Post by kilgortrout on Feb 5, 2012 22:15:57 GMT -6
The tip section is very small.05 of a inch or 50 thousandths of a inch so the strips at the tip of the rod have to be half of that .025, 25 thousandths of a inch. So a bit here or their becomes a issue. Here is a photo of the six tip strips that will eventually form the tip of the rod. Time to relax. Course with such thin strips at the tip it is easy to catch one on something an snap it, but the extra strip would stand in instead of going back to the very beginning and doing all those steps to get one strip caught up. Cheers Ron.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2012 5:40:51 GMT -6
Haha, nothing like drinking Tequila and Scotch out of a A&W baby burger glass. lol.
The taper looks so intricate! Precision measurements. Nice photos too to illustrate what you're doing!
Do you typically build one at a time or a few at once?
|
|
|
Post by kilgortrout on Feb 7, 2012 18:59:01 GMT -6
I have not really made many Bamboo rods, and I have made them one at a time. I was building graphite rods and figured I would give this a go. The graphite was piling up and I figured this would slow me down and boy did it ever, but it is a enjoyable type thing to do for me. Darrell has helped me with some of it, he has been tided up as late so I was going this one alone. Well the Boo Gnome helps/hangs with me which is nice, she is my young daughter. Thanks for your interest, hows the drawing going, I use the term drawing loosely as I know little of what mediums you use. Cheers Ron.
|
|
|
Post by brucerap on Feb 7, 2012 20:25:26 GMT -6
I presume the single malt comes out after the delicate planing is done for the evening. Keep the sbs coming, Ron - it's absolutely fascinating (and humbling).
|
|
|
Post by kilgortrout on Feb 13, 2012 23:53:58 GMT -6
It seemed like the right thing to drink, course a little Hornitos in the baby mug goes down just as well. Ok now that the strips are planed they have to be tempered. %99 of makers will do this before planing or at some stage of planing. A tempered strip is a little harder to plane. A excellent maker told me he planes his strips and then tempers them, good enough for me. How much time and how hot is another thing to debate. Basically I cook the strips until they say uncle, or when they stop giving off moisture and start to have a non moisture smell. The idea is to cook out the moisture and harden/stiffen up the strips. This lessens the chance of the rod getting a permanent bend in it form a big fish (I wish) or bent from leaning up against the wall for a few days ( more likely). Makers build elaborate ovens to temper in. I figured the copper pipe was for me, small easy to store and quick to build. So here it is a 6' piece of copper pipe with wooden plugs in each end and a small hole in each plug. One hole has a Temp probe to remind me not to char my time expensive strips. One hole to let out the steam. Course leavening the shop door a crack open as to not gas myself with the torch, carbon monoxide that is. The rod butt section and tip section is wound up with string an stuffed in the tube. If the sections are bound up tight any wrinkles or bends should come out as the pipe heats. I use the same torch to heat the pipe evenly of course, which takes about 20 minuets. The Boo Gnome took this action photo while watching the temp probe: Once the temp reaches boiling point of water steam starts to come out one end of the pipe. It is exaggerated bu the cool temperature of the shop with the doors open. Note shop speakers for the right tunes for the job at hand. Once the steam stops a hair more heating and the strips are tempered with out damage, and ready to be glued up and they will start to look something like a rod. Cheers Ron
|
|
|
Post by kilgortrout on Feb 15, 2012 9:30:40 GMT -6
Well this is great to post this project on the board, lots of fun to do photos and posting the project sort of consolidates my thoughts on how it is going. This next stage is a nail bitter, a make it or tomato stake it stage. Well all of the parts up to this point have room to botch it, but this one is time sensitive, unlike the other i can stop pause and re think how it is going. The boo Gnome documented things as they went along, kudos. So the strips are ready to be put together to make a hex, six triangles which should fit together perfectly so that their are no glue lines. First I ran the plane down the tops of all six strips at once. This removes the tops just a hair. When the strips are glued up some of the glue will squeeze out and on the inside of the strips their will be a little room for glue to squeeze to the center. This way the strips should have a good tight fit with a thin but adequate glue line. The glue in between the strips will make the final rod a little bigger.
|
|
|
Post by kilgortrout on Feb 15, 2012 9:38:15 GMT -6
I placed the strips on some wax paper to keep the glue off the workbench, titebond III wood glue, waterproof, works well but sets up quickly. People use all kinds of other glue, this is cheap, good and bought locally, and used by a lot of other makers. With a quick set thing must move along fast. What has to be done here is spread the glue on all six strips evenly, fit the strips together and bind them up with string to hold them together. I have built a binder for this but have only used it with Darrell and so opted for the ancient roman method. That is wrapping the string by hand is not all that bad as the hands on gives a good feel for the tension of the string. The string is wrapped up the strips and back down again to even out the tension. What happens is the string tension twists the strips and bends the strips all at one time and it dries as a bent twisted stick. Rolling the strips after wrapping helps to r straighten the strips. With a thin whippy tip the string influence is more pronounced, to the point the tip could easily break. The strips are pressed down onto the sticky side of some masking tape so they will sit tight together and cam be rolled up easily once t glue is on them. You can see the tape just behind the glue bottle. Downside the tape has to be pulled off with slippery glue fingers as the string is wrapped. So all set to go to it.
|
|
|
Post by kilgortrout on Feb 15, 2012 9:45:39 GMT -6
Glue is on stris rolled up and string is up and back down readt to be tied off, looking good. Wrapped strips are rolled on the workbench until it looks as straight as can be. Man this is looking like a titebond comercial with that bottle so promently displayed. a wet J cloth to wipe off the escess squeezed out glue, which saves a swack of time sanding after things are dry.
|
|
|
Post by kilgortrout on Feb 15, 2012 9:52:27 GMT -6
At this point I think it could be called a bamboo blank. The same process is done for the tip. If you squint past the blank the ever present glue bottle to the end of the table you can get a glimpse of the elusive Boo Gnome lurking in the shadows. She is sighting down the blank to see if i did a good job at getting it straight, she is a real task master. Also notice the fancy light string pull, AKA a botched reel seat wood spacer. Cheers Ron.
|
|
|
Post by rampantmarine on Feb 15, 2012 11:27:56 GMT -6
Kilgor, I am really enjoying your progress, it is very interesting to see how much effort and the attention to detail you have been putting in. Thanks for documenting your work!!
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2012 12:14:45 GMT -6
Holy smokes is that tedious! Definitely have more patience than I! lol. Truly an art!
Drawing is at a stand still currently Ron. Hit a roadblock with it...water reflections in colour are proving to be my Achilles heel. Plus I've been busy with other things. lol
|
|
|
Post by kilgortrout on Feb 15, 2012 13:29:23 GMT -6
Yes these things did have their day, but with the rising cost of labor and the invention of "space age" materials like fiberglass and then graphite the Bamboo rod fell out of the mainstream. They still have their following and can out perform a graphite rod in a lot of ways if they are kept below 8' in length. I have 6' 5wt one piece Bamboo rod I made that is just great. flyanglersonline.com/prorevw/leewulffrod.php Cheers Ron.
|
|
|
Post by kkansas on Feb 17, 2012 7:05:18 GMT -6
kilgore where to you buy your Titebond III ? i've been using it with major success (not building rods but other wood projects) but forgot it outside one evening and it froze... the only place i could find it was that fancy tool shop on Ellice... i come in from the city from the NE and was wondering if there was any suppliers at that end of the city...i'm mainly speaking from a 'not wanting to drive through the city as much as possible' behaviour...
|
|
|
Post by kilgortrout on Feb 17, 2012 19:14:56 GMT -6
Canadian Woodworker, on Portage Ave, they have big bottles if you want them. If it freezes it is not as good after. Ron.
|
|
|
Post by kilgortrout on Feb 21, 2012 20:17:42 GMT -6
After the blank has dried for 24 hours the string is pulled off and the excess glue is sanded off. Attention is needed to keep the flats well flat and not to round over the edges, six sides butt section six sides tip. 220 grit, 400 grit, finally 600 grit and things are looking good. The next step is to cut both sections to length. The blank is made with a good 5" extra both ends so if things need adjusting the length is their. This is a 8' 2 piece rod so it has to be 8' when put together, and each section has to be the same length when put side by side. So I first measured the tip and found the middle of the tip dimension .05" and cut it with a fine fret saw, you could use a hack saw blade very carefully so as not to catch a tooth and break the tip. If it happens I have a little room to move back and cut again. Glue on the tip top. Next the amount the rod slips into the ferrules is measured and this amount is split in two and added to each section so they are the same length when un assembled. Subtract the thickness of the reel seat butt cap and it is good to go. I did not get any photos of all of this so it is a boring post. The only photo I have is the end of the butt section, which is as close up as I could get. It does show the power fibers as well as the glue lines of the six sections. You can see the power fibers falling off to the center but this is the thickest section where the reel seat goes so it does not really bend with the rod. Cheers Ron
|
|
|
Post by kilgortrout on Feb 24, 2012 18:10:45 GMT -6
With the blank cut to length the feurrels are next, well you could do the reel seat and grip if you wanted, the order does not matter. I do not have expensive feurrels, they like everything can run to quite expensive. If you remember on the blank taper it called for 13/64ths feurrels, it's up their on the chartreuse green paper. This is the diameter of the blank at the tip of the butt section and the butt of the tip section, measured flat to flat. Here are mine, plain but the price is right. They come in a set of one female, butt section and 2 males tip sections, for the two tip rod, this rod only has one tip so I have a back up in case I botch it. They are rather rough and have to be spruced up. The ends of the feurrels have slits cut into them so the will flex a little when the rod bends. Cheers Ron.
|
|
|
Post by kilgortrout on Feb 24, 2012 18:20:11 GMT -6
Where the blank meets the ferrules is a high stress point, where the bend of the rod meets the unbending ferrules, the following is done to trey and create a transition to reduce this point of stress in hopes of preventing the rod from breaking, Ask Darrell how he knows about this. So if the slits are thinned so they flex a little it helps to distribute the transition from flex to no flex. So if I sand down the metal it will flex more. They are sanded until they bend easily, very scientific. Polished up with some finer grits to look nice. Next the ends are filed down to make them flex easier, and look a little nicer, they can then be called "crowned" ferrules
|
|
|
Post by kilgortrout on Feb 24, 2012 18:37:46 GMT -6
The amount the blank fits into the feurrel is measured and a piece of tape is put on the blank at that distance. The feurrel has been spun in the drill to and polished up so it looks new again and removes all the machining marks, more expensive ones might be nicer but a few minuets and they are looking top drawer, before being glued onto the blank. The six points of the blank are sanded, shaved off to make the blank round enough to fit the feurrel onto the blank. If to much blank is removed it will weaken the blank at a point of maximum stress. At the bottom edge of the blank you can see a sort of slit, which has to be enlarged and made longer. this slit will let the air out when the feurrel is pushed on the blank when being glued on. Cheers Ron
|
|
|
Post by kilgortrout on Feb 24, 2012 18:44:36 GMT -6
The inside of the feurrel is polished up with some steel wool and 1500 grit sand paper. Then the male part the fits into the female part, hence the name, is slowly and carefully sanded down to fit. So if I miss the mark I have another as back up. The next photo is faked, but gives the idea. A strip of 600 grit paper is wrapped around the feurrel end and the blank is rolled on my thigh and the feurrel is slowly sanded down to fit. Once it is very very close it is polished up in hopes it will produce that tight smooth fit that will produce that satisfying pop of a world class hand made Bamboo fly rod. If not the rod will make an annoying click when the rod is cast. Riches to rags is a hair apart.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 1, 2012 9:10:07 GMT -6
This is an awesome thread. I can't wait to see your finished project. Truly an art and one that you excel in.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 1, 2012 12:18:08 GMT -6
Wow! That's incredible quality work! Now I can understand why bamboo rods are as strong as they are! I was skeptical before following this thread! Nick
|
|
|
Post by kilgortrout on Mar 2, 2012 21:50:45 GMT -6
When the ferrules are fit they are put on the blank with a little epoxy, a little breath hold when they are slipped on in hopes that the small slit down the side is big enough so the air squeezes out and the ferrules hits bottom, if not the rod is not the right length assembled or apart. When the rod guides are wrapped the ferrules are also wrapped from the blank onto the ferrules to add some extra re enforcement. I want wrap them and have the thread go transparent so the crown effect will show through the thread. That done I am screaming along here and onto the cork grip. Its a matter of pulling out my bag of squirreled away high quality cork rings bought in the olden days of quality cork. Well not really but I did buy them a while back and have been saving them for something special. I drilled some holes in them and glued them up with Titebond because I have some. I used 14 1/2" rings to give me a 7" grip. Once dry I put it on a mandrill on my mini lath and sanded it up to look something like this. Sand it up to 600 grit for that nice cork feel. Pop it off the lath and a quick cat of cork sealer. And here it is a tasteful looking grip for a traditional rod. This shape is called a Ritz grip. I have not tried this shape before but it looked good and so far feels nice despite not being on the rod. The blank has a swell in it and the swell will be just before the grip. The glue up job worked out as I have not used wood glue before but the seams are tight and their is no feel where the glue joint is. I used contact cement before and it was a pain to use and it did not sand near as well as this stuff. Cheers Ron.
|
|
|
Post by kilgortrout on Mar 2, 2012 22:12:58 GMT -6
The next thing to make is thee reel seat spacer wood. I scored a Manitoba Maple burl, AKA Box Elder outside of Manitoba, a while back and it has been quietly drying in the workshop for a few years now. I painted exposed cuts it with latex house paint and left the bark on. I finally cut it up this fall. It is hard to see what ti really looks like until it is cut. I could have been storing wormy rotten wood for all this time it is a crap shoot, but hey free local wood is always a bonus even if it is firewood. I cut it open and it was amazing how excellent a piece it is. It is a shame that a lot of this wood is overlooked and does end up as firewood. The red is not that common and comes out if the tree is stressed in some manner, or so I was told. It had dries nicely and did not crack. I was told a year per inch but I would be dead before this puppie was done. I think the cold of winter dries these things much faster in our northern climate, a bonus for having winter here. I cut up some book matched slices for box lids or guitar headstock veneers. A few thicker slices for rods and the rest can sit for some other bright idea. I will save the red and use a white colored piece for the rod. I want to use purple and green thread, so red will not really go with these colors. I will stain the wood to match the Bamboo color. This wood is great for rods it turns nice it is light, and this burl has great detail. Since the reel seat wood is so small it needs a lot of figure in it or it does not really show. It seems fitting to have a little local wood in this rod. Cheers Ron.
|
|
|
Post by kilgortrout on Mar 6, 2012 20:42:23 GMT -6
I have a small rectangle of wood cut for the reel sear spacer. If I make this bigger than normal then their is space to move the reel around on the reel seat in order to balance the rod with the reel being used. Turn it up on the lathe making sure it is of even dimension and a little thicker than the final dimension. I am no turning master and it does not take much skill to make something round when it is spinning, just stick the tool to it. I then sanded it down to 600 grit, still with some extra room to go before the hardware wi8ll fit onto it. Once sanded I am left with a cylinder of burl wood. The figure is looking mighty fine for scrap wood. I will make up two so I will have a extra for another rod, or a backup in case this one gets trashed, or becomes another light pull. Next a slot has to be cut in for the reel foot to fit into. Which is the style of the more traditional looking reel seats. To do this I have built a router jig to cut this slot so it does not look like it was cut by a drunk monkey. The jig part is really just the two blocks of wood held by a threaded bolt to hold the wood. I also clamp two pieces of wood onto the router table as stops so I can router and stop at the right spots. The router bit is from Lee Valley, a actual bit is made for this but this one does the job and the price is more affordable. I have two sized depending on the reel seat style. With these two bits I can make any style of reel seat spacer form my own wood which is more fun than buying some piece, and if I make a few it outweighs the cost of ordering them. Also bought ones are not long enough to be able to move the reel around for balancing. This is not the piece I am cutting it is another one already cut to check that all the right things are set. The router bit has to be the right height and the depth is critical or the reel will not fit, a little oversize is what I am shooting for. It is a bit of a guess how much oversize is enough or to much, so if I use a already made one I can dial it in quickly. Cheers Ron.
|
|
|
Post by kilgortrout on Mar 6, 2012 21:14:48 GMT -6
With a little care and a sharp bit things came out fine. With harder wood like maple the cut must go the right direction relative to the ration of the router or the bit will rip and chip the ends of the cut and the piece is crap. Don't ask me how I know this. So it is now looking more like a reel seat spacer, well cut with sharp edges. So it is white and plain ,and is really a rather boring looking piece of wood I picked for this rod. Once finely sanded the burl seems to all but disappear. To bring out the grain I wet it down with iron nitrate. I like this stuff as it reacts with the acid in thew wood. So the more acidic the wood the darker it gets, it will turn oak near black. It takes a test go to see how things come out with that specific wood. The iron nitrate is dissolved in water brushed on and the wood turns a dark greenish brown, just a color to make you think the piece is ruined. Once dry I heated it with a heat gun and the wood turns a dark brown. This stuff is what was used before a lot of modern satins were invented. Because it react with the wood its self it does not block up the grain like a stain would. Although some stains will do a great job this stuff is rather interesting to mess with. So now it is showing the grain but needs some sanding to bring out some contrast. This is why everything had to be over sized so I could sand it down some and not be to small. Here it is with some sanding and a little more contrast starting to show. So with some sanding and a few coats of gun stock finish for some waterproofing it is ready for the rod. The cats of gunstock finish builds up some dimension that also has to be accounted for the amount of slack to get the fittings to go on just right is small. At this point they are just sitting on loose to see how it looks. Cheers Ron
|
|
|
Post by kilgortrout on Mar 6, 2012 21:26:35 GMT -6
So after all that rant, here is the back up one with red mahogany Aniline water soluble dye, which is a good quality stain that minimizes blocking up the wood grain. It came out rather decent as well, but I can't quite see red on this rod, and the other one matches the rod color well so I will go with the brown one. Cheers Ron
|
|