Flaming

I have posted pics before of flaming, so here is another. This picture is off what "lightly" flamed cane looks like. At first look you might think this turns out to be what is called "tiger" flamed, but its not. This cane will be filed and sanded. When this process is done the darker stripes will be gone. The heating process seems to take out some of the variation as well.

I started my spring and summer orders this past week. I will be spending about a month out on the Henry's Fork in Idaho. I really hope to spend some quality time inside Yellowstone Park. I have fished in the park numerous times, but never off the beaten path. I would like to do that this year. I will also be spending about 2 weeks with the family in Colorado right after that. So the point of this paragraph is that I will be out of the shop most of the summer. I will probably take a break once back for about a month and when August rolls around hit the shop. This doesn't push my orders back, because I have figured that into my estimations when orders are placed. I think most builders take a break periodically.

I am still working very hard on fiberglass ferrules. As I told a customer last week, "if it was easy, everyone would be doing it". I don't know really what the weight savings will be right now. I don't see a huge difference between that and the Hariki's I am using, but will wait to make that final determination once I can produce good looking fiberglass ferrules. What I am planning on right now is that I will use them on larger rods (5 wts and up) to start with. To get the fiberglass to conform to the diameters needed for 3 and 4 wts is extremely difficult!!! Again, the weight savings for those lighter lined rods is not that much. I believe the real benefit will be at the larger rods.

Right now my wait time is about a year. The next order that comes in will have a delivery date of Christmas this year.