Orders

Before I started building, I collected rods. As a school teacher I couldn't afford all of the rods I wanted to own. So that is one main reason I started building. One thing that always amazed me was that builders would give you an estimate of when your rod would be ready and it would NEVER be ready on that date. Sometimes the rod wouldn't be ready anywhere near that date. I just figured when rod builders went to bamboo rod building school they offered a class on how not to deliver a rod on time. It had something to do ultimately with making their rods more desirable. Well, the shoe is on the other foot and sometimes I have a hard time delivering rods on time.

There are many reasons for not delivering rods on time and doing this blog isn't really one of them. Since switching to micro ferrules there is an increased time that goes into fitting and setting those. I didn't realize it at first, but quickly found out that the smaller ferrules don't set straight on the blank like longer ferrules do. The added time in assuring the ferrules are straight can be maddening. Another factor is the varnish I use. I want my rods to last a very long time. The particular varnish I use has tung oil and linseed oil in it. These two additives take longer to dry. Since I hand rub most of my rods with about 6-8 coats of varnish it can take almost a month just to do the varnishing and letting it cure. There are many other factors that play into delivering rods on time and it seems none of which are ever the same with each rod.

I am currently in the process of making 9 rods. I am closer to finishing some than others. After my trip to Idaho and Colorado I plan to take a several month break working on a couple of new tapers and lengths before I start my fall orders.

An added note I would like to thank who ever is visiting my blog from Iran. I didn't realize they fly fished in that country, but have been thinking if more people in that country did fly fish and with bamboo we would be whole lot closer with them!!!! :-)

Another Rod!

Thanks for the response on the rod I posted Friday. I do appreciate everyone's compliments. Here is another rod that is about to go out. It is also dipped.

Rod Going Out Today

This is a 8'2" 5 weight that is going to a customer in Alabama. I haven't dipped in awhile, but I remembered quickly why dipped rods look so good! It does add weight to the rod, but it also has many advantages. In the next few days I will post some more pics of another rod that is being dipped as well.

Inside Taper and shirts

Here is a picture of an 8'4" 3 weight that I am working on. When hollowing rods you can also include an inside taper to your rod. I take a lot of things into account when deciding how much to hollow and what spacing I should use with that spacing. A couple of things to look at are the size of fish you will be fishing for, what type of line you will use and weather conditions (windy). The depth of hollowing also determines how far down the tip I will go with the hollowing process. If I am hollowing to .040" of an inch you can go down pretty far. I will do that on a lot of my 8' 3 weight tapers just because of the type of fishing most of the owners will be doing with those rods. I will probably stay around .060" on tips for 5 weights and above. Hollowing to different depths is very easy to do with my Elder hollowing mill.

Please remember if you buy a rod from me you get a free t-shirt. My new shirts just came in today! If you don't want to buy a rod the shirts are $30. 

Change

After some deliberation I've opted to make a small change to my rods.  The signature will be shortened to "Carpenter" in order to maximize the natural beauty of the bamboo.

The next series of rods will be crafted with a lighter color bamboo.  Please see the lighter cane on the two quads pictured below--an 8'2" 4 weight and a 8'4" 3 weight.

The Quads Are Coming!

I will have several hollow built quads for sale over the next couple of months. The rod I really like is the quad version of my popular 8'4" 3 weight.

Spey Rod with Carbon Fiber Ferrules

This rod is a project I have been working on for about a year now. I started off with a trout rod using this form of ferrules and now I have employed them on this spey rod. My major objective is to save weight off rods that would normally be heavier. This is going out to a friend in Washington to use and get feedback from. I don't see myself making a lot of these rods (spey), but its fun to do something different than trout rods all the time.