The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

I have found the following in my records that may be useful to members. These are direct measurements made by a rod builder from a rod I used to own.
Bob

WHOLE CANE B. JAMES AVOCET TAPERS

BUTT SECTION - 45" WHOLE CANE

MIDDLE SECTION -45" SPLIT CANE TO THE FOLLOWING TAPERS

DISTANCE ACROSS HEX
0" 0.44
6" 0.425
12" 0.41
18" 0.385
24" 0.367
30" 0.34
36" 0.325
42" 0.315
45" FERRULE

TOP SECTION - 45" SPLIT CANE TO THE FOLLOWING TAPERS

DISTANCE ACROSS HEX
0" 0.265
6" 0.25
12" 0.225
18" 0.215
24" 0.2
30" 0.172
36" 0.15
42" 0.133
45" 0.125 TIP RING

Thanks for that Bob. :thumb:

Bob,
Does "across the hex" mean from the apex of one angle to the opposite one, rather than across the flats.
If so, I've never heard of this method.
Mike

I think there are three ways of measuring a rod...

Across the flats, using a vernier gauge.

Across the 'points', using a vernier gauge.

Across a single segment, using a vernier gauge or a ruler.

Personally, I think only the first way is sensible, with the others the measurements become meaningless if the builder has rounded the enamel at all.


Eack way will work, but making comparisons between different rods is confusing and I prefer to
take the measurements and then record the decrease between each measurement as a separate figure, which I find easier to understand.

So if a rod has no compound taper, the decrease figure stays constant. The moment there is a change in taper that figure changes too and can be easily understood. I did it first this way with a Wizard and found a very small change in taper on the tip section that surprised me as it was pretty slight, but I presume it was deliberate.

Milwards are the devil to measure though, as they sometimes put two taper changes within three inches of one another on their Twin Taper Tips and I usually measure every four inches!. For that reason I always place a steel rule against the rod to be sure I don't miss anything, though it's all a bit hit and miss if the rod has rings whipped on to it, but at least you can see something if you do it with a white surface below.