Always willing to oblige... I am grateful that 20 years ago I learned to build rods here in North America (though originally from Cookham, Berks) where bamboo has become increasingly popular to both make and to use ( see Clarks Cane forum) to the point that there is a growing market for top notch components and fittings, we now have beautiful and functional ferrules and reel fittings being produced for mostly fly rods but also spinning rods (see REC rod components) there are wonderful agate guides, or rings, and all manner of help and advice both online and around. A wealth of new old stock rings and fittings are also surfacing on eBay. As I said,we organize the Canadian Cane gathering every two years and makers both professional and hobbyists plus component manufactures (once the sole bamboo importer, Andy Royer turned up) come from all over this continent, we compare notes and help each other to enjoy the craft. From all of this activity a concensus emerges from the group as to the best way of doing things. Of course we all have our little ways of doing the same thing. It seems a shame that there has not been the same growing interest in new bamboo rods in the UK, Paul Cook and I have discussed this in the past. It seems that they are still perceived as quaint, old fashioned and expensive. I have mentioned this before, the market here is driven by fly fishermen who willingly spend large amounts of money on a top notch bamboo fly rod. And they have a wide choice, as there are quite a few professional makers in the US, less in Canada, but all produce beautiful rods. Sadly in the UK, but one name most often comes to mind, though Paul Cook plus one or two others make excellent rods.
Old bamboo sea rods sometimes had two sets of rings, one set on each face, in order to be used on alternative trips to even out the considerable stress. To say that- if a cane rod does not bend back straight then it is not fit for purpose, is somewhat unrealistic. Carbon also will not bend back perfectly straight either after bending, check it out, but give it a waggle and it's straight again, same for good bamboo. Of course it is not very useful to turn a rod over with high guides on. It should be added that a slight bend after flexing is not a 'set' as the rod will straighten again if the tension is evened out from the other side, or given a 'waggle'.
There is much conjecture and mis information about bamboo rods, one of which is the obsession (by usually those new to rod making) about drying out the bamboo as much as possible and sealing it up with varnish in order for none to get back in to rot and cause fracture. What ever is done and however many coats of varnish will be applied, ambient moisture will always return to the bamboo to some extent, then leave again - the bamboo will swell and contract. This is very evident here as winters are very dry indeed and summers can be very humid, the taper difference in a fly rod taper with these extremes could be as much one line weight. I should add that in 20 years of making all kinds of rods I have yet to have or see a split ferrule, and I use some very thin walled n/silver ones.. Heat treating in an oven removes most of the moisture and importantly, lets only a proportion return (I forget the %) again, test have been done by enthusiastic Americans.
A small exposed and unvarnished area on a rod will not become a soft spot as claimed. I have my wading staff which is a discarded butt section of a Mk IV, it has been varnished years ago but also for some years just up from the button the rocks have chipped the varnish away, I floats for hours in the water at my side. The bamboo has not suffered in any way and I can still lean on it flexing it a little without any problems.
Regarding flame vs. heat gun. In the dead of winter when it is very dry we soak our split non planed strips at least for a few hours immersed totally in water. Water is not the enemy of bamboo - the cut bundles are floated down river after harvest. When worked over the heat gun to straighten them out the cells in the structure suddenly give and then slide in the lignum enabling wonky strips to be hand straightened, higher moisture content eases this process. In summer the cane will have a higher water content naturally, so the heat gun alone does the job. I would still never put the tip of a completed rod anywhere near a naked flame. Candle flames are quite cool (yellow flame is) and too small for my purposes which need a wider diffused but quite high temp. So Nobby, you are correct moisture and dry heat have their place.
Bamboo is a very special natural material, structurally very different to wood, with 6" power fibres (fibrovascular bundles) in lignum, more similar to composition of graphite shards in resin, than wood. Handle and work a 12' x 2 1/2" length down into a rod and you will know what I mean. There is a wonderful book - The Anglers Bamboo by Luis Marden which is about the grass itself ,Tonkin, the one species we use for rods out of more than 1100.
Malcolm
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