Like many TFF members, I have a bin full of old rod sections and unfinished projects, and lots of spare time. How hard could it possibly be?
As you may have guessed, very hard!
Early plans for a five piece twenty footer were soon dropped, when the realities of finding suitable cane of the right diameter for the bottom section proved elusive.
In the end I settled for a more realistic wand of sixteen feet in four sections.
The top of the top section came from an old fly rod, the third section from a shortened middle of an old bottom rod.
The bottom piece came from a piece of cane nearly two inches in diameter, that I found wedged in the roof supports of my garage.
We’ve been here for over thirty years, the cane section possibly a decade or two more.
I had a bit of a kink in it, but see pic. of my patent straightening device. It had a couple of nasty cracks, but the best bit was suitable.
The second section came from a garden centre and was all of 90p.
I drilled the two bottom sections out as best I could with some rudimentary tools, but naturally, not to the level of the masters of the past.
I poured raw linseed oil through the bores of these two sections and let it drain and dry to prevent( I hope ) future cracking.
The ferrules were a headache, but some aluminium tubing replaced brass where it was hard to find the correct diameters.
A tad heavy perhaps, just some finishing, a tip to the style of Wal perhaps, and no gudgeon is safe!
Regards Tom.
