Strip-built fly rod

[Royce Meritt]

OK. Here's an interesting project. I am building a strip-built fly rod out of ash. In a nut-shell here is the technique for a 2 piece, 8' long rod:

1. Cut 6 strips of straight-grained wood approx. approx. 3/8" X 3/8" X 50" for the top section of the rod.
2. Cut 6 strips slightly larger for the bottom section of the rod.
3. Mill the edges of all 12 strips to 30 degrees.
4. Glue the milled pieces together to form a hexagon (see my attached crude sketch) with titebond III.
5. Mount smaller hexagon on lathe and using an assortment of sanding blocks, etc. taper smaller section from 1/8" at tip to 1/4" at butt.
6. Mount larger hexagon and taper from 1/4" to 1/2"
7. Etc., etc., etc.

OK. I got to this point. Here's the problem...

After tapering the small hexagon I notice a slight bow near the very tip of my taper. Does anyone think I might be able to apply some heat and/or steam to this area and work out the bow? The slight bow can't be sanded out because the 6 strips need to be sanded the same amount all the way around.

Thanks for any advice.

[David DeCristoforo]

"Does anyone think I might be able to apply some heat and/or steam to this area and work out the bow?"

Oooo.... tricky one. If the rod were one piece of ash, I would say absolutely yes. The problem with your rod is that the gluelines are the culprit, not the wood itself. That's going to be a little bit delicate because you would need enough heat to soften the glue to the point where the wood strips could move a bit in relation to each other without actually destroying the bond. This may be one of those things that you just have to try and see how it works out. Or you could just use this rod for when you want to cast around corners....

YM

[Royce Meritt]

"Does anyone think I might be able to apply some heat and/or steam to this area and work out the bow?"

Oooo.... tricky one. If the rod were one piece of ash, I would say absolutely yes. The problem with your rod is that the gluelines are the culprit, not the wood itself. That's going to be a little bit delicate because you would need enough heat to soften the glue to the point where the wood strips could move a bit in relation to each other without actually destroying the bond. This may be one of those things that you just have to try and see how it works out. Or you could just use this rod for when you want to cast around corners....

YM

Wanting to get the bow out is really more asthetic than anything else. As for using this rod to cast around corners...

My fly casting is a lot like my golf swing. It doesn't necessarily go where I want it to go anyway.

[Bob Hallowell]

Just use that as the back of you spine when you build it, put your component on the other side. Just out of curiousity why didn't you use bamboo?

Bob

[Steven Wilson]

You should be able to fix it just like a boo rod. Gently apply some steam heat and gently back bend it to fix the curve. I'm not sure that I would have used Titebond on a fly rod; Titebond tends to creap

[Royce Meritt]

Just out of curiousity why didn't you use bamboo?

Bob

Building a rod out of bamboo, while similar to using wood, is an entirely different technique. Being a woodworker, I had the rquired tools to use wood but not to use bamboo.

[Royce Meritt]

You should be able to fix it just like a boo rod. Gently apply some steam heat and gently back bend it to fix the curve. I'm not sure that I would have used Titebond on a fly rod; Titebond tends to creap

I am following the directions found in the book "Making Strip-Built Fly Rods from Various Woods on a Lathe" by John Betts.

He states that he originally used epoxy but now uses Titebond III. He says (If I remember correctly) that the Titebond III actually remains somewhat flexible which is a good thing.

[Tim Johnson]

Having built many fly rods, the slight bow probably will not affect the action of the rod itself. Many graphite rods have irregularities like the one you describe. Simply orient the guides along the straightest line to mimimize the visual issues and go out and fish it. I doubt anyone but yourself will ever notice. Some recent discussions by builders in this area of wooden rods are going with a simple laminate of two pieces and are finding that the rods work really well. You might try rodbuilders dot org with your question as well.

[Greg Ware]

Tim is right on. I have been building custom fly rods for over 25 years and have yet to start with a perfectly straight blank. It should not affect how it casts. In my experience I have found the thing that has the most affect on how a rod casts is usually the "caster". Unless it's a bad bend don't worry about it. There is only one thing you must do before you fish it. You must post a picture and brag a little. Building a wood rod is almost a lost art, not a lot of people are doing it. I have not fished with one but if it is anything like bambo it will be a pleasure to cast. One word of warning. Once started it can't be stopped. The next step is tying you own flies and leaders, then building a drift boat, then.... And your wife thought woodworking was bad. Good luck. I sounds like there would be plenty help around if you need it.

Greg