Dedicated to the Making of Fine Bamboo Fly Rods

Transcription

October 2013 (Volume 53)
Dedicated to the Making
of Fine
B a m b o o F ly Ro d s
Inside this issue:
The First Cast
4
Is Node Work the
“Speed Bump” in
Your Rodmaking?
7
The Saga of a Para 15
14
Engraving a Reel Seat
19
Travelling Angler:
Bonefish Beatdown
35
Fly Rod Guide Study
40
MHM Corner:
Another Way to
Hollow, Part I
54
Watercolor on paper courtesy of Alfonso Jaraiz Puig (http://artificialfliesdrawings.blogspot.com)
October, 2013 (Volume 53)
Page 2
New Offering
We at Power Fibers have decided to offer web site hosting services for
anyone who wants to set up a web site at an affordable price. We’re offering space for you to upload your site along with a secure login to maintain
the site. If you’re interested in more information, send a message to
[email protected].
Page 3
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The First Cast
Todd Talsma, Editor
Well, the old saying goes, “The longest journey starts with a single step.”
I’m not embarking on a long journey, I’m just trying to get myself back
in the shop! I finished seven or eight rods this spring, but it took me
about 3 years to finish them! Now, I’m trying to get myself motivated to
get back in the shop to make more. Part of my problem is that I’m trying
to figure out what to make next. I could always continue to fill out my
collection of Para rods. I have a Para17, Para16, Para15 and Para14, as
well as a Driggs River rod. Love them all, may even have to try working
with RodDNA Designer and see if I can come up with some variations.
Love those parabolic rods, especially the heavier weight rods.
To start the process, I’ve started to clean and organize. Over the summer, we had a swimming pool installed in the yard. Along with this, I
built a small deck with the help of my wife and son. I basically neglected
the shop while working on this, other than piling things up on the
benches as I used tools. I’m taking the small step approach to getting
things back into an organized state so that I can actually start doing some
work.
Another thing that I’m thinking about
doing is making some matching
wooden handles and reel seats. Still
thinking about what type of design to
look at, but one thing I do know, I’m
not going to be able to use them on
any Para rods! Might have to look
into some more Dickerson tapers for
that!
Warning!
Because many aspects of bamboo rodmaking bring the maker
in contact with machinery,
bladed tools, volatile chemicals
and gases, the editor and advisory board of Power Fibers ask
you to exercise the utmost caution when attempting to build
or mimic any devices or activiI can always use more ideas, feel free ties mentioned in this magazine.
to contact me. If you have a suggestion about improving Power Fibers, Please have any devices you
drop me an email at the following build and use in your shop
e m a i l
a d d r e s s : checked by a safety professional
before attempting to use such
[email protected]
devices. This is to guarantee
your personal safety and that of
others around you.
If you choose to build any device or use any technique found
in this magazine, you are doing
so at your own risk.
Power Fibers
Online Magazine
Editor
Todd Talsma
Contributors
Monsos, Mike
Oyster, Bill
Spezio, Tony
Wilson, Dave
Wolko, Kurt
Copy Editors
Bret Reiter
Carol Talsma
Mark Wendt
Advisory Board
Russ Gooding
Bob Maulucci
Bob Nunley
J.D. Wagner
For more info contact:
Todd Talsma
[email protected]
8412 North Maple Court
Zeeland MI 49464
616.772.5043
Copyright © 2013 by Power Fibers
Page 5
Page 6
Page 7
Is Node Work the “Speed Bump” in Your Rodmaking?
Text and photos by Mike Monsos (www.monsosrods.com)
Of all of the steps in the making of a bamboo fly rod, the node work has to be my least favorite.
With those pesky humps, kinks, doglegs, dips and lips, nodes can cost us a large investment of
time. To straighten them out, rod makers use a variety of different tricks: heat, hand pressure, a vise
and some compression. In short, we do whatever it takes to make them lie true and straight in our
forms.
Normally I split my strips, then straighten my strips, and deal with the nodes with the aid of a heat
gun and a vise. Because of the extra bamboo, these oversized rectangular strips are slow to reach
the temperature required to become pliable so I can begin to work on the nodes. All this extra material will become nothing more than those little curls on our workbenches after our rough planing.
A light bulb came on one day when I found it necessary to do a bit more node work during my final
planing. I saw how quickly the planed strip became pliable over the heat gun. But, by that point in
the process, using my vise with its flat jaws to displace a troublesome node for a second time was
not an option.
I wanted to make a block to easily press and straighten a node after the strip is roughed into the triangular form. After some experimenting, the result is a set of two V-Blocks machined from HPDE.
Each block has a 60° groove milled into one of the 4” long sides. One block has a circular relief
milled into it for node hump flattening (displacement). The milled relief leaves room for nodes to
be flattened (displaced) rather than crushed against the inner apex. Another advantage in my VBlock design is that you can correct the majority of a dogleg as you displace the node hump. To do
this I’ll heat the strip and then flex the strip to pre-correct the dogleg with my hands. I then quickly
(Continued on page 8)
Page 8
place the strip in the V-blocks to displace the node. As the strip cools, pressed in the V-block, it
firmly holds the strip straight as well as flattening the node.
In the picture below, you can see the embedded magnets that will hold each block firmly in place in
your vise.
Now that I’ve made these jigs, I’ve changed my rod making process. I start by filing the node lips
off of the node hump of the culm. If I am making a flamed rod, the next step is to flame my culm.
Then I split my culm with a target width of .250” to .290” for each strip.
After the culm is split, my bench top belt sander will quickly remove the nodal dams and taper the
blunt ends of my strips. Tapering the ends of the strips helps make the couple of passes easier as the
strip makes first contact with the spinning Baginski Beveller wheel. After three or four passes on
the Baginski Beveller my strips are now at about .220” and triangular rather than rectangular. Now
it’s time to work on the nodes with my V-Blocks.
Page 9
In the images below, the 1/16” gap on the right is caused by a node hump, so it’s time to flatten it
out.
The smaller roughed triangular strip will heat and become pliable more quickly than a thicker rectangular rough split strip. Once the strip is hot enough to be pliable, I lay it into my V-Blocks
mounted in my vise and close the vise down. You can see the gap beneath the node area being
pressed. This allows the node to be pressed completely flat without crushing the inner apex.
Page 10
After the pressing the node it is flat.
After the node work, I’ll take another pass or two with the Baginski Beveller, taking off another .020” to .050” on my final couple of passes to a dimension of .180” to .200”. The Baginski
Beveller will also help to make the doglegs a bit better after the straightening.
At that point, I’m ready to move my strips on
to my heat treating process with my MD
Heat Treating Fixtures. I place the enamel
side of the strip on the “inside” to have contact with the fixture to better straighten and
flatten the strip. Afterwards, the strips will
look better than before.
If it is necessary to do a little more work on a
node during your planing to taper, as long as
the strip is over .170”, you can still use the V
-Block to straighten the area. Anything
smaller may get lost in the V-Block groove,
making them ineffective.
It is important that you remember to complete your V-Block node work while your
strips are oversized. Working on strips that
are already at final taper runs the risk of
damaging their fragile corners.
So, if you are like me, looking for a way to
reduce the time you spend dealing with the
nodes, these V-Blocks used in conjunction
with a Baginski Beveller may be the answer
you are looking for.
Page 11
Page 12
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Page 13
Page 14
The Saga of a Para 15
Text and photos from Tony Spezio
I met George Aldrich on the Rodmakers list in about 1999. We had a mutual interest in model airplane engines. I had a number of them at the time. These were old spark plug gas engines. George
was in the business of building the engines. We kind of bonded with this interest. George also had a
real interest in Paul Young's rods and owned several of the original Young Rods, but he did not have
a Para 15 and wanted to have one. I told him if he could get up here for a week, I would help him
make one.
We set a date and George came up a week before the Southern Rod Gathering (SRG) here in Cotter,
Arkansas. We started on the rod the second week in October of 2000.
I noticed that George was having a problem while planing the strips. He would run out of breath. I
helped him as much as I could and we got the butt and one tip made. The strips for the second tip
were split out and ready to be planed but did not get done. During his visit we took some time to
fish. One day when we got to the river, I found that I didn’t have my rod with me. George had a
number of his original Bamboo rods in the van and told me to take one to fish with. I selected a
Cross Double Built, and as we made our way to the river, again I noticed George was having a problem both getting to the river and wading.
While we attended the SRG that weekend I noticed George sat in a chair most of the time.
That Sunday George and I said our goodbyes and George began his trip home. He took along my
model plane engines to service them, and see about selling them to a collector. George was not only
able to sell the engines but also got me a good price.We stayed in touch and I asked him how he was
doing on the Para 15. He said he was getting things together and would finish the Para 15. Unfortunately that never happened; George passed away a couple of months later.
I did not give any more thought to the Para 15 till one day I received an email from Floyd
Burkett asking me about a four-string binder he has. Floyd had seen the binder he has in an article
Page 15
that Harry Boyd wrote and contacted him for information. Harry then referred Floyd to me to answer his questions on the binder. During our conversations he mentioned that the binder had belonged to George and was a gift from George’s wife.
Floyd also mentioned the blank and I told him about George making the blank here and that it was a
Para 15. Floyd thought since I had a hand in getting it made I should have the blank, finish it, and
fish it, so he sent me the blank on Aug 3, 2005.
When the blank arrived I put it on the rack intending to get to it as soon as I could. Time passed and
I just set it aside due to other things that had to be done. I was having health problems and was
spending less time in the shop. I was able to make the second tip during the time I had the blank, but
the time to complete the rod was just not there.
In December 2012, I was scheduled for knee replacement so I thought this would be a good time to
get the rod wrapped. I installed the ferrules, grip, and whatever else that needed to be done before
the surgery. Then the surgery did not work out as well as I had hoped, so a lot more time was lost.
Finally, yes finally, I got the rod finished, twelve years and nine months to the day from when it was
started.
But I was still having problems so the finished rod has not been cast nor fished. I hope to get it out
and fish it before the SRG in October.
Here and on the next page are some photos of the finished Para 15.
Page 16
Page 17
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Page 19
Engraving a Reel Seat
Text and Photos by Bill Oyster (oysterbamboo.com)
There's not much that hasn't been said well (and often) when it comes to rodmaking, so I thought I'd
share something unique to my own process. I recently completed a custom rod with some pretty
high end details, and thought I'd share my process as I'm finishing up the engraving of the reel seat.
For me, the creative process begins on paper. A few quick and dirty sketches help ensure I'm heading somewhere I actually want to go. These won't be used as templates, so artistic accuracy isn't the
goal. I'm just looking for a balance of light and dark, use of space, etc. The "things" don't really
matter, just the relationships created by their placement.
Page 20
Now, with an idea in mind, I begin to lay things out on the blank nickel silver butt cap. One of my
little lathes is helpful for laying out the circles.
With the circles marked, I can now accurately cut them into place using my handheld engraver.
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For some perspective, here is a look at my engraving setup in the workshop.
Here you can see the stereoscope I use for a close-up look, and the ball vice that allows me to hold
and rotate the piece I'm working on as I cut with my right hand. The interchangeable graver bits act
as small chisels. You can push them by hand, hit them with a hammer, or (most typically these days)
use a pneumatic device to provide the hammer power.
Page 22
Back to the cutting…
Now that the outer circle is cut deep and uniform, I use a shallow point to create burs on the bottom
of the cut. I also undercut the inside and outer edge. All of this is done to allow anchor points for the
gold I intend to inlay.
Here, I'm using a brass punch to pound in 24K gold wire. The brass is harder than the gold but soft
enough not to damage the nickel silver seat. The hammered gold mushrooms into and around the
undercuts and burs I've created and is securely fastened into place.
With the gold securely embedded, it's time to clean up the excess.
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The first step is to chisel away the bulk of the excess with a flat graver.
Next, I'll take it a bit closer with a small file.
Page 24
At this point, I'm able to see if there are any remaining voids. To ensure that I remove any of the
dreaded pits, I use a polished steel burnishing tool and some heavy elbow grease to drive the gold
into every remaining crevice. This will also help to push back down the raised edges of the nickel
silver which formed when I created the undercuts.
Finally, I use fine sandpaper to reveal a totally smooth surface of silver and gold.
The next thing I need to do is layout the trout which will comprise the foreground of the picture.
This must be done now to make sure that none of the background lines intersect the overlapping
Page 25
image of the trout. By using overlapping elements, we can give a piece a greater sense of depth, and
hopefully make a scene that's more interesting to view.
I first create a stencil to help with a quick positioning of the trout. As you can see, the inked image is
very rough, but I can use my metal scribe to scratch in the details as I've done here (if you look
closely).
Next I'll go ahead and lightly engrave the outline so I don't HAVE to look so closely.
Page 26
Now I'll cut a deep border around the edges of the background I intend to remove. This will set the
depth, and form a protective trench around the trout.
If you haven't noticed, I'm roughly following the design of the central sketch I drew as it had the
best balance of shapes and color tones.
Now it's time to do some serious metal removal. A small rotary piece allows me to quickly reduce
the height of the background.
Page 27
Quickly, however, also tends to be rough, so I must then work the background carefully with various
flat gravers to even things up and get in all of the tight places.
Now that the background has been removed (double deep) I can prepare to inlay the gold. The idea
is to cover the background but stay below surface height. This will allow me to sculpt the raised figure of the trout afterwards.
Just as before, all edges must be undercut. The open areas must also be scored with rows of undercut
burs in alternating directions.
Page 28
Now the gold wire can be hammered into the attachment points row by row.
In this picture, the entire background has been covered with gold and hammered until it’s fused into
a solid layer of gold. Once again I used a flat graver to chisel away most of the excess.
Page 29
A good foundation has been laid at this point, but before I can get into the details, I'll need to give a
good sanding to remove scratches, file marks, etc.
Now that things are smooth and roughly in place, it's time to start in on the details.
I use a textured punch to flatten the background and give it a nice uniform texture. I've also selected
a flat graver to begin to establish the various levels I will create in the sculpted trout.
Page 30
Let's finish this thing up!
So far, the work has been fairly "rough", but now it's time to add some art to this craft. Little by little
the shape of the trout is refined. I use flat gravers and angled gravers to begin rounding things out,
slicing off the corners bit by bit.
Once the shape is coarsely sculpted, I use a highly polished punch to hammer things into a smoother
form.
Page 31
Once I'm happy with the contours, I'll start in on the details. The fins must be shaped line by line.
The eye is carefully refined, and each dot must be shaped one at a time. This is done by jabbing in a
narrow graver point, and spinning the ball vise on it's bearings... Not the time for a slip!
Some scroll work will add a touch of elegance, as well as breaking up the silver border. All of the
border work should complement the main scene rather than draw your eye away.
Page 32
When I'm satisfied that the cutting is complete, I'll give the piece a light bluing to remove the glare
and highlight the cuts.
Well it's taken three days to accomplish what I've shown, but hopefully the customer will enjoy admiring his new creation.
The rest of reel seat hardware.
Page 33
The assembled rod.
The wraps and varnish work.
Some recent completions.
Page 34
Page 35
Traveling Angler: Bonefish Beatdown
Text and photos by Dean Shirota
The other night I received a text from my friend, Craig. He was going to fly fish Saturday morning. I
didn’t have anything planned in the morning, so I asked him what time he wanted to meet. His reply
was 5:15am. I had to think hard if I really wanted to get up that early to fish. After a bit of debating I
set the alarm for 4:30am, got my stuff ready, and sent him a text that I would meet him. I figured
since I needed to get up early I better get to bed. Before I knew it the alarm went off I got cleaned up
and headed out the door. Before I left, I made sure I brought my rash guard since it looked like it
might be cold and windy.
When I got to the spot it was still dark so I rigged up my rod using the street light in the parking lot.
I decided that I wanted to fish the 11’ Bob Clay bamboo since I had not fished it in a while.
Page 36
Craig drove in just as I finished setting up my rod. He started getting ready but took his sweet old
time rigging up, which did not bother me since we still had to wait for the sun to come up.
Once the sun came up enough we headed out on the flat.
Since the tide was super low we went out to one of the channels known to hold bones and started
blind casting.
I don’t know what the heck was wrong with me, but I could not buy a bonefish bite the whole day. I
made the typical long cast in fishy looking areas, changed flies, changed stripping techniques, etc. It
seemed like whenever I turned around to see where Craig was, he was hooked up to a bonefish. He
ended up hooking five bonefish and landing four of them. I, on the other hand, landed one lizardfish
and five trumpet fish. Not the best of outings for me. After several hours of bonefish beatdown, the
tide started rolling in fast and hard so I started to head in.
Page 37
I was probably about 20 feet from the shore when I figured I would sight fish while I was waiting
for Craig to make his way to me. As I stood there and the sun peeked out from the clouds, I saw a
pod of four fish. I made a short cast that dropped too close to the fish and they ended up spooking.
After another 10 minutes two more fish showed up. This time I got a good cast at them but they
were not interested in the fly. After another 10 minutes, I saw a single bone about 30 feet away. I
made a decent cast and as the bonefish got close to the fly I tried to strip the fly. The fly didn’t
budge since it was snagged on a piece of seaweed. I gave the line a stronger tug and the fly popped
loose from the seaweed, I saw the bonefish bolted to the fly and ate it. I felt a twitch in the line from
the bonefish eating the fly and made a short strip set. Amazingly, I hooked the fish and boy it wasn’t
happy when it felt the sting of the hook. The first run from the fish was so long and violent that it
made the clicker from the JW Young reel heat up so much that I burned my hand when I accidently
touched it.
Page 38
Once the initial run was over the fish made couple shorter runs and eventually ran out of gas. I
was able to land the fish and it turned out to be a
fat five to six pound bone.
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I was happy I finally landed a fish after getting
up so early and getting beat up by Craig.
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October, 2013 (Volume
Page 39
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Page 40
Fly Rod Guide Study
Text and photos by Dave Wilson
Background: An unfortunate accident saw me destroy the tip and of a SAGE RPLXi 9wt rod (my
fault) that I had built using the wisdom of the time – double foot guides, large for shooting line. As
this rod was called the broomstick, I took the opportunity to use the replacement tip and rebuild the
rod up – changing to small single foot Fuji titanium guides and a 40+ line. The rod was transformed
from a hard stick to a rod you can feel load and would be happy to cast all day.
So, I have been gathering information and refining technique for building rods (on a semi-modest
budget), so today I present some information on guide weights, that would used on the top of a flyrod.
Graph 1 – Fly-Rod Guide Weights from Several Manufacturers
Page 41
Graph 2 – Fly-Rod Guide Weights from Several Manufacturers – Concentrated View to the Light
Guides
Table 1 (left) – Fly-Rod Guide Weights from Several Manufacturers
Notes:
• With the exception of REC the weights listed are averages
based actual measurements on guides on hand, minimal sample
size of 5. Measurements were done before any dressing was
done.
• Actual weights are subjected to unknown changesdocumented by the manufacturers.
• Lighter is often seen as being better, but as demonstrated
with the RPLXi change, the move to the heavy guides was not a
bad thing. Was being heavier better, or increase flexibility by
moving to a single foot guide better, the line change and-or the
new tip?
• Not measured is friction (resistance to shoot line), strength
and resiliency – or in other words, how effective it is.
Page 42
Conclusion:
A lighter guide does not necessarily mean a better rod, but there is variability in the brands. The
data shows there is a noticeable increase in weight (from lightest to heaviest) moving from REC to
Snake to Hopkins & Holloway and then to the ceramic insert guides from Fuji.
How much does an affixed guide weigh?
Graph 3 – Weight of affixed Guides.
In my previous post, I note different weights of a guide, but how much does an affixed guide have
on a rod section, relative to the section? So using a sample from the damage SAGE RXPLXi 9wt
rod, I affixed five guides in a small section to measure the impact of:
•
•
•
•
Guide
Thread – Small Silk
Color Preserver – Al’s – three coats
Epoxy – ProKote – two thin applications (using acetone to thin)
On a 5″ section to a typical rod top.
From this measurements, I also been able to create a model that assumes when all is equal (rod section, size of wrap, et cetera), provide a comparative look of the guides static relationship to a fly rod
top. So what is the relationship …..
Page 43
Graph 4 – The original measure-calculated static weight model – Hopkins Holloway Large Standard
Guide – HSSG 2
The HSSG2 is the heaviest guide I would use and reflects the common recommendation in the mid90s to use larger guides for shooting line (which I no longer agree with). Clearly, the greatest weight
is the rod blank (or a fly line), but it’s the guide that has the greatest impact.
And yes, the color preserver had no measureable weight.
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Page 44
Graph 5 – Using my old standby H&H, but a size reflecting my standards today – HSSG1.
Not as obvious in this page, but moving from a Size 2 to Size 1, the guide itself is 25% lighter.
Though, I have to ask, why not a smaller or lighter guide. Need to think about this, but I am inclined
to believe we get to a point where the impact of the guide weight is not as significant relative to
when we include the fly line (or how the guide is attached — double versus single foot).
Page 45
Graph 6 – Getting lighter – Still with H&H, but using a light Size 1 Guide – HSSGL1.
Graph 7 – Changing to Snake Brand Size 1 – SBSG1
A good standard for a like double-foot snake guide.
Page 46
Graph 8 – REC’s RECoil Titanium Snake Guide – RSN1
Lighter and finer, but if you really want to save weight, eliminate some thread and epoxy and go to a
single foot guide. Note from the datasheets from REC, RSN1 has the same loop diameter as RSF2
(and the same weight too).
Graph 9 – REC’s RECoil Titanium Single Foot Guide – RSF2
Page 47
So, if you need the lightest rod, yes, go with the RECoil RSF single foot guides, otherwise, my
emerging standard is likely to focus on Snake Brand Guides, Size 1 at the top (or maybe
smaller).
What about Fuji Ceramics? Nothing wrong with them (as clearly proven on my Sage RPLXi 9wt),
but as illustrated below with the light TLSG8, the static impact is higher.
Graph 10 – Fuji’s TLSG8 on my model for a 5″
Guides – resulting actions
So, how does this influence my actions? When building an:
•
•
•
Ultralight rod where flexibility is important, use REC RSF2 on the top section. An example would be a 3wt 10′ nymph rod and will note this is how Grey (of Hardy) builds their
light nymph rods too.
A traditional 4-5 wt trout rod, such as a Bamboo 4wt 7’6″, use Snake Brand guide Size 1
on the top.
ο For 3wt or lighter, consider Hopkins & Holloway Light Series, such as
HSSGL1 or a 1/0 Guide.
ο Remember to touch up the feet, so the thread transition from rod onto guide is
fine. There will be a same weight savings, but more importantly you are able
to reduce the amount of epoxy and stiffening effect that results.
A traditional 6wt or greater rod, use Hopkins & Holloway standard guide 1 on the top.
Example would be G-Loomis GL3 7′wt 9′ for Smallmouth Bass fishing.
•
Page 48
A 7 wt or greater rod where flexibility (but not necessarily weight) is important, such as a
12’6″ 7wt Spey, consider the Fuji TLSG8 guides.
I took another look at some reference material I have collected over the years. Recommendations for
bigger guides, lighter guides and many different sizes. I do not think there is “a right answer,” so it
is up to what one feels is right. Larger guides are not necessary and once we get to Size 1, the differences in weight are lower in priority. Of greater significance is Single versus Double Foot, placement and selection of fly line. I will post later some additional comparative pictures with the REC
single foot guides, but it is time to move on.
The pictures below illustrate, though the guides all state “Size 1″, the differences in weight are
achieved by the obvious – using smaller wire and loops.
Guide Sizing – Inner Diameter
Earlier, I documented my understanding of the static weight of affixed guides on a fly rod blank
(top) and determined there was a point of diminishing returns. Also after some experiments, I have
decided to move away from the 90′s wisdom that larger guides are better for shooting line and created a baseline for guide size selection.
I continued reading and came across a couple of articles-discussions from one of the old masters –
Tom Morgan – who advocates for the smallest guide possible – weight saving and better directional
control (reduce wobble-vibration) on the cast. On the Snake Brand web site, Tom’s recommendations were finer than mine.
Having never seen a guide fail, I asked when is a guide too small? My answer became, when it is
too small to “freely” pass a line through.
So I started measuring some lines and using Al Buhr’s Line Design book as a reference, here are my
observations:
The fly line is not the big object to get through the guides, but it is the junction between leaders, multi-tip loops if you have them and the connection to the backing. The importance of
these junctions is dependent upon the application. Examples:
Page 49
Starting with trout rods and lines:
•
•
•
•
•
In trout fishing, rarely do you get into the backing and with the exception of European
nymphing techniques, the leader is usually fully extended beyond the rod. As such for a
traditional trout rod, you are only concerned with the diameter of the fly line. Typical
maximum diameters on a specific plastic fly line (from measurements) being:
ο 3wt: 0.039″ to 0.043″
ο 4wt: 0.043″ to 0.49″
ο 5wt: 0.044″ to 0.050″
ο 6wt: 0.052″ to 0.060″
It was noted the thickest lines were Wulff TT and Airflo 40+ tapers (no surprise).
Silk lines are reported to be finer.
Given all these diameters are much smaller than any snake guide, there is no such thing
as too small of a guide for a traditional trout rod! The only consideration-exception is
some European nymphing techniques, such as the French leader, were the leader to line
connection is often in the guides, so here we need to consider the impact of junction.
How big is this junction? Having measured my many lines, I notice the variance in the
diameter of these loops was substantial, from 0.090″ to 0.165″ (excluding spey lines).
Admittedly some of the fat connections were ones I created, so I set off to create the best
junction with the resulting construction being (as illustrated below):
ο Maxima Chameleon 25 lb nail knot onto to a fly line with a perfection loop for
the leader. The resulting maximum diameter being 0.090″ to 0.100″ – matching
or better than the best OEM loop (a RIO Trout LT 5 over 0.100″).
ο If you are trying to pass OEM loops, be prepared loops as large as 0.150″ on a
trout line. If the OEM loop is bulky (greater than 0.150″) replace with the aforementioned nail knot 25lb Maxima Chameleon loop.
• Sidebar, I was once advised to use Mason hard 30lb for this connection,
but I found it too stiff, in that it harm the even energy transfer from line to
leader, and tied bulky nail knots. After some experimentation and casting,
I settle on Maxima’s 25 lb Chameleon to transition from line to leader.
How do the opinions of Tom, my measurements and reflection influence my line guide selection (at the top of the section)?
•
•
•
Page 50
3wt & 4wt traditional fly rod: Use Size 1/0 Snake Brand guides.
5wt & 6wt traditional fly rod: Use Size 1 Snake Brand guides.
An European nymph rod: REC Single Foot Recoil – Size 2.
ο Also exploring the Hopkins & Holloway single foot guides too.
If one fancies a finer rod, then go one size down! But for now, I will keep a little more space to pass
through the leader knots.
Some guide inner diameters to help me reaffirm matching “line size” to the guide.
Please note the measurements were not with the best tools (to counter the twist), so my estimated
accuracy is +- 0.01″. And yes, Snake Brand guides are smaller.
Guides – Single Handled Rod – 7wt and over
Let’s look at single handed fly rods designed-built for streamers, such as those I use for Pike and
streamers. Though these fly lines are larger than those associated with trout, like trout lines, the fly
line diameters (ranging from 0.052″ to 0.070″) are smaller than any guide. But unlike a trout line,
the need to pass a thick junction associated with multi-tip lines and shooting head will often be a frequent event, either during a cast setup or in the moment of trying to land the fish.
Page 51
If you know you will never use a shooting head or multi-tip line, use the smallest guide you are comfortable with. Otherwise, you need to plan for the junction, which I have measured from 0.100″
(using my nail knot) to 0.160″ (an Airflo 7wt Multi-tip). With a little experimentation (casting on the
lawn), I am comfortable using the Airflo on guides with an inner diameter of 0.210″ (but no less),
which then leads me to the following recommendations:
•
•
•
•
7 to 9 wt traditional fly rod: Hopkins & Holloway Size 1 minimum (at the top).
ο Alternative in single foot: Fuji TLSG 8 or REC RECoil Size 2 (at the top).
5 to 6 wt traditional fly rod: Snake Brand Size 1 maximum (at the top).
3 to 4 wt traditional fly rod: Snake Brand Size 1/0 maximum (at the top).
European nymph rod: REC RECoil single foot Size 2 (at the top).
ο Also exploring Hopkins & Holloway single foot.
As far as spey lines, the line diameters range from 0.084″ (SGS Trouter 324 gr) to 0.103″ (Airflo
570gr Skagit). But again, it is the junction that drives the need given the use of shooting head, running lines and multi-tips. What is the heaviest junction in my collection? 0.190″on a Airflo Delta
Spey Long, 9-10 Multi-Tip. This being the case, I would plan on using the following guides on a
spey rod:
•
•
•
4 to 5 wt Spey Rod: 0.210 minimum, such as Snake Brand Size 2 or Hopkins & Holloway
Size 1
6 to 7 wt Spey Rod: 0.230 minimum, such as Snake Brand Size 3 or Hopkins & Holloway
Size 2
8 to 9 wt Spey Rod: 0.250 minimum, such as H&H Size 3.
Page 52
Why am I doing this? Answer: the lack of a singular unified ”driver” from rod manufacturers, guide
suppliers and builders has resulted in some diverse recommendations and me trying to define what is
right (or best). I think this diversity illustrates there are many good answers, a few bad ones and
maybe an occasional excellent answer. So, I need to spend some time to decide what I believe is
right – by collecting some hard data and thinking about it. In this way, I am consistent for a reason I
can understand and articulate – I want a light guide that will not inhibit the use of the backing, line
and leader.
Compare guide guidelines to some production rods.
So how do my new guidelines compare to some factory built rods:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Scott G905-4 - actual diameter: 0.200 vs Snake Brand Size 1 at 0.180
Fenwick HMG 7wt – actual diameter 0.170 vs Hopkins & Holloway Size 1 at 0.210
GL3 9′ 7wt 4pc - actual diameter 0.213 vs Hopkins & Holloway Size 1 at 0.210
Meiser 1264 - actual diameter 0.245 vs Hopkins & Holloway Size 1 at 0.210
Sage Z-7136 – - actual diameter 0.245 vs Hopkins & Holloway Size 2 at 0.230
GLX 15′ 9wt - actual diameter 0.310 vs Hopkins & Holloway Size 3 at 0.250
Q: Does this change any of my new guidelines for the top guide? A: No
•
•
•
•
•
3 to 4 wt traditional fly rod: Snake Brand Size 1/0 maximum (0.160).
European nymph rod: REC Recoil Single Foot Size 2 (0.235).
ο Also exploring Hopkins & Holloway single foot.
ο 5 to 6 wt traditional fly rod: Snake Brand Size 1 maximum (0.180).
ο 7 to 9 wt traditional fly rod: Hopkins & Holloway Size 1 minimum (0.210).
ο Alternative in single foot: Fuji TLSG 8 (0.213) or REC RECoil Size 2
(0.235).
4 to 5 wt spey rod: 0.210 minimum, such as Snake Brand Size 2 or Hopkins & Holloway
Size 1
6 to 7 wt spey rod: 0.230 minimum, such as Snake Brand Size 3 or Hopkins & Holloway
Size 2
8 to 9 wt spey rod: 0.250 minimum, such as Hopkins & Holloway Size 3.
Page 53
Page 54
MHM Corner: Another Way to Hollow, Part I
Text and photos by Kurt Wolko
Several years ago I wanted to try hollowing some cane in an effort to remove some weight. I fish the
Chesapeake and was looking for a rod I could use for striped bass and redfish, but didn’t want the
heavy weight of a solid cane rod. However I did not have the hollow fluting attachment for the
handmill, and at the time, couldn’t afford one. But I did have an idea. It was winter, snow was everywhere, and I needed a diversion.
The idea I had was to build a scallop and dam attachment, which would mount on the front of the
handmill. I would mount the hand piece from a Dremel flexible shaft tool to the handmill, using the
existing cutter head mounting holes.
The first version of the jig was complete, not very elegant or attractive, but good enough for a try at
the mill. It functioned just as expected. However, the Dremel cutters were not up to the task of
Page 55
repeated cuts in cane, so I redesigned the jig to accept the hand piece from a Foredom Model S,
which I also happened to have.
I have quite a collection of woodworking tools and power equipment, but little in the way of tools to
cut metal. Luckily I had met another rod maker, Mark Wendt, several years ago, when I was having
some difficulties splitting cane into straight strips.
Well, Mark is quite the machinist, and a very generous guy. I bribed him with a bottle of Lagavulin
and we spent one Saturday making chips out in his garage.
Page 56
With the hand piece adaptor complete, the next challenge was finding a way to make the hollowing
process repeatable. My thoughts were to incorporate two adjustable hard stops into the workbench,
using a T-track, and a self adhesive scale. A toggle clamp is also being added, as I am pretty certain
the smaller tip strips will try to lift when hollowing. All these parts are still being fabricated. I hope
to have more complete results in a future article.
Using this system should allow me to get repeatable results on every strip. The carbide burrs I chose
came from McMaster-Carr and are the double cut type. I have 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2 inch diameter, and
prefer the 1/2 inch diameter for the size of the fillet radius.
The adjustable bed on the handmill, the swelled butt spacer kit, and some imagination allows almost
unlimited possibilities for internal tapers, gradual tapers to ferrule stations and grip load points, etc.
Page 57
Pictured below is the design concept for the hollowing fixture with stops and toggle clamp, and a
photo of the results on a test strip.
To be continued…
PowerFibers Online Magazine
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Zeeland MI 49464
Phone: 616-772-5043
Cell: 616-886-8695
Email: [email protected]
Power Fibers is an online magazine that is dedicated to all things
related to bamboo rodmaking and fishing. We welcome submissions of material from you, the readers. Submissions can be for
rodmaking techniques, maker interviews, product reviews, book
reviews, tapers, bamboo fishing stories or fly patterns and how to
fish them. Please visit our web site and go to the “Write for Us” link
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Transcription

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