Tom S Posted June 30, 2017 Report Share Posted June 30, 2017 Just wanted to show off a project I've been working on recently. First some background. Back in March I picked up a bamboo fly rod in serious need of a rebuild. Unfortunately after a bit of detective work I was told that it is a Japanese made rod from the late 40's or early 50's and not worth much. Not even worth the time for a rebuild. However, a fellow rod maker who is slowing down offered me a 'proper' american made bamboo rod to rebuild if I wanted. I jumped on it, and have been working on it when I can. A couple nights ago I put on the final coats of spar varnish. I don't have any really good before pictures, but you can imagine how the varnish looked after 60 years. Quite yellowed, orange peeled in spots, with some embedded dirt. The reel seat was removed, which was not difficult as it was almost falling off. The cork came off with a bit of persuasion as well. The ferrules took some heat to melt out the adhesive holding them on, I think it was a rosin of some sort as it stank. Lots of elbow grease with a rag and some alcohol got the bank stripped down to bare bamboo, and because I wasn't using any harsh strippers the rod logo was not damaged. I did loose the inscription, but since this is a personal rod I'm not to worried about it. I know what the rod is. The next step after that was to wipe a coat of spar varnish on the rod, and once that had cured I started installing components. First up was a new cork grip, in a 'Ritz' template. I buy them pre-shaped and with the inlet already cut - the guy I buy them from does a much better job that I can with my current setup. Next was a new reel seat, this time a threaded locking seat instead of the simple slip rings that were installed before. Ferrules were polished up with some elbow grease and powdered pumice and installed again. Next came wrapping all the guides. Some guys hate this part, I actually find it enjoyable. This was my first time wrapping with silk thread, which took some figuring as the thread is much thinner than the nylon that I am used to wrapping with. But, I got a technique figured out and started having fun. I went with red thread with black trim bands. The red silk will go translucent when coated with spar varnish, while the black will stay bold and dark. Once the wrapping was completed (18 wraps I think) I began applying spar varnish. Each wrap received 1 coat of thinned varnish to make sure the thread was saturated fully, then 2 coats of straight varnish to build up smooth coat. The final coat of varnish was applied over the entire rod section to blend everything together. A couple days to let the varnish harden up and it's ready to go. I gave it a quick test cast this afternoon and found it paired well with a 7wt line. Nice slow action, and it carried the line well. Can't wait to get it out on the water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodenboater Posted June 30, 2017 Report Share Posted June 30, 2017 (edited) niiiiice ! bet you're looking forward to the first cast I hope you rebuild the one that's not supposed to be worth the effort. Anything bamboo deserves love. and a great Canada Day long weekend to everyone at OFC ! Edited June 30, 2017 by woodenboater Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misfish Posted June 30, 2017 Report Share Posted June 30, 2017 THAT, is a piece of work. Crisp and clean. Can I ask why the flat end on the handle? You didn't want to tapper it down for some reason? Sweet rod Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom S Posted July 1, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2017 niiiiice ! bet you're looking forward to the first cast I hope you rebuild the one that's not supposed to be worth the effort. Anything bamboo deserves love. and a great Canada Day long weekend to everyone at OFC ! Actually... as part of being given the H-I Beaverkill rod to rebuild I had to promise to destroy the Japanese rod. They don't really have any collector value, but a few of them have been rebuilt and passed off as better rods. Big no-no in the bamboo community. So it got a viking funeral yesterday. THAT, is a piece of work. Crisp and clean. Can I ask why the flat end on the handle? You didn't want to tapper it down for some reason? The flat end is how a Ritz style grip is shaped. Charles Ritz (of the hotel family) was an avid fly fisherman who wrote A Fly Fishers Life, invented the parabolic rod action, and developed a high-speed casting stroke. This grip was developed by him, and has a large flat front that tapers slightly towards rear of the grip. I tend towards larger grips on my rods, and had a rod with a Ritz grip a while ago - I found I like the beefiness of it. The original bamboo rod had a straight grip without any taper, the Rtiz grip stays along those lines but dresses things up just a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leaf4 Posted July 1, 2017 Report Share Posted July 1, 2017 Beautiful work, love the colours! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiel Posted July 1, 2017 Report Share Posted July 1, 2017 Looks great Tom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave524 Posted July 1, 2017 Report Share Posted July 1, 2017 That is really cool and nice restore job. I would love to see a Canadian made Horrocks Ibbotson bamboo fly rod if they did make any in Canada. As a long time resident here in Grimsby I've came across a bit of trivia years ago the they had a factory in town here as well . Came up with this link on a search just now. http://ontariolures.com/lurecompanies/horrocks.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiel Posted July 1, 2017 Report Share Posted July 1, 2017 LOL.....I'm not surprised to see Jim Greenaway's name atop that article.Good friend of mine and an all things fishing local history buff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom S Posted July 1, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2017 That is really cool and nice restore job. I would love to see a Canadian made Horrocks Ibbotson bamboo fly rod if they did make any in Canada. As a long time resident here in Grimsby I've came across a bit of trivia years ago the they had a factory in town here as well . Came up with this link on a search just now. http://ontariolures.com/lurecompanies/horrocks.html Really? Had no idea. I wonder if there is any way to identify a Canadian made rod? Time to do some digging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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