Making the Fiberglass Ferrule
I have been experimenting with fiberglass ferrules, with a lot of discussion and excess material from
my friend Mike McFarland. I finally settled on this method as it works well for the quads and hexes
I make. I am sure it will work for other strip configurations.
The basic ferrule is cut from a thin walled shallow tapered blank or a vintage scrap rod. In this article
I used a new white glass blank with ferrule stock. If you don't have access to ferrule stock make
sure you double wall (a piece inside) your spigot.....
Finding the Main Characteristics of Your Rods
This article describes the method that I use to characterize fly rods. Here is a description of the materials
needed:
• Two clamps on a table, or a vise to hold (gently) the rod in horizontal position.
• A series or two of precisely measured masses (with a jewelry scale for example) with a maximum
mass of approximately 1 oz (I use 5.0, 10.0 and 20.0 grams masses, and 30 grams is the
maximum I use in practice). Using rounded values is not mandatory but it is very important to
maintain precision when calculating the characteristics of the rod. So if you use 4.8 grams; 8.6
grams; 12.7 grams, etc., it is all right....
Making a Ventilated Grip
I made my first ventilated grip three years ago, largely because it is unique and not something you see very often on a fly rod. What I’ve discovered is the ventilated grip has several benefits; most importantly because of the gaps in the grip, I don’t tend to squeeze the rod quite as tightly and have more accurate and comfortable cast. In the rods I’ve built since, I’ve changed and refined my process to the point where I’m happy to share. Just like anything else when making fly rods, there are many ways to get to the same finish, this is just the way that works best for me....
