200707 - Issue 28 Description

Our Friend Harold

Harold Hunt Demarest was born in Bloomfield, New Jersey on the 4th of July 1911. He attended Montclair Academy in Montclair, New Jersey. Harold became an Eagle Scout in 1928. He graduated from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania with a degree in business and economics. In 1934 he joined his father’s business, the Charles H. Demarest Company...

Stress Curves 102

I hope that you will find this paper more than just another version of “Stress Curves Revisited”. Most makers who look at one of the many examples of Stress Curves sort of shake their head wondering what it is they are really looking at and how they can apply it to the rod taper it is suppose to represent. Some people say they can visualize the rod taper and see how the rod will perform from the curve and some will even say they can design a rod, or at least modify one with it. Maybe they can, but if they say this they are giving you only half of the information, because a Stress Curve represents a taper under a very specific set of conditions and these conditions are not usually stated, which means the SC has no reference point and therefore means nothing to you. Let me first try to clarify exactly what it is you are looking at when you view a SC...

3rd Italian Rodmakers Gathering

I am rather inclined to be a lazy person. Travelling is not my favourite activity, especially by car. But as May and the date of the Italian gathering approaches, I start to get thrilled, full of energy and willing to move again. I look forward to seeing again my friends, well known faces, but also meeting new people. I am eager to discuss and learn. All that against the background of a shared passion: the bamboo rods...

Hand Mill Corner

In this edition of the Hand Mill Corner I will show an alternative hold down method. In addition to this, you can check out the bamboo tips page for two other ways to hold the strip onto the anvils. The Morgan Hand Mill (MHM) is made with a base and an adjustable bed set at 5” intervals, just like standard planning forms. On top of the adjustable bed is an anvil to which the strip is attached. The MHM comes with anvils for butts and tips. The wider butt and narrower tip anvils use different size screws for attaching the strips to the top of the anvils. Since tip strips are often started at a smaller dimension than butts, the hole in the tip strip is smaller.

The MHM comes with two different sizes of hold down screws designed to work....

45 Degree Depth Indicator

Some years ago I got a set of quad forms. I’ve wanted to use them, but setting them up was confusing me.

A gauge came with the forms but using it seemed to be a hassle. It had to be set for the depth and then the forms closed till the base was flush. I just set it all to the side for a long time and let it lay. One day I got to thinking, if I can attach the 45-degree point to a dial indicator, things might be a lot simpler. I made a block from 3/4 X 1" stock and made a point from 3/4" flat steel stock. The final setup is shown in the photo. I tried to use it as shown but it was not satisfactory.....

Grayrock 2007

I just returned from Grayrock 2007, and I feel compelled to give you an account of my experience. This was my first rodmaking gathering and I was unsure what to expect. Being a new builder I was not sure if I would be overwhelmed by the amount of information or pushed to the side by the experienced makers. However, I figured I would at least get away to the perfect location for some fishing. So I booked a room at Rayburn’s lodge, which I would share with a couple guys I had never met.

Grayrock, for those of you that don’t know, takes place the third weekend of June on the banks of the famed Au Sable River, in Northern Michigan. This gathering not so coincidently takes place....

World’s Sexiest Rod

The title of this article sounds like something I would expect from People Magazine. Coming to the realization there was something as the sexiest fly rod was an unexpected discovery. Even more so, the rod that earns this title will be more of a surprise to most people – it surprised me.

Some of today’s best fly rods have been described in various terms: one sweet rod, understated elegance, a casting machine, etc. Above all they are viewed as functional pieces of art. Today’s trend has been towards minimal....

Classic Taper: Shakespeare 8’6” 3/4 WT

William Henry Shakespeare Jr., founder of the Shakespeare Co., son of a Kalamazoo Michigan Banker and civil war veteran began his manufacturing career as a maker of precision camera shutters. Legend has it that Shakespeare, an avid angler, came upon a fellow angler cursing the crude and malfunctioning level wind mechanism on his casting reel. Shakespeare, a talented metalworker and machinist, had made several reels for himself and his friends. He swore that he could make a level wind....

New Version of the Quad Bamboo Ferrule

Bamboo ferrules are theoretically (and practically) a very attractive alternative to metal ferrules: they are light in weight and therefore should minimally affect the function of the rod. There are different kinds of bamboo ferrules and joint structures; some of those are easy to build (e.g. scarf joint and scarf ferrules covered with a shrink tube) while some are more complicated and require several accurate steps in construction....

4, 5 and 6 Strip Split Cane Rods Compared

First, let's be clear that any good rodmaker can build an excellent fishing rod in four, five, or six strip construction. Which you choose or prefer is mainly a matter of personal preference: how you cast, what type of water and fish you prefer, and so on. The type of construction depends on what you want in a rod. Each type does, however, exhibit its own characteristics; a deflection board will quickly show them....

Breaking In, Fishing, Maintaining and Repairing the Finish of Silk Fishing Lines

Silk fly lines were originally designed for bamboo fly rods. They have the Three S’s required of a fly line used on any great fly rod. They are: Soft, Supple, and Skinny.

To enjoy the benefits they provide the fly fisher for fooling selective trout, you'll need to follow a few rules to reap the distinct advantages they offer over synthetic fly lines. Below, I’ll give you some brief pointers on the preparation, care, and attention required for silk fly lines that will help make your cane fishing experience trouble free....

How to Make a Scraper

Although I do not know who coined this phrase, perhaps a maker of split cane rods could have been the author. One thing that really amazed me as I started the research to build my first bamboo fly rod was the numerous variety and design of tools available to the builder.

I came to bamboo rod building in a round about way. As a long-time angler, I grew up in an era of fiberglass rods. I can remember....

Cane & Conway - A Fishing Bag Primer

Cane rods and a fine fishing bag, they go hand in hand . . . or at least they used to. As rare as it is to meet another cane fly fisher on stream, a rarer occurrence is to meet another fly fisher with a fishing bag instead of a vest or chest pack. Meeting someone who fishes with both? Forget about it....

A Review of Mr. Garrison’s Fly Rod Designs

Mr. Garrison was a very methodical man; he is the only rod designer that has consistently used the same design pattern for all of his Bamboo Rod Tapers that I’m aware of. Each of his tapers listed in his book A Masters Guide to Building a Bamboo Fly Rod follow the same design pattern. That is to say, he developed a Stress Curve Profile which he has followed in every rod taper. In the following paragraphs I am going to explain his design methods in some detail and attempt to describe why a Garrison rod taper is so unique.

First let’s look at where Mr. Garrison started when he settled on his final method of designing tapers. In Chapter 14, Mr. Carmichael, who actually wrote the book, describes how Garrison instructed him to do the design calculations for the famous rod....

Penobscot 2006 Gathering Highlights

The Penobscot River is home to the Eddington Salmon Club and host to a gathering of rodmakers. There’s a wee bit of angling history there too. Below Bob Milardo offers a welcome and an invitation to attend the 2007 Gathering to be held Oct. 5-7. Space is limited so register early. You can phone Bob....

July 2007Issue 28