The end of my nodeless construction for bamboo rod - my #3 built

It's almost to the end of this project.. the rod wraps just need a few coat of varnish and that's it. Another great learning process in bamboo fly rod making.

I guess I will be planning for my 4th one soon....................................

Lathing reel seat and cork grip for the "node less" boo

Last weekend, I managed to finish the reel seat and grip. Got a cheap stainless steel rings for the sliding band.


Not bad, considering it is dirt cheap.. but looks kinda neat.

Lathed the grip and then fitted in..



I have decided not cap the end of the butt. I just applied 2 coats of clear epoxy to seal the ends.


Next for the guides....

Nodeless construction for bamboo rod - continued

Finally ... my "nodeless" bamboo rod is taking shape....



Extra precaution have to be taken during the planing of the bamboo strips as the strips are made of multiple short length of bamboo glued together..


The planed tip and butt section was glued, bind and was left to set for 48 hours before the thread was removed and the excessive glue stripped.



Completed my nodeless bamboo rod blank..... now for the finishing part...

Bamboo from Bernam River

I have been trying to make bamboo rods from bamboo of different area and of different species. It is difficult to differentiate the exact species of bamboo, I must say.

The only method to check whether the bamboo is suitable to make rod is to examine the cross section of the bamboo before I start the process.

I harvested a few culms of local bamboo from Sungai Bernam a couple of months back. The fiber looks dense and very promising. But the color is brownish when it's dried, even when not flamed.


So, the project started. This bamboo is more manageable than the previous bamboo harvested from Sungai Batangsi in Semenyih. It is straighter and have lesser nodes.



The bamboo was flamed and hand split to about 20 strips.

The next step will be straightening. This time, it will be much easier.................