I decided to make a 7’6″ 5 weight designed by Tim Abbott – the Abbot Paraverage.This design is a great all around fly rod. I plan on donating this rod to a local fundraiser so it should be a great introduction to the joys of fishing with cane for someone.
In the last post I had just completed baking the rough planed strips of bamboo to straighten them and get out any residual moisture.
Once the strips are out of the oven the finish planning begins. A metal planing form is setup based on the final taper of the rod to be produced. The taper is the primary factor that controls the action of the rod. The planing form has a set of set screws every five inches to adjust for various tapers. Once the form is set up the final planning begins each strip is laid into the form and hand planed creating tapered strips that retain a 60 degree V-angle.
After all the strips are completed, they are laid out in order, glue is applied, then they are bound together with a string binding machine which exerts equal pressure along the rod blank as the glue dries.
After the glue cures the string is removed and the rod blank is sanded. After sanding is completed the ferrules, tip top and grip are added and the rod is ready for the finishing touches – adding the guides and wraps.
Reel seats – I enjoy turning my own reel seats, this allows me to give each rod a unique highlight. For this rod I’m using padauk an african hardwood with a deep reddish color.
Greybeard Flyrods 