How a Milling Machine Makes a Bamboo Fly Rod

Creating bamboo fly rods is a skill that requires careful attention to detail. Many bamboo rod makers are small-scale makers, but others are large manufacturers. There are several bamboo rod companies that have gained the respect of bamboo fly rod enthusiasts. These include Montague and Heddon, as well as Winston and Orvis.

Making bamboo rods requires specialized tools. Some rod makers will use a milling machine, while others will hand-plane strips into a predetermined shape. Most rod makers will use a handheld block plane. The HL Leonard Rod Company, for instance, uses a beveler, a tool that is considered a valuable trade secret. It is a tool that allows a rod maker to flatten the nodes of a bamboo culm and to ensure that each node is staggered evenly along the blank.

Bamboo fly rods are often manufactured in hexagonal form. A culm of bamboo can be up to twelve feet in length. Each culm is unique, and the characteristics of the bamboo culm need to be tailored to meet the specifications of the rod. There are more than 1,000 species of bamboo.

In the first half of the 19th century, bamboo was used for a variety of capacities, and in its most rustic form. The first fly-rod makers used bamboo from India. Others used Calcutta cane. By the mid-19th century, bamboo rods were probably manufactured in three or four-strip configurations. There were also bamboo rods with octagonal and pentagonal cross-sections.

Bamboo rods were probably originally made with wooden butt sections. After a bamboo rod maker discovered the benefits of bamboo rods, a six-strip rod became standard. The six-strip rod remains the standard today.

Bamboo rods are hollow-fluted, which allows for greater responsiveness. The rods are designed to maximize bamboo power fibers. Bamboo rods are typically finished with a varnish or oil. Finishing options include yacht varnish, which gives a satin-like appearance, or hand-rubbed pure tung oil. The latter requires more time and work.

Bamboo fly rods are usually finished with hardware, including reel seat blanks, grip mounts, guide wraps and rod varnish. Quality bamboo rodmakers will spend a considerable amount of time and effort on these small details, but will not compromise aesthetics. Many bamboo fly rod makers share their best practices online, and this can help bamboo rod makers test new ideas.

When choosing a bamboo rod, it's important to consider the specific needs of the person casting the rod. For example, if the rod will be used with 5 weight lines, it is important to choose a rod that is made of the right material. Using rods made of flamed bamboo or blonde bamboo are both acceptable options. Other types of finishes are also available, such as impregnating cane and oil.

Bamboo fly rods are a fun way to cast. They are accurate and present flies beautifully. They also present the flies with a lot of line mending ability. Unlike glass or carbon fly rods, they have the advantage of being lightweight.