As
mentioned in the New Rods List, I also make a number of custom rods for
customers who wish to wait for a while. From time to time I'll add a
rod or two to this link.
For 2012
Rod #1
The rod pictured below is the third rod for this customer. He and I discussed what
he wished in a rod and fittings. This is the result. The result is a rod 6'6" three weight and was
constructed with mildly flamed cane, high grade cork, titanium snake
guides, black ceramic Hopkins and TollwayHolloway stripper and a black H&H
hook keeper. The reel seat was made of maple stained very dark and
completed with a hand -rubbed varnish finish. In keeping this the
overall look, the customer chose red wrappings c/w 2 turn black trim
wraps. The nickel silver ferrules, hosel and skeleton reel seat bands
are all blued. The reel shown was a very much appreciated gift
from another customer.
Rod #2
This
is the first rod for this customer. His wife booked a rod in the build
line last Xmas and although we attempted many times to get together to
select tapers and fittings but the weather and roads always won. Finally we got a chance to
meet, exchange ideas on what the customer would like. He chose a 7'9" 5
wt. TU Taper of which I developed and have now made
several rods. The rod was fitted with a Andersen Reel seat c/w a Box
Alder Burl that complements both the cane color and tan
wrappings. The tan wraps are completed with a two turn dark olive trim.
The nickel silver fitting were left bright. The snake guides are
Perfection hard chromed with a Hopkins and Holloway tip tops. The strip
guide is Mildrum Carbaoly. Like the rod above, the reel shown was a gift from others and is not part of the rod package.
For 2013
Rod #1
The
rod below is the first cane rod for this customer. He chose a green
micrata reelseat for his rod The guide wraps chosen were lime green c/w
darker green tipping.
For 2014
There
were two "custom" rods made between 2013 - both for me - a 4 and 5
strippers. Both in 7'6" length of 4 or 5 wright lines. I have used the
4 stripper for several years on southern Alberta Cutthroat. The 5
stripper taper was too stiff for my liking and I'm back plotting a
different taper.
For 2015
This
is a first rod for this customer. He desired a 8'0" 5 weight rod for
lake fishing and I suggested that he look over Chris Carlin's Web site
for the deflection curves Chis has plotted. see http://www.carlinbamboo.com/essays/deflection.htm
After some discussion, the customer decided on a Dickerson
8013 [1949] model. The handle design is patterned after a rod handle he
owns and likes. The handle would have required 13 corks so some
modification of the cork numbers was required. He chose titanium
snake guides, a black carboloy stripped, blued reel seat, hosel and
ferrules. The reel seat insert is an imregnated burl that has been dyed
and protected by hand rubbed varnish coats. The wrap colours are deeper
red c/w 2 turns of black tipping. Thre ferrule tabs are
wrapped with black thread in keeping with the colour of the components.
For 2016/17
With the slowing of Alberta's economy, the rod orders have fallen off slightly allowing me to spend some time in expermentaion. This
year I'm working on my techniues for hollow building a rod. Using
the Paul Young Para 15 taper I know well and use often, I
explanded the taper to compensate for the hollowing. The hollows are 2"
long followed by a 3/4" dam. The butt section was hollowed from end to
end stopping 8" from the ferrule whereas the tip was hollowed only for
25 inches or so. The removal of the pith material left a side wall of
0.073" off power fibers. Power fibers are typically 0.080" thick. The
reel seat insert is mesquite, with all the metal componets
including stripper guides blued. The snake guides and tip top are
black coated titanium plated. A modified full wells grip was chosen. The grip is 6 1/4" long.
Below
are two pictures of the hollowing equipment with the resultant
scallops. These pictures are of a 4 strip rod [Quad] that I'm working
on now. Got to have it done for the yearly cutthroat trip. In
this case the scallops are similar as the Para 15 rod above with the
side wall adjusted to maintian the same sized gluing
surface as the rod above. Both of these rods are experimental as there
is not a lot of information available on hollowing techniques. Items to
be determined include: 1] length of scallops 2] length of dams 3]whether dams are required 4] types of glue 5] areas left without scallops 6] and the big one - compensation of taper to off-set pith removal
The tool below allows adjustment of 0.002" increments. The power is a Makita router which powers a carbide burr.