The Oregonian's Bill Monroe!

Go Back   www.ifish.net > Ifish Archives > Ifish 2001 archives

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 06-02-2001, 09:49 PM   #1
SuperT
Steelhead
 
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Kuna, ID
Posts: 447
Default Bamboo Rod Restoration

Does anyone know who or where I can go to to have an old bamboo fly rod restored for a fairly reasonable fee. It needs quite a lot of work, but I can't afford the $300 plus materials that some of the restorers I've seen on the internet want. If anyone can point me in the right direction, I'd appreciate it. Thanks.
Tony
__________________
In my opinion, stupid should hurt!!!
SuperT is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-02-2001, 11:23 PM   #2
smilesforu
Tuna!
 
Join Date: May 2000
Location: Port Angeles
Posts: 1,147
Default Re: Bamboo Rod Restoration

Tony to save money look in the mirror. Study and learn the techniques to do it right and you will enjoy the journey.
__________________
Marty M
Steelheader.net
smilesforu is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-03-2001, 12:19 AM   #3
Sparkey
Coho
 
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Everett, Wa
Posts: 54
Default Re: Bamboo Rod Restoration

Look up Ray Gould from Edmonds, Wa. He does an outstanding job but alas, I do not know his prices.
__________________
Ryan S. Petzold
aka Special and/or Sparkey
Sparkey is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-03-2001, 08:54 AM   #4
WheresMyBobber
Tuna!
 
Join Date: Dec 2000
Posts: 1,433
Default Re: Bamboo Rod Restoration

smilesforu is right - you can learn how to do it yourself, and it isn't that hard. I've redone a couple bamboo fly rods, and it was quite satisfying to see the project through and go catch some fish with them. There are books on rod refinishing that should help a lot.

I would make sure the rod you want to refinish isn't collectible, because refinishing a collectible rod may ruin the value. In reality, the majority of bamboo fly rods aren't worth very much, but a few are quite valuable.
WheresMyBobber is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-03-2001, 10:01 AM   #5
SuperT
Steelhead
 
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Kuna, ID
Posts: 447
Default Re: Bamboo Rod Restoration

I'm not sure if the rod I have would be considered collectable or not. It wouldn't really matter though since it will NEVER be sold. It was custom made close to 50 years ago by a man named Chuck Olson who lived in the Tacoma, WA area most of his life. He made the rod for my grandfather. Both have since passed on, so doing it myself would definitely mean a lot. I just have no idea where to start or where to go for materials.
__________________
In my opinion, stupid should hurt!!!
SuperT is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-03-2001, 10:35 AM   #6
WheresMyBobber
Tuna!
 
Join Date: Dec 2000
Posts: 1,433
Default Re: Bamboo Rod Restoration

Given the rods history, I would guess that it has more sentimental value than collector value. That probably means more anyway. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

I bet your local library has some rod building books. I also did a quick internet search on "Bamboo fishing rods" and "making fishing rods" and there is lots of info to reference there as well.

Refinishing a bamboo rod isn't that much different than refinishing or building any other rod. The most critical part of refinishing a bamboo rod is getting the old varnish off without ruining the bamboo. I have used a small square piece of glass to carefully scrape the varnish off one side at a time. This way you maintain the octagon edges and aren't using any solvents that may ruin the glue holding the pieces of cane together. After that it's just a matter of adding a new coat of varnish and wrapping the old (or new) guides back on, and doing any ornate wrappings you want. (make sure you take measurements of the current guide placement and spacing before you take them off) There are some tricks that will help with varnishing the rod and the guide wrapping that you should be able to read about in a rod building book. I don't see my rod building books on my bookshelf, I probably loaned them to somebody and never got them back. [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img]

Good luck!
WheresMyBobber is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Cast to



All times are GMT -8. The time now is 01:49 AM.

Terms of Service
Page generated in 0.06501 seconds with 10 queries