Several months ago I posted the following question to all you rod builders.

"Is it too late for a 60+ year old to learn to build good bamboo rods?"

Well, thanks to all of the encouragement received from my friends at FAOL I jumped head long into the addictive world of boo. Along the way, planing forms, binder, oven, sharpening jigs, and wrapping stands all became separate projects required to complete the rod. It has been a wonderful challenge and I think I can now answer the question myself. No, it is never too late to learn something new.

The rod is not quite complete, lacking the lettering and the final coats of varnish but I just couldn?t wait any longer to take some photos and share the results. It is a 7?-6?, 2 piece, 2 tip, 4 wgt., built to the Jim Payne 100 taper. The guides are Snake Brand and the reel seat and hardware are from Golden Witch. My only regret is that I did not use a little better grade of cork to build up the grip. But then again I never thought my first attempt would be good enough to justify it.

I am currently putting the finishing touches on a dip tube set up so I can get the varnish right and pouring over taper charts trying to settle on what the next rod will be.

Thanks to all for getting me kick started. I think!