Stripping Bamboo question
I have an old H-I rod I want to bring back to life. I plan on replacing the cork and reel seat, all guides. The rod is wrapped about every inch and a half. Can i eliminate these wraps or do they need to be redone? They must be there for a purpose or is it just looks? I appreciate any help or comments, thanks, Jonezee
Jonezee, those are called intermediate wraps and int he early days of bamboo they were there to help support the rod during the fighting action with larger fish on. As you can see, they pretty much don't exist anymore in the rods of today due to changes in glues, processes etc. You can eliminate them but it will change the action of your rod. Some say the action change is very noticable, others say it is negligible. I have omitted them on a few old rods and could not tell any significant difference in the way the rod felt. a couple of those have caught quite a few fish over the years, without the intermediates, and they are timex for sure!!!
Thank you Dleo6446. I have never fished this rod, I found it in the basement of our farm house when we bought it years ago. It is still in origional tube, sock etc. but you can see the rod was well used. No structual flaws so when I re-do it, it will all be new to me. Do you have any suggestions on how to best remove all those wraps without hurting the rod? I plan to use Citrus paint remover on the blank.
Jonezee,
after you have applied the citrus liberally to the blank, let it soak a good 10 minutes then wipe it off...(make sure you wear rubber gloves too, that stuff is bad new on the skin). After you have wiped it off, you may opt to apply a second coat for those stubborn places.
After you have removed all of the old varnish, use a single edge razor blade and cut the threads along the top of the guide feet. You can keep that sharp edge away from the bamboo that way. When you get the guides off, you may want to use 0000 steel wool to smoothe out the boo and get it ready for refinishing. Many times, the old guide feet will leave a black mark where they had accumulated moisture over the years. that is especially true with older production rods as they were skimpy with the varnish many times. Most of the time, that black stain is extremely hard to remove from the boo. If you plan on going back with a different guide spacing then it presents no problem. If you plan on respacing the guides to somthing more conducive to a good fishing rod, then you may decide that you want to try bleach on the spots, rubbing it in with the 0000 wool. sometimes that will take them out but it is rare and only works when the stain is only on the surface.
What series of HI is it? They used to write the name of the series on one face of the blank, in the direction of the grip, in white. The other thing, what does the label look like. the shape and colors of the label are a giveaway to the age of the rod.
The rod does not have any white markings on it. A decal, elongated diamond, red center. The reel seat also is stamped with the same logo. The rod is 3 pc. with two tips. The cork is cigar shaped.
Dleo6446 - You have really perked my interest now in the vintage of the rod. I went on line and found a site that described the decal's used by H-i and have narrowed mine down to the Elongated diamond - red center- Utica NY in center and "Best by Test" on the banner. This is both on the decal and the stamp on the nickel plated butt. It appears this places the rod somewhere between 1933 and 1939. The rod is in pretty fair shape, only would need one guide rewrapped. Should I leave it alone or do what I intended to do, strip it, new guides and use it? I really appreciate your help, knowledge and advise. Thank you again, Jonezee
I think I would go for it. The H-I's are considered production rods and they are really out there in great numbers. You hit the nail on the head with the years and in all probability, it has some really good boo in it. Problem is, there arent enough guides on her to let the rod do the work and to evenly distribute the load when you have a fish on. I have taken quite a few of these old H-I's and made some pretty decent, but heavy, fishing rods out of them. Now if that was a Heddon or a Granger or better, we may be talking a different route to follow...
Have fun, it will be a very rewarding experience for you. Anything that anyone can do to help, just ask, this board is full of great folks with great advice. May be som e differences of opinion, but I guess that is why the good Lord made apples and oranges!!!
Leo
[This message has been edited by dleo6446 (edited 08 March 2006).]
Thank you Dleo6446. I am going to take your advise and re-do the rod. You are correct I believe about the boo. No nicks, decent color, light blond and a very straight rod with both tips. The years in the rafters in the basement next to the floor appears to have done no harm to the rod. The reel seat is is in very fine shape and the cork has no flaws at all. No hooks set into it or chunks out of it. I think I will use the reel seat and cork first out, strip the rod, replace and add guides as outlined in "how to" in another column I read here and try it out. If it is as good as I think it may be, I can look at new reel set and handle later. Wueation: Is there a online store to buy guides? I would like an agate guide for the stripper and black for the snakes and tip. I very much appreciate your help and encouragement Dleo, I look forward to showing you the finish product someday soon. Jonezee
One more think Dleo, I will take before and after photo's. Since you are the Apple and I am the Orange I am very confident that this will turn out fine.
Leo - I am just enjoying this beginning restoration process to no end. I read your thread down the log her..........
"it pays homage to those that gave us these great old rods when we put them back into service and they can once
I realize you quoted another fly fisher, but the sentance hit home. I have another bamboo rod that I cherish and I would like to share that with you someday soon. I don't think you have ever seen anything like it. I will be brining it to the Michigan Fish In, I hope to see you there.
Who says life is dull? Fly Fishing and Bamboo make life fun. Jonezee
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