"...pretty much everything I do is on a budget..."

sounds like me .... and - I'm nearly ready to get into working with my culm - finally. It's been months (since mid-April) that I've been reading - and about late Aug / early Sept I really stepped into it.

I'm a do-it-myselfer kind of person. For making the blank - from plane form, soak tube, binder, oven, torch, dial guage, vernier, mallet, fro, plane - I think I didn't spend more than $300.

I'm making a wooden plane form - with a steel one being costed out from a local tool shop (know the owner). The wood one will get me going and any 'secrets' I want changed I can do with the steel one. Soak tube - 4inch dia. PVC pipe with 2 caps. Oven - 8inch by 14 inch tin ducting with a rack, a heat gun, and a digital thermometer. Torch (had one). Plane (had one). Dial and vernier (bought). Mallet and fro (made them). Binder - made it.
None of my stuff looks like the precision made / crafted binders, plane forms, ovens that can be bought. However they will do the job, and that's what I'm looking for without lots of upfront capitol expenditures. If I like bamboo making - I'll upgrade and spend more later.

It's easy (like anything flyfishing related) to go overboard and spend copious amounts of money. But - to get started you really don't have to. More costly tools do help - I will agree - but for the economically challenged ... not necessary.

I keep reminding mysefl - they made these things hundreds of years back - shouldn't be that hard.

darrell,