One method of un-bowing a bamboo that was suggested to me, was to hold the rod over an electic stove element to warm the bow. We only have a gas stove, and somehow the flames from gas compared to the heat from electric coils just don’t seem to match up!! Before I totally screw up this rod … will the heat from a hairdryer, on high, be enough? Can an alchol burner produce the same effect? Or do I need to invest in a new range? :roll:
PS … ferruls and rod seat were a piece of cake … aka beginners luck!
How about a heating pad or electric blanket?
I dunno. Just a thought.
Gemrod
BTW are you un bowing a new boo you are building…or trying to take the set out of an old boo? I ask because I have purchased a couple and they both have sets in them.
Actually, it’s a very old, inexpensive rod, that I’m working with before starting on a new blank. Figured if I could pull off redoing an old rod and make it fishable again, I’d have a bit of confidance starting a new boo.
steam should work well without the risk of burning the wood. steam is used in woodworking all the time for either making a bow or straightening warped wood. i would be best to strip off the old varnish then alppying the steam. apply the steam evenly thru the whole section. do this by placing it in a PVC pipe with screw ends, then use tubing from the top of a pressure cooker, or any other steam source, to the PVC, allow for a vent hole. steam for 30 minutes then remove and place the section on a premade jig to hold it straight while it cools. you should have a straight section now.
Hey Betty,
on older rods, as you know, you have to be really careful with the varnish as it will react to heat much more quickly than will a newer rod. Of course overheating is not good for any bamboo rod for that matter so judgement of “how much is too much?” comes into play. too much is when the rod section feels too hot for the hand to be comfortable.
One of the things that I have found that worked really well for me in straightening out a section that was varnished was a plain old fashioned heating pad. I simply enclose the section in the heating pad for a short while until it heats up through and through, then begin to straighten it then let it cool, and keep on adjusting until I have it where I want it. Works for me much better than anything I tried on a varnished section. If it weren’t varnished, it would be a different story…
Hope you get it all straightend out and it turns into a great fisher for you
Leo
Leo,
What would you suggest for an un varnished rod? It’s got varnish on it now, but I do need to strip everything on it and start over. Coud certainly straighten after stripping the finish.
Betty
Betty, I agree with the others. Heating pad and I used a fairly heavy book. Worked for me. The other option, send it too me, Ill straighten it and let ya know how it fishs :lol:
I use a heat gun most of the time on unfinished sections using great caution to keep from overheating it. In the past, I have used an iron, based on a thread on the classic cane forum and it does word very very well, but once again you have to monitor the temperature feel of the cane to keep from over heating it and risking delamination. When I use the iron, it is typically on a section that has very little bend in it. U lay the section on a flat board and go over all six sides of the boo to try to get a uniform heat feel to it, then I straighten, lay it flat on the board, let it cool and do further adjustments as needed. Pretty much the same thing with a heat gun.
For a long section that has a lot of bow in it, I have a board that is very flat with a v groove in it that runs from end to end. I have used that successfully too by heating the section laying it in the groove and laying another flat board on top of it and letting it cool.
If it were ME, I’d use one of my nifty little brass alchohol lamps to straighten it. You can get the brass ones from Russ at Goldenwitch for something like $80, or if you can find one in an antique store (with it’s torch head still attached, most likely), it will run you $15-20, or you can pick up one of the glass ones from your local craft/hobby store for around $10-15. The main thing to remember is to keep your hands close to the area you are heating (if the rod’s too hot to do this, IT’S TOO HOT and you’re at risk of burning the cane) and to keep rotating the rod and moving it back and forth over the flame as you heat it. Then just gently bend it the way you want it to go and hold it there till it cools. Be sure to only bend the rod on one axis, or you’ll have to untwist it as well.
Regards,
Joe Martin
I have used an electric toaster to heat up a bamboo tip section for straightening. The rectangular slot heats a large area with very controlable results. Just set the toaster on high and rotate the rod about 1" over the toast opening.
Betty, I just couldn’t resist: why don’t you just hold until a nice summer Kansas day? Seems like those are “steamy” enough to put a bend into anything. JGW
Hey everyone, here is a very neat excerpt from on of Harry Boyd’s articles on Global Fly Fisher…pretty neat and that whole series is going to be an educational read for me. In the process of printing it off, but since this was a topic of discussion at the time, felt only fitting to post Harry’s comments here. They seem to be suppoprtive of what has already been mentioned but still yet a great little excerpt.
"
Despite our best efforts to prevent twists and bends chances are good we will still have some small problems. Now is the time to eliminate those trouble. First we will remedy any twists. Begin with one of your tip sections on your flat surface. Gently press a fingertip down on each end. Remove one fingertip and observe the rod section as you do. If the rod section rotates even slightly, there is a twist. Moving our hands closer together and farther apart, up and down the section, will isolate the twist. We may well find more than one twist per section, and sometimes even in opposite directions. Work only on one twist at a time. I suspect you will find that the problems are near nodes. Mark the direction to ?un-twist? in pencil on a rod flat.
To eliminate the twist we will slowly heat the rod section to the point where it is pliable, and twist in the opposite direction, holding the bend we induced until the rod section has cooled. Do not wear gloves for this operation. Fingertips are our best guide to when the section is warm enough to be pliable. If the section ever gets too hot to hold with bare hands there is real danger of damaging the rod.
I heat the section over a heat gun on its lowest setting. The small end of tips take only five to ten seconds to get warm enough to bend when held about an inch above the nozzle of my Wagner heat gun. Again, our fingertips are our guide. Warm only a section of the bamboo the same width as the heat gun nozzle, constantly moving it away and feeling the section like a mother checks her child?s forehead for fever. When it is warm to the touch, but not so warm it scalds, immediately twist and hold the section into an inverse twist, keeping the section as straight as possible. Hold things in that position for a minute or so, then check the progress on a flat surface. Taking things slowly here works much more effectively than trying to go too fast.
Larger rod sections must be heated more slowly. Again, use the heat gun on its lowest setting but hold the section several inches above the heat source. Again, we use our fingers as our guide. Warm the section till it is almost as hot as can be stood without being uncomfortable. Twist and hold and inverse twist into the section. Remove all the twists before beginning work on any bends or kinks.
Bends and kinks are removed in a similar manner to twists. Start at the tip and locate the bends by slowly rolling the section on a flat surface while watching to see if the tip rises above the surface. Isolate the bend by pressing down on one flat at a time while moving your fingers up and down the rod section. Heat slowly, bend in the opposite direction, and hold that bend till the rod section is cool. Heat even more slowly as you progress to larger sections of the rod.
How straight is straight? Only you can answer that question. If I can find any bend or twist at all I keep working. Physics majors will tell us there is really no such thing as a straight line, but I want my rod sections as straight as I can possibly get them.
The process of removing twists and bends is not as tricky or as difficult as I make it sound. Be careful, work slowly, and take frequent breaks and you will produce sections which make you proud.
Once again, From Harry Boyd’s article(s) on Global Fly Fisher