One of the things I love about building bamboo rods is the fact that you can do so much with them to make them fun to fish and aesthetically appealing…That is why I prefer building the 2 piece rods, for both performance and feel to my preferences…
Here is a neat little Payne 98 taper, that Tim Zietak made the blanks for, with a Zietak hooded cap reel seat with Spanish Cedar insert. The hardware was blackened, except for the frame of the agate stripper guide. It is wrapped in Pearsall’s Naples, Java, tipped in Gossamer Purple, then dipped for the final finish coat in a combination of Helmans Spar Varnish, Penetrol, Tung Oil, and Mineral Spirits, and dried in a cabinet for about a week. I hope you enjoy viewing it as much as I enjoyed building it. This rod is for my very good Friend Richard Landerman of SLC, Utah!
Thank you Mikey, Rich and Ree. that is based on the Payne 98 taper and it is a 7’, 4 wt. It casts beautifully too. I took it out in the yard with a 3 wt Triangle taper, a 4 wt sylk and a 5 wt sylk and it cast well with each of them but better control with the 4 wt. It is hard to describe the feel and sensativity of this rod but when stripping line in the back yard, it was incredible to feel the line trickeling over the grass, almost taking census of each blade it dragged over, and I could almost feel every one of them. I can only imagine how a fish would feel on it. I may have to try it out before sending it to Salt Lake City!!!
I must have missed this post while I was down with the flu. Leo, your work is amazing and I am very thankful to have you as a source to our many questions in this adventure of rod building.
The wraps are beautiful. In your final sanding w/2000+ grit, do you sand the wraps too?
Quinn
God Blesses!
A wing & a Prayer! ----*<(((><~ ~ ~ ~
Quinn
I do wet sand wraps if the need it. Sometimes there will be little bumps or ridges on a wrap caused by air bubbles or dust or whatever causes those things, and in order to get it to a nice smooth finish, I will use 2000 grit sandpaper and wetsand the surface very lightly to remove the imperfection. Have to be very careful and avoid getting into the thread as that will really make a mess…been there done that too many times.
