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But, Aren't Bamboo Rods High Maintenance?

3/14/2012

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But, aren't Bamboo rods  high maintenance?  I have heard words along that line several times.  Well, I am going to answer that question by showing you what I send with each Bamboo Rod that comes out of the shop. 
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See, not much to maintaining a Bamboo rod is there?

Side note:  I have high lighted an area that is always being debated by Bamboo rod builders.  Some builders say, that if the ferrules are fitted correctly, there is no reason for any lubricant on the ferrules.  Technically that is true, but metal to metal surfaces can gall.  Its just the nature of metals.  There is another school of thought that the salts in our skin will corrode the Nickle Silver ferrules.  There is a possibility of that.... if you leave the rod together for years on end and never clean the ferrules.  Personally, I have never seen any type of corrosion on my Bamboo rod ferrules.   However, I have seen galled ferrules. So I will continue to recommend the use of lubricant on the Nickle Silver ferrules.

In the end, it all comes down to personal preference.  But, if your particular builder says no lubricant then you better follow their instructions.   They have their reasons.... be they fact, myth, or tradition. 

Until next time my friends,
Pete
P.S.  Yes, I saw the poor grammer in the document and will fix it ASAP ;)
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Bamboo Rod Builders...Anal-Retentive?

3/9/2012

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Are Bamboo rod builders Anal-Retentive?  And I don't mean the builder who buys a pre-made bamboo blank  and calls themselves a "Bamboo Rod Builder".  I'm talking about the split their own cane and plane it builder.  Check out just one tiny portion of a builder's life. 

When we final plane the Bamboo strip to get the final measurements, and no we don't sand the strip, we are looking at removing approximately .003 to .005" for the initial planing.  Just to give you dimensionally challenged readers a comparision....... a piece of binder paper is approximately .003". A cardboard business card is around .010" thick.
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I am a little embarassed to say I got slightly carried away with these shavings pictured above.  As you can see they are at the .oo5" mark.

Then we get to the final planing.  This is where we are planing off extremely thin shavings to nail our final dimensions.  They average approximately .0005" thick.  Yep that's three zeros and a 5.  The human hair is about .001" thick.  At least in my thinning hair.  That's twice as thick as our shavings.  I am happy to say I reached the .0005" for the final planing on these shavings.  Now I won't be shunned by my fellow Bamboo rod builders.
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Why do we fret over a couple of thousandths of an inch?  Because when we hit the nodes on a strip, there is a good chance of a chip out.  Keeping a razor sharp plane and keeping the shaving extremely thin helps us avoid the dreaded chip out.  Chip a strip and its time to start the whole process over.

So are we Anal-Retentive?  When it comes to Bamboo rod building .... you bet ya.  Being an Anal-Retentive nerd is what drives your builder to strive for perfection.

Until next time my friends,
Pete
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    Author

    My name is Pete, and I am the head cook and bottle washer of "Renaissance Rods". I hope you will enjoy some of my ramblings as I continue my rod building journey  

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