ROD-MAKING: ROD TAPERS AND ROD PLOTTING
The novice is now much better prepared than he was at the beginning
of this discussion of rod-making, to digest profitably the somewhat
more technical data regarding rod tapers, and for suggestions how to
plan a rod; hence the postponement of this chapter until the present
time.
A general principle that we regard as fundamental is that the
butt-joint should be enough heavier than the middle-joint, and this
second-joint enough heavier than the top-joint, so that the hand
wielding the rod senses that it has perfect control of the rod-tip
from its hold upon the handgrasp. In other words, the rod should not
have the topheavy feeling imparted by a jerky top. Some foreign rods,
principally of the extra long, two-handed variety for salmon fishing,
are purposely thus made to give a kind of kick in throwing out the
line--such as the Irish, Castleconnell rods--but personally we very
much dislike this peculiarity of action.
Two split-cane rods of identical caliber and weight will rarely
have exactly the same action, because the qualities of the bamboo
will differ, and however little, it yet is sufficient to impart a
distinctive “feel” to each one of the rods. Then, again, individual
tastes differ as to just what particular feel is most acceptable;
hence subtle refinements of action obtained by hollowing out the
lines of a rod at one point, and by giving them a swell at another
place, are worked out as the result of considerable experience both
in the making and the using of rods. Therefore, beyond a certain
point, it is practicable to offer data only as a basis for the
reader’s endeavors and not as an absolute guide.
This means that no matter how good may be the first rod put together
by the beginner--and the chances are very much in favor of its
being far superior to any of the cheaper ones that he can buy--that
rod will not satisfy him for long; for after a thorough testing
out he soon will see how he can improve upon it--or at any rate he
will believe that he does. But between guiding principles and some
definite detail, we can put the amateur rod-builder in possession of
information sufficient to start him on his way rejoicing.
For a rod for fishing with the fly, good results may be obtained
in one having a straight or even taper throughout, from butt[4] to
tip; and by varying the caliber of such a rod, almost any degree of
stiffness or flexibility of practical purport may be obtained. But
a rod may be built on a swelled or convex taper, that will have a
superior action; and by looking at the diagrams below, showing just
what is meant by a straight, a compound-straight, a concave, and
a convex taper, one will immediately recognize that the lines of
the latter are the same as those which experience has proven most
acceptable for flagstaffs and ships’ spars--which also are subjected
to persistent bending strains.
[Illustration: Different tapers: (1) Straight; (2) Compound straight
or Scotch; (3) Concave or hollow; (4) Convex or swelled]
Whatever the style of taper of the rest of the rod, in any event
pattern the slender top-joint after the lines suggested by Figures
2 or 4. It is very important for best results that the _fullness at
the butt of the top-joint be carried well forward_ until about the
outer half of the joint is reached, when the caliber may fall away
pretty sharply from there on to the very tip. As already mentioned,
the extreme outer end may be further or wholly so reduced with
sandpaper--in the case especially of the finer tops--after gluing up.
Other methods of accomplishing a similar result will be noted later
on.
In planning a rod to have a straight or uniformly-graduated taper
from butt to tip, the caliber of that rod at any cross-section
throughout its length is readily determined by means of a diagram
plotted as we will now explain; and even if it be not intended
to have your rod of an absolutely uniform taper, such a diagram
nevertheless furnishes a convenient basis for whatever modifications
may be determined upon, and lets the reader into the secret of how he
may design a rod of any taper or combination of tapers desired.
[Illustration: Taper diagram for plotting rod]
Say that we have in mind a fly-rod of ten feet in length, of 7/16
inch diameter where the butt joins the handgrasp, and 1/16 inch
at the tip. We will reduce it to a drawing in this way, each
quarter-inch of _length_ in our illustration representing one foot
of actual rod-length. In practise we prefer to have the drawing on a
larger scale, so that each 1½ inches represents a foot, when ⅛ inch
then represents an inch of the real rod and 1/16 inch stands for a
half-inch. The _diameters_ of your rod are the _actual lengths_ of
these cross-lines of your diagram, at the cross-sections marked
respectively 1, 2, 3, 4 feet, etc., from the butt end.
Next we must get the diameters of the respective _ends of our
middle-joint_, the rod being composed of three joints or pieces; and
for the reason that we prefer all three _completed_ joints to be of
the same length, and because allowance must be made for the _ferrule
lengths_, this is not so absolutely simple as it might seem. For
perfect accuracy in our figures certain ferrule lengths must be known
before we can ascertain the diameters of the joints at the points
where the selected ferrules are to be located.
The butt male (inner or center) ferrule of the middle-joint will be
seated about 1¼ inches in the female or outer ferrule at the smaller
end of the butt-joint, and the top-joint ferrule will seat about 1⅛
inches in its companion half; thus the total length of the rod when
jointed up will be 2⅜ inches shorter than the total length of its
three joints or parts if placed simply end to end, without engaging
the ferrules. We want a total length, _jointed_, of ten feet or 120
inches; then we must have a total length, unjointed, of 122.375
inches, to be divided equally into three parts. This gives 40.79
inches for each completed joint, _including the projecting ferrules_.
The female or projecting ferrule of the first- or butt-joint reaching
1¼ inches (the depth that the male half seats) beyond the wood,
gives 40.79 less 1¼, or 39.54 inches, for the actual wood length of
that joint (it being understood that some ten to twelve inches of
handgrasp are included in this joint, in the completed rod); the
corresponding ferrule-half of the second-joint projecting 1⅛ inches,
leaves that amount less than 40.79, or 39.665 inches, for the wood
length of the second-joint. The way that it works out is shown in our
next illustration.
[Illustration: Finding the joint wood-lengths--10-foot rod]
Going back now to our previous diagram, we measure 39.54 inches from
A, which gives B as the actual common caliber of the adjoining ends
of the first- and second-joints; measuring, once more, 39.665 inches
from the point B, gives us C as the remaining caliber wanted. We
now know the _length of each of our bamboo-joints irrespective of
the ferrules_, and we know the _diameters of the respective ends of
these joints or pieces of the rod_, and can proceed to set our metal
grooved-mold accordingly, using _half of each of these diameters as
the measurements from bevel-edge to bevel-edge across the face of
the mold_, in getting out the component joint-strips. Of course we
maintain the mold so set, by tightening up the screws.
The reader might be interested to learn what analysis of the lines of
some of the best professional-made rods would reveal as to tapers.
We are pleased that we can satisfy this very natural curiosity.
The rods that the author calipered, at every foot throughout their
lengths, are respectively the most famous American and British makes.
The former is eight feet long and weighs three and one-half ounces;
the latter is nine and one-half feet and weighs six and one-quarter
ounces (a dry-fly rod). Each five-eighths of an inch in length of
the diagram represents one foot of rod-length. The actual diameters
that the rods calipered at each foot of their individual lengths are
indicated by the figures in fractions of an inch. By multiplying
these by four (in the original drawing), we obtained--in an
exaggerated form, for easier perception--the widths which, connected
by the solid longitudinal lines, give the lines of the rods; and
these may be compared with the dotted lines in the diagram, which
represent straight-tapered rods.
[Illustration: _TAPERS OF FAMOUS RODS OF PROFESSIONAL MAKE_]
Another clue to some of the underlying principles of successful
rod-construction is furnished by noting the _point of balance_--where
the rod will balance when held at one point horizontally, as across
the finger--in some of the highest-grade productions. In two famous
makes of American rods, tested without attached reel, Mr. Charles
Zibeon Southard gives these figures: 31 inches from the butt end of
handgrasp, in a 9-foot rod weighing 3½ ounces; 31½ inches, in a
9½-foot rod weighing 4 ounces; 34⅞ inches, in a 10-foot rod weighing
5 ounces. Rods from the other maker showed: 31¼ inches, in a 9½-foot
rod weighing 4½ ounces; and 34½ inches, in a 10-foot rod weighing 5¾
ounces. The increased weight of the handgrasp in a detachable-handle
rod--because of the extra ferrule--would bring the balancing-point or
center of gravity nearer to the butt end.
In the endeavor to copy in a duplicate the exact action of any
particular rod, these balancing-points should coincide; so, too,
should the extent of the vertical deflection from the horizontal
of the respective tips, under the influence of a definite weight
attached--say of one or two ounces--when the butts of the jointed-up
rods are held securely; and further, so should the rate of the
vibrations of the rods be the same when, still held as above, they
are set to working. Says Mr. Ralph L. Montagu of Oroville, Calif.:
“In order to make this test, the handle of the fully-jointed rod
should be held in a vise” or blocked up on the end of a table and
“firmly held by an assistant. Now, by pressing down on the rod near
the handle, get it vibrating up and down; as soon as the vibrations
become regular, get out your watch and count the number per minute,
using a finger to touch the rod lightly each time it comes up, and
thus continuing its full swing.” The downward deflection of the
tip from the horizontal without any weight attached is termed the
“free deflection.” Mr. Montagu gives the following data concerning
“a very perfect dry-fly rod made by a manufacturer with a world-wide
reputation: Length, 9½ feet; weight, 6 ounces; free deflection, 6
inches; deflection with 1-ounce weight, 19½ inches, with 2-ounce
weight, 33 inches; vibrations per minute, 106.” The stiffer the rod
the “quicker” it is--the more vibrations per minute; the “soft” rod
is a “slow” one. “A good rod should have not less than one-hundred
vibrations per minute.” We also might note here that for best results
in a rod designed for dry-fly fishing it is enlarged or made extra
stocky toward the extreme butt.
When it comes to a rod for bait-fishing, and to the construction of a
short, Western-style rod for casting artificial bait from the reel,
better results are attained for the special work required if these
rods are relatively stiffer at the tip and for some distance back
than obtains in a fly-rod. We will achieve this effect by having a
more markedly divergent taper near the lighter end. In the case of
our ten-foot fly-rod, as plotted--which is a rod having considerable
backbone--a very satisfactory result will be produced by making an
additional, bait top that shall be just one foot shorter than the fly
top-joint, and by tapering it in a swelled fashion from the caliber
at C to from 2½ to 3/32 of an inch in diameter at its tip.
You will want two fly tops and two bait tops for this rod, top-joints
being always supplied in duplicate with rods from the dealer’s as
they are the parts most frequently broken. Sample dimensions for the
short, bait-casting rod mentioned above will be given later.
We now have planned a ten-foot fly-rod weighing about seven ounces
and suitable for heavy fresh-water angling, which with its shorter
and stiffer top makes a very effective nine-foot bait-rod. For
a second, lighter but very serviceable all-around fly-rod, the
writer advises one of nine feet, having a butt caliber of ⅜ inch
at the handgrasp junction and measuring 1/16 inch at tip; and a
more flexible rod, of very sweet action but still having plenty of
“ginger”, is achieved by using the same size ferrules while drawing
the rod out to a total length of nine and one-half feet, the extra
six inches representing an addition at the butt--which somewhat
increases the diameter just above the grasp--and especial care being
taken to see that the full diameters of the whole of the butt-joint
are not skimped.
To secure the nicest action for fly-rods, do not have the diameter at
the butt end of the butt-joint any oversize (unless deliberately so
for special, dry-fly work); the same caution applies with even more
emphasis to the top end of the middle-joint; but be sure to have the
butt end of the top-joint fully up to the measure, and to lighten
the outer half of this section as already mentioned. The reason
why the delicate top-joint of a properly-proportioned rod that is
skilfully handled is sufficient to withstand all legitimate stress,
is because a steadily-increasing strain is continuously thrown
back upon the stronger parts of the rod. But when the butt of the
top-joint is too slender and joins with a middle-joint small end that
is too stiff, then the strain on the top is not progressively and
properly transferred to the middle-joint, which is the prime factor
in the rod’s action. A weak middle-joint means a vitally weak rod,
irrespective of any other features, and it means a rod with a “kick.”
Also be it understood that owing to the _bracing and distributing,
truss effect of the line strung through the guides_ of a rod, the rod
will bear much more strain than if the line simply were fastened to
its tip.
The reader will be interested to know what is meant by a
“double-built” rod. This construction includes twelve instead of six
strips to a joint, for a hexagonal cross-section, and the diagram
illustrates their arrangement. It might at first glance seem that
this involves just double the work in planing and gluing, but such
is not the case. To produce this joint, the builder proceeds simply
to glue together two thinner bamboo-strips to make the rectangular
strip, preliminary to planing to the triangular shape. After filing
the knots, and straightening his strips, he planes down a half-dozen
on the pith side to but half the full thickness wanted. The other
six strips, after receiving the same treatment, he _files crosswise
on the enamel side_ just enough to flatten this surface for a glue
joint; the plane will not bite efficiently on this glossy, outside
surface of the bamboo. When glued together, each double or compound
strip will present on cross-section the appearance shown. The further
treatment of these double strips is identical with that of simple
strips, as already detailed, the result being as the dotted V of the
illustration. In gluing together the halves of each strip, the knots
are slipped or staggered as well as when gluing up the completed
strips into joints.
[Illustration: Cross-section of double-built joint]
[Illustration: A double or compound strip]
There is one situation where the expedient of double-built joints
is of practical advantage, and that is in building butt- and
middle-joints of very large caliber--as for salmon or salt-water
rods. It also will be the resort at any time when you desire to
construct a solid-fiber butt-joint and when a single thickness of
the stock on hand is scant for the purpose. You also can employ this
method in combining the handsomer Calcutta bamboo on the outside,
for looks, with the Tonkin on the inside of the joints, for
service, making the Calcutta strips exceedingly thin--a mere veneer.
Double-built construction is not practicable for top-joints except
the very heaviest.
A brief description here of the various classes of rods, their
dimensions and distinctive uses, will be appropriate. Rods
for fresh-water angling comprise trout fly-rods, salmon rods,
bait-rods, and the Kalamazoo or short rod that in recent years has
been designated as the “bait-casting” rod. Certain kinds either
of live or artificial bait are properly cast with the standard,
long bait-rod--and at times the quarry is thus more pleasurably
played, and in a manner more sportsmanlike; but the distinctive
appellation of “bait-casting” rod has come to denote a stiffish,
short implement, preferably between the length limits of five to six
feet, and which is used for casting particularly the heavier kinds of
artificial bait--more frequently a wooden minnow or some other form
of “plug”--the line running directly from a quadruple-multiplying
reel as the cast is made. It is a Western style, very effective in
bass fishing under certain conditions, is favored by many anglers
for maskinonge in preference to trolling, and has been adopted to
some extent even for trout and for salt-water fishing. It requires
a distinctive and very interesting technic, and the sport also is
similar to fishing with the artificial fly in that the angler goes
after his fish instead of waiting for the fish to come to him.
The salmon rod is an overgrown trout fly-rod, suited for its use
in killing the larger and heavier fish. Salmon fishing has been
much more extensively indulged in abroad than in the United States;
consequently the prevailing popular style of salmon tackle was until
somewhat recently dictated wholly by the ideas of foreign makers,
principally English, Scotch, or Irish. These formerly were accustomed
to produce absurdly formidable affairs in salmon rods, running to
twenty feet in length and weighing several pounds. But the influence
of the combined elegance and efficiency of the lighter, American
trout-rods was reflected in the sphere of salmon-fishing tackle, so
that now one rarely finds a rod of over sixteen feet in the hands
of a modern salmon-angler; and many of them are shorter than this.
Thus a recent number of the London _Fishing Gazette_ tells about one
British angler writing another: “I once owned an 18-foot greenheart
salmon-rod, but induced a naval officer, ordered to British Columbia,
to accept it as a present--sheer luck this, of course. I also owned
two 17-footers; one of these a friendly Hussar put permanently out
of business the first morning he borrowed it, but the other one I
can neither sell nor lose, and keep for lending to friends, with the
result that they soon buy rods for themselves. This would really
suit you admirably if you’d care to buy it cheap; it’s by a leading
Scotch maker, and being twenty years old is thoroughly seasoned.
I have three 16-footers. One was originally bought for mahseer
and is too powerful for most any other fish. Another was given to
me by J. F. G., nearly twenty years ago, when he took entirely to
split-cane. It was washiba wood--since furnished with greenheart butt
and top--made by Harold, of Mallow. It has killed its thousandth
fish and is my favorite rod. The third is also a daisy, by Farlow,
in two splices. But I am getting on towards middle-age, and want a
‘de luxe’ rod. These 16-footers of mine weigh 42 ounces, 39 ounces,
and 38¾ ounces, respectively. Now Hardy’s split-bamboo 16-footers
weigh from 28 to 32 ounces. True, their price is a stomachache,
but--well--perhaps to celebrate peace--.”
The best British casting records made with rods of any length have
been exceeded by American casters with fifteen-foot rods, weighing
about twenty-five ounces. Both hands are used on the rod in making
the cast with the typical salmon-rod; it is a two-handed rod, and the
butt and grasp are modified accordingly.
We will now note some of the standard sizes and weights of different
kinds of modern fresh-water bamboo rods, omitting extended reference
to trolling-rods because the bait-casting rod with longer and heavier
top answers every purpose for this style of angling. The figures
given are subject to some slight changes owing to the varying
weights of different samples of bamboo-cane, and to differences in
the windings and metal fittings of completed rods. The style of
handgrasp and whether a rod is fitted with metal (solid) reelseat or
simple reel-bands (skeleton reelseat) also are important modifying
factors of the total weight. According to the rules of tournament
casting, three-quarters of an ounce may be deducted from the total
weight either for a solid reelseat or for the extra pair of ferrules
necessitated with the independent grasp. Keeping these qualifications
in mind, we may make the general statement that fly-rods for trout
and bass fishing range from eight feet in length and weighing four
ounces, to eleven feet with a weight of nine ounces; though a
ten-foot rod weighing seven ounces, or not much more, will, except
in rare instances, be the advisable extreme for heavy rods of this
class. For bass fishing, we recommend nothing under nine feet, and
weighing six ounces--or five and one-half at the very least. An
8½-foot rod ordinarily weighs about 4½ ounces; one of 9½ feet, 6
ounces; and of 10½ feet, 8 ounces. Rods _are_ made to weigh much
under these figures; split-bamboos have been constructed, from seven
to eight feet in length, that would scale _one and three-quarters
ounces_--perchance even less, for all we know. It hardly is necessary
to state that such phenomenally light creations are suitable only
for the maker’s exhibit of his technical skill or as pretty toys for
the collection of the financially plethoric anglermaniac.
As to calibers, the 8- and 8½-foot rods will measure about 9/32 of an
inch at the extreme butt end and a scant 2/32 at the extreme tip; the
same sizes of ferrules, 17/64 inch and 5/32, will be used for both.
Nine- and 9½-foot rods will be 11/32 to 13/32 inch at butt and 2/32
to 2¼/32 at tip; and will take ferrules of 17/64 or 18/64 and 11/64
inch. Ten- to 11-foot rods will measure from 13/32 to 15/32 inch at
butt and from 2¼/32 to 3/32 inch at tip; taking ferrules of either
19/64, 21/64 or 22/64 and 12/64, 13/64 or 14/64 inch. _The actual
diameters of stock ferrules may vary minutely from their sizes as
listed by the dealer._
With rods from twelve to sixteen feet in length, we are in the salmon
class. Such rods, if built double, will be proportionately heavier
than according with the above schedule, because of the greater weight
of the enamel or denser fiber.
For calipering rods and for determining the diameters of the ferrules
required in individual cases, some form of accurate calipering
instrument is quite indispensable. The handiest form for the
rod-worker is that like a miniature monkey-wrench, gauged to measure
64ths of an inch, and it costs about two dollars at the hardware
store.
The short, bait-casting rod is sometimes made in one piece or
joint; either with or without an independent handgrasp. The writer
prefers here the short butt-joint with solid handgrasp and long top
arrangement; and he makes two top-joints, one being lighter than the
other for the casting of the lighter lures, and each is in duplicate.
[Illustration: Rod calipers]
As to details of construction relating to the specific styles
and arrangements of guides for all of these rods, these will be
considered in the chapter on “Windings and Guides.”
[Illustration: Bait-casting rod layout]
The bait-casting rod is 5¼ feet in length, divided as follows:
handgrasp and reelseat, 10 inches; top-joint, 38¼ inches. The
butt-joint is a scant 7/16 inch in diameter at its larger end (A) and
21/64 inch at the other (B); and the top-joints are each 7/64 inch
at their tips, but differently tapered, though each has a double or
divergent taper.
[Illustration: Double or compound straight-tapered top-joints]
We spoke awhile ago of giving a double taper to light fly-rod
top-joints by sandpapering down the outer part after the joint was
glued. Another way to achieve practically the same thing is by a
swelled taper obtained by _springing the mold apart a bit when
setting it for getting out the individual strips of the joint_; this
is conveniently done by twisting a screwdriver the blade of which is
thrust between its halves. Or, again, you can make double-tapered
tops in the way that we have done it particularly with the heavier,
bait-casting rod top-joints. The diagram will make this third method
clear. These two tops first are planed down on a simple straight
taper--that is, their component strips are--in either case the mold
being set at 10½/64 inch for the butt end. In building the lighter
top, we first set the mold for 5/64 inch at the tip (C in the upper
drawing), 38¼ inches from A. For the heavier top, the mold first is
set at 6/64 inch at C. The point B is at the location of a pair of
the braces which hold the halves of the mold securely at the degree
of separation at which they are adjusted, and it is about thirteen
inches from C. In completing the planing of the strips for either
top, we then loosen up all the baseboard brace-screws _excepting
the two which hold the mold at_ B; we then _pinch together the ends
of the mold_, at C, this time setting it here for 3½/64 inch, and
then plane the second, outer taper, from B to C. In getting the exact
desired width for setting the small end of the mold, it sometimes is
convenient--when double-tapering joints in this way--to use a certain
number of pieces of tin or cardboard of a definite thickness and to
bring the halves of the mold tight up against these “shives” when
placed between their ends.
No special attention other than the present reference will be paid to
rods especially designed for salt-water angling, as such implements
are more frequently made of material other than bamboo because of the
corrosive effect of sea water on fine tackle. Furthermore, sufficient
additional data as to patterns and dimensions are easily obtained
from the catalog of any first-class tackle-house; and yet again, are
these really worthy of being considered “rods?” Rather, should they
not be regarded in the light of mere infant telegraph-poles? (--Who
threw that tarpon!) Be that as it may, nobody who has mastered the
principles of constructing angling-rods of split-bamboo has anything
to worry about in such a straight-away proposition as the making of
solid-wood rods, of greenheart, bethabara, lancewood, hickory, ash,
or in some combination of these. Such materials, in the square, and
of sizes suitable for the various joints, are stocked by tackle-men,
as also are spring-butts and other two-handed grasps. However, in
concluding this chapter, we will note a simple device that we have
found useful in reducing square rod-wood to tapered joints in the
square. You then can place the joints in a wooden grooved-holder
and plane off the edges to convert the tapered square joint into a
tapered octagonal joint. The remaining work, of making a rounded
swelled-taper joint or whatever kind is wanted, is all done with
steel crescentic-notched scrapers (you can make them with a rat-tail
file) and sandpaper, manipulated lengthwise of the joints as they at
the same time are kept revolving by the other hand.
[Illustration: Fig. 1--Top view of tapering-rig for solid-wood rods]
The top view of this tapering device is shown in Fig. 1. The sides
are of wood, three inches wide and one-half inch thick, held about
the same distance apart--or slightly more--by the blocks set between
the ends. Another piece of board, which fits snugly the space between
the other two but is short enough to permit tilting of its ends,
simply is slipped in. It is an easy matter to adjust this loose
board, and to hold it by ordinary clamps which squeeze it at either
end between the outer boards, in such position that you can reduce a
squared stick that is laid against its upper edge, and held between
the outside boards, to any taper desired, by planing the stick
down flush with the upper edges of these outside boards (see Fig.
2). While doing this, the whole affair is held in your bench-vise.
The side boards of this rig--or at least their upper edges--are
preferably made of fine-grained hard wood; all else may be of any
soft wood.
[Illustration: Fig. 2--Side view of tapering-rig]
ROD-MAKING:
GLUING UP