ROD-MAKING: VARNISHING AND FINISHING
The prime requisites of a good rod-varnish are that it should possess
a maximum degree of elasticity and form an efficient protecting coat
against the penetration of moisture into the pores of the bamboo. A
varnish that dries too hard chips easily and soon will crack under
the repeated flexion of the rod. A “special” rod-varnish need not
be sought, as the specifications are met in any of the best brands
of _spar_ varnish, put up by a number of the bigger varnish houses,
such as Berry, Crockett, or Murphy. The author has more recently used
Valentine’s “Valspar.”
Varnishing should be done in dry weather, preferably on a clear,
snappy day, or on a warm day with little humidity. If this is not
sufficiently explicit, have your wife or sweetheart pick out for you
what she says is a good wash-day. And you should varnish indoor, in a
warm room with air as free as possible from floating dust particles.
A small camel’s-hair or ox-hair brush, of the kind that we used for
gluing (the same brush will do, if it was thoroughly cleaned), suits
our present purpose likewise.
As already has been mentioned, the writer applies the first, diamond
windings and the initial coat of varnish soon after the rod-joints
are glued up and dry. No attempt then is made to flow it on, but care
is taken to have it worked thoroughly into and around all of the
silk-windings, using short strokes of the brush in all directions.
For this coat, the varnish may advantageously be thinned with
turpentine--but _not adding more than twenty per-cent_--for better
penetration of the silk; and likewise for the second application,
which includes only the solid-wrappings about the guides and
ferrule-ends, etc. When at this take care not to gum up the exposed
metal parts. Dilute the varnish but little, if at all, for the
subsequent coats. To insure a good flow, _have it warm while in use_,
by standing its container in hot water.
A satisfactory way of keeping varnish for future use, after the
original can has been opened, is to transfer it to a wide-mouthed
bottle, which must be kept tightly corked; to be on the safe side
against evaporation and thickening, cover the exposed part of the
cork with melted paraffine.
Spar varnish being an elastic varnish, dries neither as hard nor as
soon as does coach or cabinet varnish; some kinds of the latter may
be rubbed within a few hours following a fresh application on a good
drying day; but spar varnish should be given a day or two between
coats before any attempt is made at rubbing-down. Varnished work will
dry quickest out-of-door, in clear, dry weather and a brisk wind; but
in order to escape the dust as much as possible, your rod-joints must
be hung up inside for at least the first four or five hours, until
dried dust proof; and hang them well away from the wall, else the
varnish may “creep.”
It is the practise of the author to apply five or six coats of
varnish, in all, after the following manner: First, two thin
applications, as explained above, given with circular or oblique
strokes around the joint; two additional coats covering all, flowed
on carefully and evenly by brushing in long, quick strokes lengthwise
of the joint. We then have the silk sufficiently protected to permit
of rubbing the varnish down without injury to the windings. This we
now proceed to do, _lightly and cautiously this first time_ and with
increasing vigor after each of the succeeding two or three coats.
Some would object to so many coats of varnish on the ground of their
being deleterious to the action of the rod. We think that such
criticism is altogether theoretical, and that a much more practical
point is that _moisture_ penetrating the rod-wrappings and the pores
of the bamboo is the great foe to the life of the rod and to the
maintenance of its elasticity, and that a generous coating of the
right kind of varnish furnishes the surest protection against this.
To rub down, use powdered rotten-stone--from drug or paint store--on
a small square of canvas, or felt from an old soft hat, wet with cold
water; this makes a fine brown mud with which you scrub the joints
lengthwise between the thumb and fingers of one hand, while the other
twirls the joint to and fro. When the rubbing is completed, rinse
the joint thoroughly with cold water squeezed out of a small fine
sponge. It is a good plan to let the water run with force, directly
from the tap, on the parts about the guides. Complete the cleaning
by wiping with the sponge just damp. Then wipe with a dry soft cloth
and swish the joint a few times in the air completely to dry it. Have
it _perfectly dry before applying any more varnish_, and be sure
that the rotten-stone is thoroughly cleaned with a bit of rag from
under and around the guides. Powdered pummice-stone and water may be
used for rubbing the varnish coats that follow the first use of the
rotten-stone; but at the first attempt at finishing a rod, perhaps
you had best confine yourself to the rotten-stone.
In finishing the cedar handgrasp or any cedar parts, follow the
filing and coarse sandpapering by using number 1 paper, then number
0, rotating the grasp forcibly between a fold of the paper held
tightly in the palm of the left hand. After a good smooth surface
is obtained, apply water with a sponge, to raise the grain of
the wood; when dry, make a second application of fine sandpaper
and elbow-grease; give now two coats of varnish; rub down with
pummice-stone and water; apply a third coat of varnish; rub with the
wet rotten-stone or with linseed oil and rotten-stone; give a fourth
and last coat of varnish, very lightly.
For the last finishing-touches both on joints and handgrasp, rub
with a bunch of curled horsehair (see the upholsterer), then with
a little “Three-in-One” oil applied with a soft rag, then with a
buckskin glove or piece of chamois-skin or felt, then with an old
silk-handkerchief; and in conclusion, apply as much hand-friction
with the heel of your palm as your inclination and perseverance will
allow. The ultimate result is that you have produced on all a smooth
but not glassy finish, that is not dulled by handling the rod--whose
subdued luster is very durable. The whole rod now requires but an
occasional rubbing with the silk-handkerchief and a few drops of oil,
and the application of a single light coat of varnish about every
second season if used regularly.
* * * * *
At last, my Brother of the Angle, your rods are completed in every
fascinating detail--and if they do not appear as the illustrations
depict, and are not a delight to your eye and a joy to your hand, it
is not because the writer has failed to tell you, so far as mind can
recall, every blamed thing that he knows about this business. Suspend
them from the tip, safe from the kiddies’ curious investigations,
feast your eyes soulfully upon their charms, and, upon occasion,
you even may take them down and fondle them lovingly; then, when
the first feathered harbingers of the coming Spring begin their
blithesome twitterings--and not till then--haste you now to rig them
up and experience that exquisite thrill of their feel in action, as
you test them out on the nearest piece of greensward, if a suitable
stretch of water be not conveniently accessible. And you now may
say, “as one having authority,” if you think that an honestly hand
made Split-Bamboo is worth its price; and if you agree with me that
the building thereof is a poem, the perusing of which is a thing
well calculated to assist in passing profitably many an hour in
delightfully novel and restful diversion, oblivious to carking cares.
[Illustration: SPLIT-BAMBOOS OF THE AUTHOR’S MAKE
1--Eight-foot fly-rod, 4½ ounces, integral cork grasp 2--Nine-foot
fly-rod, 5½ ounces, detachable cork grasp 3--Nine-and-one-half-foot
fly-rod, 6 ounces (same grasp) 4--Ten-foot fly-rod, 6¾ ounces,
detachable cork grasp 5--Five-and-one-quarter-foot bait-casting rod,
cedar grasp, and with light and heavy tops ]
CULTIVATING SILKWORM-GUT AT HOME
BY EDWIN T. WHIFFEN
(By kind permission of the author and of _Forest and Stream_)