Here's the latest rod off the bench

I thought I'd show you the final touch for this rod. The buyer wanted a complete package so I went To Orvis in Bellevue and Leland set me up with a Orvis CFO III Bronze and a 5 wt line. The package balances out in my hand just the way I wanted it to and looks great on the reel seat. Thanks for all the nice comments guys! I'm sure the new owner will be happy. Heck I'd really like to keep this one!

Mike

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Beautiful craftmanship Mike. Outstanding!

Sg

Yow, that's awesome work Mike! I know when I cast that Garrison 5wt of yours this spring on Hancock, I really liked how that rod performed in addition to its aesthetics.

- Tom

Wow, I'm drooling. Beautiful work, Mike. That is one lucky customer.

Thanks again for all the nice compliments guys.

I'm going to get started on something for me this time I hope, next up on my list is a PHY Para 14. I should be making some bamboo shavings in the next few days. I cast Joe Bradley's Para 14 last July at the Metolouis Bamboo Rod Fair and thought to myself "I need one of those for myself"

Mike

The para 14. A great choice Mike. I thought Joe Bradley's 14 was one of the best at the rod fair this year. It will be interesting to see how one of the published tapers turns out as compared to Joe's proprietary version.

TC

Tim, you are right about Joe's taper. I wish I had it but I did talk with Chris Carlin (farnorthrodsmiths.com) about his modifications to the published taper. Chris was kind enough to share his taper with me so I'm going to go with it rather than the published one. I remember casting his about two years ago, I wish I could have had the chance to cast them two rods side by side, but I do remember liking Chris's taper when I cast it back in July of 2010.

Mike

Chris has posted (published) his version on rodbuildingforum.com back in Dec 2006. If you have collected a variety of 14 tapers I'd be interested in seeing them this evening.

TC

Several years ago I made a 7'9" Para-14, based on a taper from Ron Barch. The rod ended up getting auctioned off for a friend's charity event, but I still have good memories. With a DT5 it was fabulous for medium sized streams like the Snoqualmie forks - sensitive in the tip yet enough power to cast 40-50' and turn over the leader, and long enough to allow for good line control. This fishing is very similar to the AuSable and Manistee in Michigan, where Paul Young designed the taper.

Some people find "parabolic" tapers difficult to cast, but I think the ones under 8' are easier to learn.

Would it be possible to share that Ron Barch taper with me (I wil understand if that is a proprietary taper of Ron's and not being able to share it)to add to my collection of tapers for the Para 14 for comparison Tom?

Mike

Mike, I e-mailed you the taper for the Para-14 and several other PHY tapers. If anyone else is interested, let me know & I'll send them to you.

Tom

:thumb:

Thanks Tom!

Mike

Tough to find words to describe your work.That is a work of art.

I have just ordered a cane blank to finish. It will be my first cane rod. I really like the tapered cork to the rod configuration. You said that you just tapered the cork and then over wrapped with thread? Isn't the cork too soft and rough to wrap smoothly? Did you do something to the cork before wrapping to prep it? If it is just thread over the cork wouldn't the finger pressure cause the thread/cork to compress and ruin the wrap/finish?
I know that is a lot of questions but it may be something I want to attempt.
Thanks

I turn my grips on a mandrel and taper the nose to about the flat to flat measurement of the rod where it will be located. I sand the grip to a fine finish before I mount it with 600 wet or dry also. As I glue on the grip I mix a bit of cork dust with the rod bond and putty up the transition point to smooth it out (tape off the rod about 1/8th " above the grip). After the rod bond has set up overnight I carefully sand the transition area to a smooth slope from the rod to the grip (be very careful). If you have quality cork it will hold up nice when you wrap it and varnish over it. I always have used a darker color thread on this wrap as a transparent wrap may not look that good here. Keep the thread tension real light on the "nose wrap" and you should be fine, just enough tension to keep the thread in place. Carefully apply the varnish and try not to slop it on the grip, it will look like #hit LOL.

Mike