recycling a bamboo fly rod

c 1953 Southam Tournament Casting Rod 9' 1/0~ full restoration 

process + method

Many older split-cane rods are, in monetary terms, not worth a full 'restoration'. Many old rods are long and heavy, have fittings which are not original, have been rebound poorly and the cost and effort of a full restoration is not warranted, unless the rod is a very rare rod with high collector value - or there is another reason.  The alternative to restoration is to simply repair the rod to use - restoration versus repair is a key decision to make when assessing the path to take.

The perception that bamboo rods are too heavy,  slow and hard to cast is owed to old, heavy, long, mass produced rods, incorrect line weights and the size and spacing of rod guides. Early rods had much smaller guides for casting silk lines, whereas the contemporary lines of today require a larger rod guide diameter and correctly sized tip tops. Guide spacing is also critical - some fly rods whether cane, glass or graphite, have poor guide set outs, contributing to inefficient casting and the inability to shoot the line out to maximum effect. At the end of the day, a fly rod is a fly rod.

The following rod study discloses the repair and finishing methods, techniques and materials applied to a number of rods, with the particulars of each rod's component parts described in detail, with a photographic record of the process. The provenance of each rod is drawn from identification marks as well as research, measuring and comparative analysis of similar types.

The Phillipson Paramount was a sad wreck and required either a full repair and rebuild to return the rod to service - or be consigned to the garden stake variety. After some soul searching in the ether, plus a degree of research and tenacity, an adaptive part repair - part restoration was achieved. The ferrule and line guide wrap silks honour the original intent of this late 1940's Phillipson design.  (go to guide wrap study)

The Hardy Wanless was a gift from an old friend and required an understanding of the rod's lineage and authentic characteristics, to return it to use in a dignified manner. It had seen better days, with splits in the bamboo,  a variety of mismatched green silk wraps, curiously tipped in red felt pen and a damaged cork grip, all accumulated over its almost 70 year life. 

The John Rollo is a fine 3-pice fly rod made by the Sydney rod maker WIlliam Southam. It features a rare hollow built blank, intermediate bindings at 5/8" centres and two tips. Weighing 3 ounces, the rod had structural damage and split cane delamination, all of which has been carefully repoired. 

The JJ Banty No 1 & 2  continue the tradition of fashioning a stream or brook rod from the two smaller sections of a three piece 9 foot fly rod. Made for a friend the JJ Banty No 1 , it reimagined the broken and bent mid and tip sections of the Phillipson Paramount and is a surprising result. The JJ Banty No 2  is made from the recycled mid and tip section of a 3-piece 1960's Japanese fly rod - bothe rods are examples of seeing other ways to 're-life' bamboo fly rods.  

.....................................................................................

vintage 

c1949 Phillipson Paramount  ~ 9'' 3/2 #7 - restoration

1954 Hardy  (Rory's) Wanless ~ 7' 2/1  6lb - restoration

c1940's William Southam - The John Rollo  ~ 7'6" 3/2  #4 - repair

.....................................................................................

reimagined 

JJ Banty RG No 1  ~ 6' 2/2 #5 - new from old

JJ Banty SP No 2 ~ 6' 2/1 #5 - recycled blanks

........................................vintage.......................................

c1949 Phillipson Paramount fly rod  ~ 9'' 3/2 #7

Description

Maker-Year: Phillipson Rod & Tackle Company c1949

Name: Phillipson Paramount 

Type: 3-piece split cane fly rod, 9' 2 tips #7

Guides + ferrules wrapped in black + white Jasper silk , tipped gold, black and gold

Phillipson 3/2 rod bag, aluminium tube

Repaired: 2021 JJ

Mid* (as butt) and tip section recycled - Refer Banty fly 6'" 2/2 #5

Refinishing Notes

- butt section 36" retained* as original, handle in poor condition

- cork handle (Welsh Split Jar) repaired - damaged cork removed

- original reel seat damaged beyond repair - removed

- new Phillipson up-locking alloy, no rock reel seat (new old stock)

- cork handle and reel seat glued with Gorilla Glue

- mid section 36" replacement Phillipson new old stock 

- tip sections (2) 36" replacement Wright & McGill new old stock 

- 12/64" male & 18/64" female nickel silver vintage ferrules

- all rod guides were missing - old silk, dirt removed 

- old varnish hand scraped with steel ruler 

- 'Phillipson Paramount' lettering preserved, varnished for protection

- bamboo finished with Birchwood Tru-Oil - 8 coats 

- light 0000 steel wool pass between each coat 

- Rice’s black and white Jasper silk size 00 - wrapping thread

- Pearsall's Gossamer ~ gold silk size 6/0 - tipping thread - 2 bands 

- Pearsall's Naples ~ black silk size 4/0 - tipping thread - one band 

- silk sealed with Flex-Coat colour preserver 3 coats

- wraps finished with spar varnish 3 coats - sable brush finish

- Hopkins & Holloway hard chrome snake guides 

- guide sizes 1/0, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4 

- stripping guide Perfection chrome size 8 

- tip tops chrome new old stock size 5

- whole rod finished with a light buffing with Rotten Stone 

.....................................................................................

 (Rory's) 1954 Hardy Wanless spinning rod ~ 7' 2/1  6lb

Description

Maker-Year: Hardy Bros Alnwick 1954

Name: 'The Wanless' Palakona 

Type: Two piece 1 tip, 7' split cane spinning rod 6lb

Rod No.E94947

Guides and ferrules wrapped in Green silk , tipped in Red

Original rod bag

Repaired: 2020 JJ for Rory

Refinishing Notes

- cork handle repaired, damaged cork removed, dents steamed out, 

- new cork section inserted - halved, laminated

- cane splits re-glued, bound with Kimono 374 #100 white silk 

- all rod guides removed, cleaned re-whipped in silk

- Kimono 351 Midori #100 silk (green) - rod guides + ferrule wraps 

- Kimono 318 Geisha #100 silk (red) - tips

- Intermediate whippings - Piper's Dark Fawn silk

- silk colour preserved with Pale French Polish 3 coats (to darken)

- wraps finished with spar varnish 3 coats

- cork reshaped by hand with 400 grit sand paper 

- rod varnished with Spar Varnish - 4 coats

- whole rod finished with a light buffing with Rotten Stone 

...................................................................................................................................

c1930's William Southam The John Rollo ~ 7'6" 3/2  #4 - in progress

Description

Maker-Year: WIlliam Southam Sydney Rodmaker c1930's

Name: The John Rollo Rod 3oz

Rod No: 649

Type: Three piece split-cane fly rod, 2 tips 7'6" #4

Guides and ferrules wrapped in red silk - inconsistent colours

Intermediate wraps every 5/8"

Hollow Built - evidence of delamination

Original rod bag and aluminium tube 

Repair in ProgressJJ

Refinishing Notes - in Progress

- all bamboo sections retained as original

- cork handle in poor condition, cracked through, pitted, dry, butt cap missing

- damaged cork removed back to 3 sections at winding check

- split cane (hollow built) had delaminated inside cork grip  - cork cracked diagonally

- relaminated split cane and reinforced with tapered bamboo insert, glued in string Titebond-3

- new cork section shaped on lathe to reflect original design in progredd

- original winding check, wrapping + part cork end preserved, cleaned

- tip end shortened 2" due to major fracture, glued in string Titebond-3

- original ferrules removed, cleaned, re-set with SRB advance polymer melt glue 

- rod guides, ferrules whippings - Piper's 'Kenya Red' 4/20 fine twisted silk

- silk colour preserved with Pale French Polish 3 coats

- repaired cane splits varnished 3 coats, wrapped with Kimono 374  #100 white silk 

- silk wraps and repaired sections finished with spar varnish 3 coats - hand sable brush finish

.................................................................................................................................................................................

JJ Banty SP No 2 ~ 6' 2/1 #5 - recycled blanks

Description

Maker-Year: Anonymous - made in Japan c1960

Original Type - Three piece split-cane cane fly rod, 1 tip 9' #7-8

Re-imagined Type: Two piece split-cane Banty fly rod, 1 tip 6' #5 weight

Build date: 2021 JJ for SP

Rebuilding Notes - in Progress

- re-imagined mid and tip section as Banty from 3 -piece fly rod

- all fittings removed, original varnish carefully removed 

- original blanks showed no decay or delamination

- stripped blank lightly sanded 400 grit, tack cloth

- 8 coats Birchwood Tru-oil - light pass of 0000 steel wool - 24 hrs between coats

- new Nickel, Aluminium-Bronze composite ferrules (A V Young)

- red agate stripping guide & chrome snake guides

- wraps in Piper's Kenya Red silk, colour preserved Pale French Polish

- down locking Nickel Silver Reel seat (Ray Lee USA)

- Curly Maple wood insert (Ray Lee USA)

- tan flannel rod bag 6' 2/1 (REC)

Fishing Notes

- this fly rod will suit delicate dry fly + small nymph/wet fly fishing

- rod balanced at foregrip with Waterworks Lamson Purist 2 (2.8 oz nett) + line (3.6 oz total)

-  test cast to 20 metres with #5 weight DT line