varney redo

This board is for discussing the repair and restoration of bamboo fly rods, makers discussion and construction techniques relating to same. Examples would be different techniques or methods used by restorationists and makers.

Moderator: Titelines

User avatar
tapermaker
Master Guide
Posts: 896
Joined: 05/20/06 18:00

varney redo

#1

Post by tapermaker »

A while back i mentioned picking up a varney monty for a song from a second hand store in town It needed a few things done to it which i did . I wanted to fish w/ it but at 91/2 ft wet fly action , it wasnt going to get any use. It was wrapped by someone else probably over 80 yrs ago the ferrules were not of the higher grade , The seat and grip were fine . After thinking on it i decided to wrap it again in the original style . (just under 300 total wraps that took me 4 days .) I decided to make it a 81/2 ft rod .I based it on a fishkill of the same era. so i removed the ferrules and after delaminating and replaning the sections ,i put new CSE ferrules back on . I now have a 81/2 3/2 5wt 5.0 oz.rod that is tapered on a 8 1/2 ft fishkill taper i had from another rod i recorded in my library . The Varney butt section didnt have the swell at the butt of the early fiskill taper but otherwise worked out fine ( the swell at the grip top measured .400 on the fishkill but the varney came in at .375. lucky i didnt need to work this area and planed it down to station 15 from the bottom after delaminating it down to the grip i layed it in the form It worked out fine. i now will fish this rod instead of it collecting dust in my home rod tube holder. i need to put a few more coats on it but the photos will give you the idea .

Image

Image

Image
Image

driftless angler
Master Guide
Posts: 556
Joined: 11/09/18 14:49

Re: varney redo

#2

Post by driftless angler »

Wow! Great job!

User avatar
Gnome
Bamboo Fanatic
Posts: 3997
Joined: 12/23/04 19:00

Re: varney redo

#3

Post by Gnome »

Wow Is that rod marked as a modern fantasy that never existed to ensure that it does not pollute the historical record? if not that is the most disrespectful thing I have ever seen on this forum. IMHO no respect for the history of rod making if that rod is not marked very clearly that it is a fantasy that never existed until now.

User avatar
sodbank
Master Guide
Posts: 482
Joined: 12/27/11 14:12
Location: South Jersey

Re: varney redo

#4

Post by sodbank »

WOW Dennis that looks great ! I hope you get to fish with it the year.

Doug

User avatar
steeliefool
Bamboo Fanatic
Posts: 1675
Joined: 09/07/16 15:28
Location: Jersey

Re: varney redo

#5

Post by steeliefool »

I think the new CES ferrules would be a huge giveaway as to the rods originality plus many signs of the rod being worked over. It's got every thing with the exception of the two rivets/electrodes protruding from just above the grip IMHO!
Add those and no signing needed! An improved rod to be sure and ment to be fished and enjoyed. And improved by a real rod maker, making rods regulary and sharing his skill with us all. Nothing disrespectful about it.

User avatar
tapermaker
Master Guide
Posts: 896
Joined: 05/20/06 18:00

Re: varney redo

#6

Post by tapermaker »

Gnome . i signed it and dated it as well as putting a modern hook keeper and ferrules on it . no one can mistake it . sorry it hit a nerve , but its value as a example of Yarneys work was lost by the rewrap done back in the 30s i would think due to the age cracks . monty man looked it over at the nflcc meeting , and agreed that the wraps and probably the ferrules were not what would have come on a varney . My opinion was someone took a regular monty and added the seat to it. in a sense youre right about it being a fantasy rod now. A exercise in sharpening skills for my hobbie and work skills . I apreciate the old rodmakers work , but in this case there truely wasnt much left to preserve. Documenting the work on this website/signing and dating redo insures that i am not trying to "get over on anyone . I have put a reference of this web thread address in the tube for when im gone .

Bamboocollector#1
Master Guide
Posts: 441
Joined: 07/22/20 18:38

Re: varney redo

#7

Post by Bamboocollector#1 »

Well done as usual Dennis!
Previously known as bamboocollector11

User avatar
Gnome
Bamboo Fanatic
Posts: 3997
Joined: 12/23/04 19:00

Re: varney redo

#8

Post by Gnome »

Dennis

what taper did you use out of curiosity?? And how familiar are you with Varney's tapers and actions?? And sfools comment about a real rodmaker is nothing but a very snide shot at me I will call them out every time he attacks me. And as a so-called rod maker by some how many Varney rods have you or Sfool studied?? I have taken the tapers of 8 Varney's made in Central Valley by George and his Brother and I own 2 more besides.

and to get anywhere near the action of an original Varney do you realize his rods were designed to a much higher level than most Rod makers do today?? His tapers accounted for guide placement and effects besides everything else and if you had studied the number of C V Varney's that I have you would understand how great a rod maker George I Varney was. So taper used in my eyes is extremely important in trying to achieve the Varney feel and action. Not easy to do!!

And Kudos to you Dennis for signing the rod. the reason it struck a deep nerve with me is due to the number of mint restorations I have seen in the last 20 years and 2 rods in particular are a very touchy subject due to the fact that Those 2 rods were restored then sold as mint originals and that is wrong on so many levels so anything that looks like it is Morally or ethically suspect in restoration I will call it out just like calling out trolls like steeliefool.

And as the only rod maker in the world who has fully restored TWO Thaddeus Norris rods, I believe that with the sheer numbers of rods I have made in my life (somewhere well north of 45,000 rods I have had my hands on them during production and not many here have the ability to claim that level of rods built or helped to build in their lifetime) I do qualify as a REAL rod maker despite what trolls say. And I am one of the rod makers who has applied an art class level to their work.

User avatar
Titelines
Administrator
Posts: 3115
Joined: 07/20/05 18:00
Location: Grayling, Michigan

Re: varney redo

#9

Post by Titelines »

Wow. You've made 45,000 bamboo rods Jeff?

Now that right there is a pretty amazing number.

Mark

User avatar
BruceHandley
Bamboo Fanatic
Posts: 1831
Joined: 03/22/04 19:00
Location: Cadyville, NY

Re: varney redo

#10

Post by BruceHandley »

Jeff,
Are you smoking those funny little cigarettes again????
If you have made over 45,000 rods, well then I'm the tooth fairy.
Bruce

PYochim
Bamboo Fanatic
Posts: 6314
Joined: 12/23/07 19:00
Location: An Underground Bunker

Re: varney redo

#11

Post by PYochim »

BruceHandley wrote:
05/08/22 18:49
Are you smoking those funny little cigarettes again????
Now that is a classy remark. What a crappy implication.

User avatar
Seabowisha Salmo T
Bamboo Fanatic
Posts: 1330
Joined: 01/15/07 19:00

Re: varney redo

#12

Post by Seabowisha Salmo T »

PYochim wrote:
05/08/22 20:25
BruceHandley wrote:
05/08/22 18:49
Are you smoking those funny little cigarettes again????
Now that is a classy remark. What a crappy implication.
hello, mr. yochim; mongo very 'fraid of mr. handley, do you know what he eat for breakfast???
good luck. . . .
.

PYochim
Bamboo Fanatic
Posts: 6314
Joined: 12/23/07 19:00
Location: An Underground Bunker

Re: varney redo

#13

Post by PYochim »

Mongo like candy.

User avatar
Seabowisha Salmo T
Bamboo Fanatic
Posts: 1330
Joined: 01/15/07 19:00

Re: varney redo

#14

Post by Seabowisha Salmo T »

PYochim wrote:
05/08/22 22:06
Mongo like candy.
"candygram for mr. yochim

JoeBolt
Master Guide
Posts: 636
Joined: 10/27/21 18:37

Re: varney redo

#15

Post by JoeBolt »

Image

There are perfectly reasonable things failing here. I won't presume to enumerate them, but the hole in Willie Nelson's guitar could have been fixed 50 years ago. Yeah, Says you. Oh, yeah?

I suspect a lock pending, but not before some bloodletting, or maybe a soothing & healthy analogy or two. Pass the popcorn.

I'll edit here simply to state that OP shared a transformation of cane with us that was truly one-of-a-kindcbeautiful and relayed so concisely and confidently about getting this creation back to catching fish. I'm not taking sides, but trying to support OP and his creative achievement.
He may very well have fixed Willie's guitar just so he could play it himself.

User avatar
BigTJ
Bamboo Fanatic
Posts: 4941
Joined: 06/04/06 18:00

Re: varney redo

#16

Post by BigTJ »

Guys I know Jeff worked at Scott and made a whole lot of graphite and glass rods when he was there. He didn’t say they were 45k bamboo.

Personally I am not in favor of chopping up and Frankensteining old rods which have neat history to them. It’s not really a vintage rod anymore after it was “adjusted”. Those old wet fly rods are treasures but that’s just one person’s point of view.

John

User avatar
Gnome
Bamboo Fanatic
Posts: 3997
Joined: 12/23/04 19:00

Re: varney redo

#17

Post by Gnome »

and once again people put words in my mouth that I did not speak. Over 45K rods built during my tenure at SCOTT alone and being the cork smith, they all have a touch of my work on and in them despite what others think and they were rods built for performance and not just to "Look Right or bound by aesthetics" like some here are.

To bastardize a rod by delaming it and then retapering is a fantasy rod at best and a major insult to the original maker. To heck with historical accuracy and not polluting the historical record, and IMHO that rod does exactly that, it is a fantasy that did not exist, and I see no response to my questions about Varney's tapers and what that rod was retapered too. Just further snide shots at me.

Bruce you owe me an apology because your statement is not true as far as rods produced during my lifetime. And the best way to do that is a picture of you in a Tu-Tu wearing filmy silk Fairy wings because by your statement you are the tooth fairy.

Thanks John for recognizing my time at SCOTT where it was all about high performance and durability and not just aesthetics like some here seem to be bound by!!~

User avatar
BruceHandley
Bamboo Fanatic
Posts: 1831
Joined: 03/22/04 19:00
Location: Cadyville, NY

Re: varney redo

#18

Post by BruceHandley »

I think its time to clarify my post, the comment about "funny little cigarettes"comes from an inside joke that some of us used back when the Langs auctions were live. It was often applied to someone expounding on the size or number of fish they had been catching. What Jeff smokes is of no interest to me. Jeff and I have had our our problems in the past, but never aired in public.
Jeff, turning cork isn't makeing rods, at best its helping,so you get no apology from me.

I'm with John when it comes to old rods. I've been restoring antique rods for almost 50 years and never once that i can remember were they altered from the original intent.
Bruce

User avatar
BigTJ
Bamboo Fanatic
Posts: 4941
Joined: 06/04/06 18:00

Re: varney redo

#19

Post by BigTJ »

I work out a lot, so my guess is that if anybody is going to have to post a picture of themselves in a tu tu with fairy wings, you guys are going to want it to be me :rollin

DonT
Master Guide
Posts: 553
Joined: 11/12/15 23:49

Re: varney redo

#20

Post by DonT »

John I'm in for 10 bucks when you post the pic.

Don
Don Titterington
Desert Canyon Rods
West Linn, OR
Repairs/Renovations
Custom Builds

Post Reply

Return to “Rod making, restoration, repairs and discussion on those related topics concerning bamboo rods.”