https://sites.google.com/view/bamboofly ... ant-to-rod
Plant to Rod
Plant to Rod is a lens into the world of rod building and fly fishing with bamboo, disclosing the process of repair and recycling - to fully stripping and rebuilding vintage bamboo fly rods - to building new rods from bamboo blanks.
The tectonics of a bamboo fly rod can be understood through the analysis of the sum of its parts; the maker's intent, the taper specification, length-to-weight ratio, flex, grip and reel seat types, ferrules, line guide types and their set-out; and of course the built quality of the bamboo, its finish, how silk wraps are applied and protected and the balance of the reel-to-rod and rod-to-line.
There is a direct correlation between making architecture and fly rods. The thinking and intelligence behind a building informs the architecture and this is analogous with bamboo fly rod design and making/building. In architecture, tectonics[1] can be defined as the whole art of producing useful and beautiful buildings.
In the continuum of elevating the gentle art of fly fishing, acknowledgement is made to all bamboo fly rod makers who apply astonishing skill and applied knowledge - starting from a reed, a stick of bamboo, splitting it longitudinally and then meticulously planing the strips into fine tapers and gluing them back together to create such finely tuned instruments. All contemporary fly rods, whether fibreglass, graphite or boron, owe their lineage to bamboo as the seminal material.
All the rods catalogued owe homage to their original makers - whether repaired, restored, recycled or built anew from pre-made blanks,. The rods are intended to be used, foremost for fly fishing - not reduced to wall hangers or elevated as museum pieces - unless of course there is a compelling reason to do so. The core material, bamboo, is a testament to longevity and practical sustainability ~ from plant to rod.
About
To share the process of crafting and building with bamboo, I have published this web site, Plant to Rod, as a durable record of bringing vintage bamboo fly rods back to life, or building anew - a lens into the world of rod building and fly fishing with bamboo.
The approach to vintage rods that require work includes research of each rod’s provenance, history, design, type and features, condition assessment and recycling plan - to restore or repair - then track down the proper materials, world-wide, to make dignified repairs or restore to the original maker's specification.
I repair bamboo fly rods and build new rods from from ready-made blanks, one at a time - my next step is to learn how to make a bamboo rod from a culm of bamboo.
Plant to Rod is a web site that I update regularly - as I ponder, learn, build, restore or repair these fine instruments of pure function.
james jones ~ architect
https://youtu.be/u1MDFL8Ow0o
[1] An inherent and irrefutable quality emerges when the relation between the form of a building, its use, its parts, how they are produced, and put together, and their role as a sum, is greater. The value of tectonics as a definitive, holistic approach to architecture is best demonstrated through built work, but can also be taught by precedent.
