Since I've also recently gotten acquainted with the wages, time and travail involved in crafting bamboo rods, I'd like to make a suggestion to whom it
may concern: you may be able to put together a profitable sideline that has something to do with the framing business.
I work at a big, corporate type framing place- Michael's (same owners as Aaron Brothers, I'm told.) The frames themselves are ordered from a standard array of metal or wood designs- "pre-rolled blanks", so to speak. Believe me, the assembly is much easier than finishing out rods. Typically, the charge for the frame section materials is at least half of the total price. And the labor rate charged to customers is around $38.00 an hour (although as a corporate scrub, I presently make less than 1/3 that. Which is okay with me- I do my 40 hours, and the owners and managers get to deal with the rest of it...)
That said, much of the actual work of a custom framer's job is selling- using an eye for color and design to bring out the best in a picture. I used to think I didn't have that ability, but it was mostly lack of interest/practice. As long as you aren't outright color-blind, visual taste is learnable and teachable. There are a few basic principles- "everything doesn't need to look like a Wes Wilson poster" was an axiom that was particularly tough for me, but I finally got over the hump. After that, you start sorting out the fine points...it's neat when it all falls into place.
Making the frames themselves is where the wood crafting work is. It can get elaborate, but I can't imagine how it could be nearly as challenging as the fine-tolerance work needed for constructing tapered split bamboo fly rod blanks.
My suggestion is that any cane rod builders out there reading this might consider working out a business arrangement with an independent frame shop, in some capacity or another. Granted, crafting frames from scratch can take a lot of steps. Custom frames generally need to be painted and/or stained, carved, gessoed, gilded, etc., a process where production line work has something of a competitive edge, particularly in the mass market. But my guess is that just as there's a "high-end" market for hand-built bamboo rods, there's most likely a similar market for particularly well-crafted frames. As long as you have the shop, the tools, and the ability...who knows? You could even try working up some bamboo frames, as a specialty. Beyond the stereotypical 1/2 culm section type bamboo frames- you could make them split, glued, flamed, laminated, with threadwork and inlays...consider that the raw material would be a lot cheaper than hardwoods, and infinitely less ersatz than plastic resin.
I work at a big, corporate type framing place- Michael's (same owners as Aaron Brothers, I'm told.) The frames themselves are ordered from a standard array of metal or wood designs- "pre-rolled blanks", so to speak. Believe me, the assembly is much easier than finishing out rods. Typically, the charge for the frame section materials is at least half of the total price. And the labor rate charged to customers is around $38.00 an hour (although as a corporate scrub, I presently make less than 1/3 that. Which is okay with me- I do my 40 hours, and the owners and managers get to deal with the rest of it...)
That said, much of the actual work of a custom framer's job is selling- using an eye for color and design to bring out the best in a picture. I used to think I didn't have that ability, but it was mostly lack of interest/practice. As long as you aren't outright color-blind, visual taste is learnable and teachable. There are a few basic principles- "everything doesn't need to look like a Wes Wilson poster" was an axiom that was particularly tough for me, but I finally got over the hump. After that, you start sorting out the fine points...it's neat when it all falls into place.
Making the frames themselves is where the wood crafting work is. It can get elaborate, but I can't imagine how it could be nearly as challenging as the fine-tolerance work needed for constructing tapered split bamboo fly rod blanks.
My suggestion is that any cane rod builders out there reading this might consider working out a business arrangement with an independent frame shop, in some capacity or another. Granted, crafting frames from scratch can take a lot of steps. Custom frames generally need to be painted and/or stained, carved, gessoed, gilded, etc., a process where production line work has something of a competitive edge, particularly in the mass market. But my guess is that just as there's a "high-end" market for hand-built bamboo rods, there's most likely a similar market for particularly well-crafted frames. As long as you have the shop, the tools, and the ability...who knows? You could even try working up some bamboo frames, as a specialty. Beyond the stereotypical 1/2 culm section type bamboo frames- you could make them split, glued, flamed, laminated, with threadwork and inlays...consider that the raw material would be a lot cheaper than hardwoods, and infinitely less ersatz than plastic resin.
