10 Steps for Making a Bamboo Fishing Pole
Bamboo fishing pole enthusiasts are an exuberant bunch. I quick search on the web will unveil a passionate group of fishermen who love the feel and nostalgia that these hand made rods evoke. You can make your own bamboo fishing rod in ten easy steps using one of our Tonkin bamboo poles.
These steps were adapted from Trails.com:
- Select several long shafts of bamboo. Imported Tonkin bamboo segments that are 2 inches in diameter are recommended.
- Cut the bamboo into long tapered strips with a thick-bladed knife. From these sections slice six narrow strips with a standard screwdriver that has a sharpened blade.
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Photo credit Bamboo Fisher
Heat individual bamboo strips with a blow dryer or heat gun. After heating, firmly clamp each strip in a vice to flatten its irregularly-shaped nodes.
- Plane inner two sides of each bamboo strip at a 60-degree angle.
- Form a round hexagon by placing the six strips of bamboo together. Bind tightly with string.
- Place bound bamboo strips inside a narrow pipe. Heat the pipe with a blow torch. This will dry out the bamboo strips.
- Glue bamboo strips together with a product like URAC 185, which is a modified formaldehyde adhesive. Rebind and let dry again.
- Polish the surface of your bamboo fishing rod with fine 200 grit sandpaper until it is smooth.
- Attach eyelets for fishing line with epoxy. The eyelets should be placed at 1-foot intervals starting 2 feet from the rod’s base.
- Assemble handle by gluing together cork rings of 1/2-inch to 1-inch thickness. Use tape, metal rings or plastic ties to fasten reel to the cork.
As you can see, this is not a quick DIY project. If you do undertake the project, leave us a comment and let us know how it worked out.
Excellent tips on making a bamboo fishing pole. This looks a real cool project to get working on.