PMQ or 2-Strip Quad Construction:

I am not going to cover heat treating, planing, glues, finishing... as there is ample information available elseware.

1. Split and heat treat the bamboo. I used Sir D's method of flaming the inside of the culm with a propane torch, but any method of splitting or sawing and heat treating will work. Also, split a little wider than you would for a 6 sided rod...
2. Remove the enamel from the surface of the bamboo and flatten with a scraper or sanding block.
3. On a flat surface plane the inside, pith side, of one strip to ½ the overall taper. A work bench or table will do fine for this. Mark the split sides, 90° to the powerfibers, at 5" intervals where measurements can be made with a vernier caliper (but a micrometer would do fine). You will be measuring quite a bit, one thing I have done is to measure the thickness of my plane shavings to get a rough estimation.
4. Repeat for the other side.
5. Glue the two pith sides together with the powerfibers to the outside. Then clamp the two sides together, you can use anything from small "Pony" clamps to office supply binder clips. Also, it helps to clamp to something straight, a steel or aluminum angle iron lined with a slick tape to avoid glue sticking works well.
6. Let the glue dry.
7. Take the glued up strip (which resembles a long wedge at this point) and begin planning on the surfaces with the glue lines, not the 2 powerfiber surfaces. Plane the strips, alternating sides, trying very carefully to maintain a 90° angle on the corners, it is very easy to create a trapezoid cross section at this step. Measure at 5" intervals as in step one until the desired taper is achieved - then stop.
8. Finish as you would any other rod.

Tom Smithwick & Richard Tyree each wrote very good articles on the subject for the "Planing Form" newsletter, both are available in the book "Best of the Planing Form, Volume 2"

Let me know if have any questions.

Jamie

Thanks, Jamie! Look forward (or should I say 'froe-ward' ) to giving it a try

Ken