I am not sure if this belongs in this section of the forum but, it does have to do with my Bamboo planing forms.

I would like to build a blank out of a cheaper material than Bamboo to ensure I built my forms correctly. My P.O.C. Mike St.Clair has seen a Cherry blank, said it was pretty but, not very functional (too stiff I believe). He has also seen a blank made out of Ash. I have tried to research the web on Ash fly rods. Waaaaaaay back when, they use to use Ash for the butt section. I was going to build a Basswood blank just to check the forms but, I could only find it in 2' lenghts.

I guess all this is leading up to: If I built an Ash fly rod would it hold up on a small spring creek? Any ideas? I would like to try a small blank using ODS's Modified Leonard 36.

Thanks for any information / opinions you can give me.

Pete

When you consider all the time and effort that goes into making a rod, the Bamboo is the cheapest part of it. You can usually get about 2 rods out of a full 12' culm, and when I last bought culms they were around $25 a piece.

I wouldn't bother wasting the time to make a wood blank. Just get started on your first bamboo blank. Take your time, and be careful to do good work.

Mark

Ash will not likely work for tips -- especially tips as fine as a Leonard 36. The grain is too wide, and the ash will just fall apart when you work it down that small.

Besides, most wooden rods were made by gluing four square sections of wood together, then tapering from the outside.

Harry

See "Making Strip Built Fly Rods. . ." by John Betts.

I'm new to this forum and found this post concerning an ash rod. I've built one and fished it. The piece I used had perfectly straight grain that was quite tight. It hasn't broken under pressure because the grain runs from the tip to the ferrule for the top section and then it runs from the ferrule to the butt. For added hoop-strength I wrapped intermediate wraps over the entire length of the rod. I have built greenheart and bamboo rods and have found that ash is real slow. The greenheart is very strong a little faster than bamboo, but quite heavy. Osage orange is slow as well. I don't glue strips instead I plane and taper a piece of solid wood first into a rough hexagonal shape then I round it with a sanding block. The rods fish quite well and are a nice change of pace from the modern materials. I would highly recommend building a solid wood rod straight from the tree. They are a real joy to fish with, not to mention they get a lot of attention from other fly fishermen who have no idea what they are. I've had several fishermen ask to cast a solid wood rod just to have a chance to feel one for the first time.