Here is a list of the essential tools that you’ll need to make your own bamboo rod. Not included are the standard rod components such as ferrues, seat, guides, etc.

The short and sweet version thanks to Darryl Hayashida:


Or the longer, more in depth version:

You can click on any image to be taken to a website that offers that product. I chose the websites for no particular reason, so don’t necessarily take them as suggestions of where to get the items, nor, in many of the cases, precisely which ones to get.


Pencil


Measuring tape


Various grits of sandpaper - 100-400

File for prepping nodes


Binding string - I've used kite thread before, but hand quilting thread works great too.


Glue - Titebond 3, Gorilla Glue, ProBond, and quite a few other, more or less benign, types can be used.


Torch - Bernz-o-matic for around $30 at any hardware store works great. Either propane or MAPP gas is fine.



Froe and mallet for splitting the culm. Any tough knife that you don’t mind hitting with a mallet is fine.

Froe:


Mallet:



Fine toothed saw for cutting the culm:



Alcohol lamp or a heat gun. Cost: $20+

Wagner Alcohol Lamp:


Heat Gun:



A smooth-jawed vice for pressing nodes:



A well tuned adjustable mouth block plane. A Lie-Nielsen is the best, but a properly adjusted Stanley 9 1/2 will work fine if you put in a top quality Hock replacement blade (~$40 for the blade). Veritas and Record also make good quality block planes (don't get a low angle). The biggest advantage to a Lie-Nielsen or Veritas is they are ready to go out of the box and already come with a top-notch blade. Cost: $70-$150

Stanley:


Record:


Veritas:


Lie-Nielsen:



Sharpening system for the plane blades. This can be as fancy as a Tormek grinder, as utilitarian as a set of DMT diamond stones or standard water stones, or as low tech as various grits of wet/dry sandpaper and a sheet of thick glass (aka 'Scary Sharp System'). Whatever way you go your plane blades have to be SHARP. Sharper than a razor. Cost: ~$20-$400

Scary Sharp system information:
http://www.shavings.net/SCARY.HTM

Japanese Waterstones:


DMT Diamond Stones:


Tormek Grinder:



An adjustable blade holder like a Veritas jig is essential for hand sharpening. Cost: $30ish



Rough planing forms (or a beveler ). You can actually use your regular forms for roughing as you first get started, or you can easily make a set from wood with a router and/or table saw.

Wagner Roughing Forms:



Depth gauge/dial indicator with 60 degree point. Cost: $50+ depending if you make your own base and/or point. Lee Valley has what appears to be a decent digital depth indicator for $38.50.

Digital depth indicator:


Bellinger Depth Gauge with stand and point:


A good set of calipers. Digital or dial. Cost: $15+

Calipers:


Digital Calipers:



Finish planing forms. This is the only really pricey item on the list, but also the most important. Cost: ~$100 for hand made, to $390-$450 for Colorado Bootstrap or Blauvelt's, to $1050 for swelled butt Wagner forms.

Colorado Bootstrap Forms:
http://www.coloradobootstrap.com/fishing/

Blauvelt Planing Forms:


Bellinger Planing Forms:


Wagner Planing Forms:



A handful of single edge razor blades, or even better, a cabinet scraper (I use one that I use for tuning skis that I've had for years).

Lie-Nielsen Cabinet Scraper:



Sanding Block. This Veritas is the ultimate and worth twice the price!



I think that is everything. All the rest of the stuff is the same stuff needed for wrapping any fishing rod. Total cost? Well, a lot of that depends on how many of the required tools you already have, and how fancy you want to go. I’d say the minimum if you had to buy everything would be around $400-$500 plus the cost of your planing forms.

Chris, might I be so bold as to add:

String Binder (either hand binding or contraption based). Folks see here for examples Binders

A binder would be a nice item that would fit into the 'upgrade' category. Definitely nice to have, but not an essential. Here are a some binders and a few other upgrades:

Tim Preusch 4-String Binder:


Golden Witch Binder:


Bellinger Binder:


Wagner Binder:


JW Binder:



Bret's Bamboo Ovens:



Bureau Beveler:


JW Beveler:

And a file for fitting ferrules

Ken

Personally, I'm a sandpaper kinda guy. What type of file do you recommend Ken?

I prefer a wide file to get a uniform cut across the corners of the blank where the ferrule will sit. I also prefer a fine metal cutting file that won't remove too much material on a single pass as I work my way around the corners of the blank in order to maintain my centre.

Ken

What does the front adjustment knob on a stanley 9 1/2 adjust? and could you do without this adjusting? I ask this because on ebay there is a stanley 220 for sale, which is in principle the same as the 9 1/2 but without the front adjustment knob.

Karel

It adjust the throat where the shavings exit
And I believe you can do with out it

Bob

Karel,

Like Bob said, the lever adjusts the size of the mouth opening (the space between the blade and the base of the plane.

The problem with not having this adjustment is you will have more chipping near nodes, and a greater possibility of having the plane take off too much of a shaving. I wouldn't go so far as to say that the adjustment was 'essential', but I think it is important.

OK, thanks Bob and Chris. I allready had a Stanley, but that is a G12-004, with a grooved sole. Reading a bit more, i learned that that wasn't the most ideal plane to use. In toolshops over here, the only planes i can find are Baileys and Handymans and those things where you put something like a razor blade in for a blade (think it's the RB5). But i still have time, can't start on the planing forms until school starts again and through the net i found that the national bamboo information centre is located near the place where we will spent our hollydays . I hope this winter i'll have all the equipment to make a good start at boo-building.

Karel

Karel,

A Bailey plane is essentially a Stanley. I believe that Stanley bought Bailey many, many years ago. A Record plane from England would be fine as well.

Brian

I have since aquired more contraptions and other miscellaneous tools, but in one picture these are the only tools I need to make a bamboo rod. No oven, I flame my rods. No binder, for years I bound by hand using the spinning reel you see in the picture. I used a wipe on varnish and then wrapped the guides on over the varnish. The only tools in the picture that cost more than 40 - 50 dollars is the planing form. The wood board in the middle is my roughing form.



Darryl

Here is my version of a power beveller





Bob

Well gang I just kicked off my rod tool buying phase with an order from JW for his Binder and Rod Wrapper. I think next time I do a tool buy it will be for the Tom Morgan Handmill. That darn Chris Carlin got me infected with the rod building lust! Hey as much fun as splitting cane was by hand, watching "TROUT GRASS" (that Chris lent me) Watching Glen Brackett splitting a clum (12ft.) Looked to cool for words. I think maybe Mr. Brackett has some showman blood in him. I talked to Tom at Manufacturing Technologies Inc. about his splitter and asked him why he isn't busy making a node press? He said he'll look into it. I guess a guy could spend the time and come up with a homey (homemade) but I think I would have more fun building rods.

Wow! Very impressive tools. I guess this is what you use to bind the split bamboo parts together? Is it possible to bind them together without one of these setups? I'd love to get into building bamboo rods though I'm sure there's a long learning curve. I've felt a few in my hand before and there's nothing like the feel of a well made bamboo flyrod.

Nother Newbie question, how do you use the spinning reel to bind the blank?

Regards
Tong

Mount the reel on your bench, pull some line off setting the drag for a little tension and start wrapping the line around the blank from one end to the other and back. May not be this best but it should work OK.

Ken

If I ever say I want to build a bamboo rod, shoot me - the funeral would be cheaper