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The January, 2008 of Power Fibers contains:

“A Rodmaker’s Dream”
(By Mike St. Clair)

'Twas a dark winter's solstice and while everyone slept,

out in the rod shop little gnomes deftly crept.

About their endeavor they silently went

On cutting and dipping and wrapping they're bent.

Shavings were falling, all curly and...

Another Use for Corncobs
(by Tony Spezio)

We had been feeding the squirrels and crows corn and the cobs were discarded. I had noticed the pen makers were making pens from corncobs but the blanks were too small make grips and seats. I decided to give it a try with the cobs left from the corn we were feeding the critters. The original corn we were getting...

Objects in Mirror are Closer Than They Appear
(by J.D. Wagner)

That's the warning we commonly see on the rearview mirrors  on our cars here in the USA. As Casimira and I drove the Autobahn from Munich to Waischenfeld, Germany for the 2007 International German Rodmaker's Meeting, we noticed the warning was absent from our little rental car. We stayed in the rightmost lane- cautious- and kept our speed to 120 km/hr. From time to time I'd glance in the rearview to check before passing a slower moving truck in our lane.

The cars in the left lanes were not only closer then they appeared, but closed distance at a remarkable rate of speed. There were Porsches, Audis, Mercedes, BMWs and VWs that would come from behind and pass in the blink of an eye...

Handmill Corner:
How to Prepare Strips
(by David H. Ray)

I have enjoyed a Morgan Hand Mill for many years and have had the pleasure to make many rods on it. I learned that although it has many advantages over using a planing form, it also has its own problems. Like other areas of bamboo rodmaking, one of the few things that we can all agree upon is that probably no two people make their rod in exactly the same way. The same is true in preparing strips for the Morgan Hand Mill, there is no one way, different people use different methods and most seem to work well.

I think to make it easier to mill strips on the Morgan Hand Mill there are three areas that need to be addressed. You may accomplish these three tasks....

Classic Taper:  Heddon Folsum #1015
(by Doug Easton)

The subjects of this article are Heddon products sold under the Folsum Arms label with the model designation #1510. These rods represent the bottom end of the Heddon Folsum line. The markings on both are pre-1939 (Folsum written diagonally across the flats with the model  number written at the winding check).

The 8’6” rod is shown at the top. The reel seat on this rod is a quality nickel silver cap and ring with a cedar insert. The ring and the cork check are both....

Making Bamboo Ferrules
(by Arne Andreason)

I was introduced to the concept of bamboo ferrules by Robert Kope at the 2006 Bamboo Rodmakers Gathering at Corbett Lake in British Columbia, Canada. Bob had brought a number of rods with integral bamboo ferrules and gave a brief discussion on how to make them. To construct the ferrules he had to swell the butt end of the tip section...

A Versatile Wrapping Jig
(by Robert Farrand)

I believe most rod builders craft their first wrapping jig simply so they can set the blank down in the middle of wrapping the guides to have a sip of coffee, or an adult beverage. However, as is the case with many tools, once a builder gets accustomed to using a jig it’s hard to get along without one.

Before I describe the project of building a wrapping jig, I would like to point out that many rod builders have made several versions of jigs...

Birch Bark Grips
(by Mike Popick)

Finding the grade of birch bark to be used for the grip is a search itself. I have found some birch bark to be what I call Flor grade, AAA, AA to throw away. There are many sources of bark, the best is where I can talk to an individual and describe what it is that I need...

Sharpening Station
(by Brent Beach)

There are some who say that you don't need a jig when sharpening hand tools. There are some who claim that this or that bench stone produces a fantastic edge. There are lots of stories about the old guy who sharpened up his tools on a bit of slate and got fantastic edges.

If you want the best possible edges you should ignore...