(Made by fishermen to catch fish )

My process for making split bamboo fly rods


This site is growing all the time . questions to Mac (Rich McGaughey) the builder and restorer


Click on the following links to get more information on my rod building techniques. The purpose of these pages is not to teach rod building but to demonstrate the high quality of my workmanship, the amount of time per rod and the care I put into each rod.

1 Bamboo selection - I purchase bamboo in large lots and carefully measure it to make sure there is plenty of power fibers (modulus) for the section type. Butts require a larger depth of power fibers while tips are thinner.

2 Splitting the bamboo into strips, Macsrods are never sawn . Sawing cuts through the natural strength of the power fibers ( the grain of bamboo). Splitting the strips allows the strength of the grain to be built into the rods.
3 Node work- nodes must be straightened Nodes
4 Initially the splits are shaped into 60 degree triangle stripsRough plane
5 A time honored process to remove moisture from the bamboo Heat treatment
6 The strips are then planned down to the exact sizes final plane
7 The strips are then glued and bound into a rod glue
8 straighten and clean
9 wrap
10 Dip to apply varnish finish to the rod to keep the water off the bamboo Finish
Return to
Macsrods Main Webpage