Maintaining bamboo rods.

[FarmerDave]

I got into a discussion with another board member and he mentioned oiling an old bamboo rod. I was a little bit stumped.

Is that advisable? Sometimes I fish with bamboo, but most of the time it is with a rod that I have refinished so they wouldn't need any preservation.

Is it advisable to "oil" an old bamboo rod, and if so, with what.

Is it advisable to oil a new bamboo rod, or at lest a bamboo rod with a new finish, and if so, with what?

I suppose some furniture oil like Milsek (sp?) wouldn't hurt it.

 

[shortrod2]

FarmerDave wrote:
Is it advisable to "oil" an old bamboo rod, and if so, with what.

Is it advisable to oil a new bamboo rod, or at lest a bamboo rod with a new finish, and if so, with what?

Bamboo is a wood like material. It requires a finish to protect it from the elements.

There are three types of protection that I am aware of, a varnish coating, impregnated and oil finish.

Neither an impregnated rod nor a varnished rod will benefit from an oiling. A rod with an oil finish will benefit from an oil treatment just as any other wood object with an oil finish.

Recommended oils are boiled linseed and tung, but others may work as well. Stay away from "tung oil finish" and the like, these are a mixture of oil and varnish and do not look good when treated as an oil.

All that is needed is a drop or two rubbed on the rod.

 

[JoeE]

Dave,
Old rods or varnish can be polished with rottenstone with an oil-soaked rag or beeswax and you can use car polish this will help bring back the luster. New rods you can wipe them down with lemon oil.

Joe E

 

[FarmerDave]

Thanks guys. I "Pledge" to take better care.

That was bad, wasn't it.

 

[bikerfish]

you must be bored, worrying about waxing your rods???!!

 

[just_jon]

I use Butcher's Bowling Alley Wax on all my bamboo rods. It is a clear paste wax my father had used for many years so I saw no reason to change. A very small amount buffed with a soft cloth after drying to a haze results in nice shine. I only apply when putting rods up for storage.

 

[jdaddy]

shortrod2 wrote:

Bamboo is a wood like material. It requires a finish to protect it from the elements.

There are three types of protection that I am aware of, a varnish coating, impregnated and oil finish.

Neither an impregnated rod nor a varnished rod will benefit from an oiling. A rod with an oil finish will benefit from an oil treatment just as any other wood object with an oil finish.

Recommended oils are boiled linseed and tung, but others may work as well. Stay away from "tung oil finish" and the like, these are a mixture of oil and varnish and do not look good when treated as an oil.

All that is needed is a drop or two rubbed on the rod.

It's grass not wood.

BLO will offer almost zero protection. Almost impossible to tung with out additives, thus almost all tung oils are "tung oil finish". They look perfectly fine, the only theoretical concern would be cracking if the varnish element is too high.

Agreed, if one has an non-varnished bamboo rod and wants to make is shiny pretty a quick and light wipe of BLO is all you need.

edit: Dave, yeah put whatever you want on it to make it pretty. If you sealed it then have at it. Pledge (omg did i just say that??!) will work just as well on any finished, sealed surface. But, you know bamboo people have to have traditions and what not.

 

[tomitrout]

If it's a varnish finish or impregnated, just wipe it down real good and put her away. Plenty of folks wax 'em, but if the varnish is sound it seems kinda redundent to me and is mostly for show, the waxing doesn't really add much in the way of protection.

Not sure about maintaining a tung oil finished rod though, won't have to worry about that until I build out the blank that's sitting in the rack. It'll be finished with tung oil for ease and simplicity, so I guess I'll know sometime in the future..

 

[shortrod2]

Anyone interested in seeing what an oil finished rod looks like can look here.

 

[pafisherman]

I agree with what has been said. No real reason if the finish is good. It is important to clean them up once in awhile but what you really need is to make sure they are clean and dry after each use..
I wipe my Bamboo Rods with a clean dry cloth after each use before placing them back in the tube. Often I will then take them out of the tube when I get it home for a day or so before storing until the next trip.

Bill A

 

[FarmerDave]

Rather than start a new thread, I have a new question.

If one now has a splintered fracture on a tip section, what epoxy is best for gluing it back together?

It was a sad walk on Friday back to the car to get the backup plastic rod.

I probably still have some slow curing stuff still around, but have had it about 15 years and I don't know the shelf life.

Epon something.
It is not completely severed. Basically, it looks like it started delaminating just above the ferrule on the tip section and then it splintered when trying to lightly tug loose a snag. When I rebuilt the rod over 10 years ago, I sealed it well. But the blank was I'm guessing late 40s, early 50s vintage... Old enough that the dark adhesive was used to glue the strips together but more than likely post WWII Japanese due to the lower quality (likely milled only).

It felt funny occasionally on the last several cases. Unfortunately I only glanced at it, saw nothing obvious, so I kept using it.

DAMMIT! I have a lot of money into this rod. I'd say at least 70 bucks. :lol:

 

[JackM]

Furniture polish over a good finish can't hurt. It makes it shiny and slippery-- both positive attributes.

 

[DMT]

x2 on the Butcher's paste wax. Generally 1/2 times per year.

 

[shortrod2]

FarmerDave wrote:
Rather than start a new thread, I have a new question.

If one now has a splintered fracture on a tip section, what epoxy is best for gluing it back together?

I am not an expert in this area, but I would think that modern PVA glue would hold it together for at least another 100 years. Epoxy is messy, PVA cleans up with water. You would want to clean off the old failed glue first.

 

[gfen]

Wrap it first in white thread, which should go clear when you apply your epoxy to it.

Silk thread will go even clearer, but be slightly more difficult to apply.

You don't need anything fancy to do it with, honestly you can do it with something to rest the rod on and then a bobbin to hold the thread.

I suspect that Clark's forum should have some extensive posts on fixing bamboo breaks: http://classicflyrodforum.com/

 

[bikerfish]

I've fixed them, but it was years ago, and heck if I can remember what glue I used!! I think it was 2 part epoxy, but not the 5 minute stuff, I tried to get it in all the nooks and crannies of the spinter, then put everything back where it belongs, and wrap it up with a lightweight cotton string, put it in some sort of jig to hold it all straight. after the epoxy dries, remove the string andsand off the excess, do your white silk overwrap, finish with varnish of your choice, no color preserver and the silk will vanish.

 

[FarmerDave]

Yes, the white silk thread does disappear. I repaired one years ago and I still have some white silk winding thread. But that "repair" eventually failed because I really didn't know what I was doing.

I understand that the rule of thumb is faster drying epoxy is more brittle when fully cured than the slow stuff. Slow curing is more flexible. I still have some from years ago and it is in glass jars (2 part). It was expensive commercial grade stuff that normally is only sold in fairly large quantities, but the company was nice enough to send a free sample when I told them what I needed it for.

I think I will try using that. The only issue I see is the stuff might be a little on the thick side from age (won't flow into all the cracks very well).

Oh well, if it doesn't hold, I can always replace the whole section or do a scarf joint. Plenty of old material to match it to and if not, I know bikerfish has some and I know roughly where he lives.;-)

Thanks for the advice, and if there are any other suggestions on what glue to use, pleases feel free.

 

[gfen]

FarmerDave wrote:
The only issue I see is the stuff might be a little on the thick side from age (won't flow into all the cracks very well).

Mix it in a cup, and keep the cup in a hot water bath during mix and application.

Should keep it a bit more fluid.

 

[FarmerDave]

gfen wrote:

FarmerDave wrote:
The only issue I see is the stuff might be a little on the thick side from age (won't flow into all the cracks very well).

Mix it in a cup, and keep the cup in a hot water bath during mix and application.

Should keep it a bit more fluid.

Was planning on preheating both parts before mixing them. I figured it can't hurt. Also like your Dixie Cup idea.

Preheating the cane should help as well.

I sure hope the stuff is still good. Haven't checked.

I'll do a test run on something else first.

 

[JoeE]

Dave,

I'm a fan of the 5 min epoxy but not on rod repairs. Use Shell Epon or tightbond III and wrap with white silk. If you can glue each of the splints down it can be a pain seperating them but worth it in the long run. Joe E