Fishing tackle, its materials and manufacture : a practical guide to the best modes and methods of making every kind of appliance necessary for taking freshwater fish, and for the by Keene John Harrington

Author:Keene, John Harrington
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: Fishing, Fly casting
Publisher: London ; New York : Ward, Lock
Published: 1886-03-25T05:00:00+00:00

Fig. 168.—End Ferrule.

various degrees of cutting power, several planes, one or two of which should be small ones. Indeed, a small plane is very useful in rod-making, as are callipers also (Fig. 170); and a set of brush-maker's drills with centre-bit are indispensable. These latter are for drilling the holes for the admission of the small counters or dowels ; and when there is no lathe, I know of no other method which can excel this one. How to do it will be considered presently. Sandpaper of various degrees of fineness, and some broken flint glass of good hard quality, complete the outfit so far as tools, except, indeed, one other invention of my own for driving on the ferrules, which is represented in Fig. 171. It is made of withy, and is used to get the larger ferrules and the large and. small counters in their places. If the reader refers back to Fig. 153, he will immediately discern the utility of this simple tool.

I mentioned the desirability of white wax and varnish first. It may be useful if I give the composition of these necessary articles before going further. White wax, or rather a colourless wax, is very useful for application when it is intended to preserve the colour of a green, pink, or other delicate coloured whipping. It is thus made: Take 2 ounces of the best white resin, and J ounce of white wax (from the chemist's), simmer them in a pipkin for ten minutes, add 4 of an ounce of tallow, and simmer for a quarter of an hour, then pour the mass into a basin of water and work it between the fingers till it is perfectly white and pliable. The more you work it the whiter it becomes. The best varnish I know of for rods, and one which gives a high polish, is made from shellac, spirits of wine, and a little gum benzoin.

Add about | an ounce of the latter to a pint of the shellac varnish, but mind it is pulverised before adding. Coachmaker's varnish is very good over a stain, but I prefer the colour and grain of the wood to show in the rods I make.

VIII.

ROD MAKING AND MENDING.

HE requirements in a good rod may be summed up in three words—strength, pliability, and relative lightness. A good kind of fly-rod for small streams is recommended by Foster in the " Scientific Angler," as follows: Three joints 'or parts, each 3 feet 6 inches in length, the butt to consist of hickory or washaba, the middle joint of best washaba, greenheart, or blue mahoo, the top of snakewood or best jungle cane, the whole being 10 feet 6 inches in length. The ferrule at top of butt should be xV i"ch inside, and the one at the top of middle joint \ inch. The actual weight of a rod of this description is very small.

Fig. 172 shows the sizes of the butt, three joints, and ferrules, of a fly-rod I constructed very recently and the procedure of which operation I will presently describe.

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