Cane Rods: A Primer

We employ the very best materials and traditional hand craftsmanship in the production of every Taylor rod. Normally, one of our rods requires at least 40 hours of hand work, and depending on the needs and requests of our customers, sometimes considerably more. The process that begins with perfect culms of Tonkin bamboo, a variety found only in a single region of China, and ends with a Taylor rod harkens back to a time when attention to detail and quality were the norm, not the exception 

Flaming and Splitting the Culms: Initially, lengths of Tonkin Bamboo, called culms, are allowed to age and dry in a covered, heated location. This may require a year or more.  The first step in production is carefully splitting the culms into linear sections, or strips. Prior to splitting, the culms are flamed with a torch. This careful flaming heat treats the cane, driving out the remaining moisture and providing a little more tensile strength and resiliency in the bamboo. The intensity and duration of the flaming gives the cane it's final color.  Taylor rods are available in browntone (dark), mahogany (lighter), and blond (light) finishes. 

Flattening Nodes and Layout: The naturally occurring joints in the cane, or nodes, must be carefully flattened on each of the split strips of cane to ensure a smooth taper in the finished product. After the nodes are flattened, six individual strips are matched with each other for each section of a finished rods (eighteen strips are needed for a two piece, twin tip rod).  There are a variety of ways to match and layout the strips, but they all involve staggering the nodes, to avoid having nodes abut each other in the rod blank and create a weak or irregular spot in the finished rod.

Initial Milling: Each of the strips is then passed through our automated milling machine  to produce a perfect 60 degree bevel on each strip. This even bevel is essential to the hexagonal geometry of the rod blank itself.

Hand Planing: After milling, the strips go into the planing form. The form, milled from steel stock, has a 60 degree channel on it's top surface, and set screws at regular intervals along it's length. These set screws regulate the depth of the channel. The individual strips are then hand planed to conform to the dimensions of the channel. This work is done to tolerances of several thousandths of an inch! In this way, each strip is precisely tapered along it's length, and it is the taper that is at the heart of every great fly rod. At Taylor we employ some tapers that were developed by some of the masters of cane rod building in the 19th and 20th centuries (Garrison, Payne, Leonard), as well as a few innovations of our own, to produce rods in a variety of lengths, actions, and line weights. 

Assembly, Gluing and Curing: When all of the strips have been planed to the correct taper, they are laid out and fitted together to form the hexagonal sections of a fly rod blank. The sections are joined together with special adhesives, and bound tightly with our string binder to allow the glue to cure and harden.  When the glue has set, each flat side of the blank is sanded to remove the string and dried glue from it. The blank is now ready for it's hardware and grip to be installed.

Reel Seats, Ferrules and Handles:  Our ferrules (the metal joints that connect the sections of the rod) are precisely fitted nickel silver, and there are several finish options including bright, blued, and engraved varieties.  They are hand fitted to the blank.  We use the best grade of Portuguese cork available and hand shape all of our grips.   Our reel seats, like the ferrules, feature several nickel silver finish options and highly figured wood barrels.  Quality components ensure a beautiful and dependable final product.  

Wrapping and Finishing: We use the best available agate stripping guides and snake guides, and all of our wraps are done with fine silk, the traditional, strongest and most beautiful thread for this application.  While we tend toward clear, yellow and tan wraps, many colors are available as options. Taylor rods are durably finished with a very high grade varnish, providing many years of protection for what we hope becomes an old friend!