CHAPTER VIII 



ROD-MAKING: WINDINGS AND 

 GUIDES 



The silk windings (wrappings or whippings) of 

 a split-bamboo rod, in addition to securing the line- 

 guides in position and serving as a most effective 

 reinforcing bond for holding together the individual 

 strips of which each rod-joint is composed, are gen- 

 erally considered a factor in adding to the rigidity of 

 the rod. In commercial practise the joints are held 

 in a lathe-like apparatus while being wound, but this 

 is not at all necessary for the limited operations of 

 the amateur. Authorities on practical angling 

 nearly all believe that closer winding will stiffen a 

 rod appreciably. From this it might be inferred 

 that a rod solidly wound throughout its whole length 

 would be very much stiffened; however, solid wind- 

 ing does not work out this way in practise, making 

 the rod logy rather, and it is not in favor with ex- 

 perienced rod connoisseurs. In fact, some of the 

 very finest modern rods have no windings except 

 those that attach the guides and overlap the ferrules. 



As already has been mentioned, the writer re- 

 gards silk windings as very much superior to any 



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