SPLIT BAMBOO RODMAKING 173 



Make solid wood rods, if you prefer, for a 

 starter, to " get your hand in," but do not 

 fail to attempt the making of at least one split 

 bamboo rod. 



This work is really not so difficult as it may 

 seem. Careful, patient attention to details 

 and sharp tools are the principal items to be 

 looked after. And the work is so fascinating 

 that, after you have had a little practice, you 

 will grow as enthusiastic over it as the fly- and 

 bait-casters do over their practice on the plat- 

 form. 



Much has been said and written in praise of 

 hand-made cane rods and in condemnation of 

 machine-made rods. In this instance, by 

 " machine-made rods " I do not include the 

 cheap and nasty stuff that is turned out from 

 the sausage mills. 



But let a man who is a past master at hand 

 work operate a machine that will do the taper- 

 ing and beveling of the selected strips better 

 than he can ever do with plane and file, and 

 it stands to reason that the strips turned out 

 will be perfect. All of the other details being 

 cared for in the most painstaking manner, it 

 must be conceded that he can finish the strips 

 better by the use of a finely adjusted machine 

 than it is possible for him to do with hand 

 tools. The shaping of the strips being cared 



