CHAPTER VI 



ONE-PIECE BAIT-CASTING RODS 



A SSUMING that you have obtained all the 

 \ materials needed, we will begin our ac- 

 * *" tual rodmaking, taking the rods as they 

 are given and commencing with one of the first 

 class, as it is the easiest type to make. As your 

 rod, when finished, is to be $ l / 2 feet long, the 

 agate top adding about % of an inch, the wood 

 should be slightly more than 5^ feet long, to 

 allow for cutting down finally to 65^ inches. 

 Assuming that your wood is ^6 -inch square 

 and free from knots, plane it a trifle on all sur- 

 faces and from both ends, to determine which 

 way the grain runs; and having decided which 

 shall be the butt end, drill two holes through 

 the wood very close to that end, as shown in 

 Fig. 28, and drive a brad in the right-hand end 

 of your workbench, so that you can hook the 

 big end of the wood over the brad and plane 

 away from it, which is much more satisfactory 

 than butting the small end of the wood against 

 a cleat at the far end of the bench. 



80 



