The Angler’s Workshop. 
Fishing Rod Making for the Beginner 
By PERRY D. FRAZER 
IV.—Rod Mounting and Finishing Materials. 
W HAT shall the handgrasp be—solid cork 
or a form wound with cord? Sim¬ 
plicity, effectiveness and economy point 
to cork. This statement may surprise you, but 
it is true. Cork, seemingly difficult to work, 
only requires proper treatment, and with it the 
weight of the rod can be kept down. 
The cork companies in New York, Pittsburg 
and Chicago will furnish handgrasps to order 
ready to slip over a solid center. These are 
made either of solid cork discs or of suberit, a 
composition of ground cork and cement. They 
will also furnish corks similar to those used in 
vaseline bottles and one-half inch thick, at about 
seven cents per dozen for the best quality. I 
generally purchase four dozen at a time, cost¬ 
ing twenty-five cents, and select the best ones 
for use. The V/a and iinch sizes are best for 
rod grasps. 
Wood forms for handgrasps can be purchased 
from rodmakers in various lengths and sizes, 
with either single or double grasp, and with a 
hole of any size desired bored clear through. 
They cost twenty to forty cents. If you can 
have access to a lathe, however, it will be a 
pleasure to turn your own handgrasps from 
FIG. 12. 
Serrated Ferrules. 
sumach, which you can obtain in almost any 
thicket during a walk in the country, or white 
pine. Bore the hole first, fit a plug in this, 
center the ends, and shape the outside to suit, 
bearing in mind that the cord to be wound on 
will increase the diameter about 1-16 inch. 
Cord for this purpose is obtainable from fish¬ 
ing tackle dealers. Light green braided cotton 
cord looks nice when varnished, and makes a 
good firm grasp, but it is inferior to cork. 
All ferrules, reelseats, tapers and buttcaps 
should be German silver. These cost a trifle 
more than brass nickeled, but they are harder, 
stronger and more durable. Besides, nickle 
glitters while German silver tarnishes just enough 
to become slightly dull, but is not injuriously 
affected by chemicals in the water. 
There are only three types of ferrules that 
merit the consideration of the beginner. These 
are: 
i. For split bamboo rods, welted and capped 
(or shouldered) ferrules, with the caps serrated, 
so that the silk may be wound over the springy 
saw-tooth like ends illustrated in Fig. 12. The 
reference letter a shows the welted end of the 
ferrule, which protects and strengthens it. B 
is the cap or shoulder, which is turned down 
slightly at c to permit winding with silk, which 
should extend 1-16 inch beyond the flexible ser¬ 
rated ends d and bind the ferrule rigidly on the 
wood. E is the center. The caliber of a set 
of ferrules is taken at the point indicated by 
this letter. The outside diameter of the center 
at e is exactly the same as the inside diameter 
of the ferrule. 
2. Capped and welted ferrules with the caps 
split and also turned down slightly for winding, 
fig. 13. 
Split Ferrules. 
as illustrated in Fig. 13. The reference letter f 
shows the capped ends turned down so that the 
cap and the silk winding will be of the same 
diameter. This end is split in one or two places 
with a very fine saw, so that the silk will bind 
the ferrule in the same manner as with serrated 
ferrules. 
These split ferrules are excellent for split 
bamboo rods, or in fact for any rods, and they 
are often preferred to serrated ferrules. If any¬ 
thing they are neater. They can be purchased 
of the trade, but any amateur who can work 
fig. 14. 
Plain Capped and Welted Ferrules. 
metal handily can make them from plain capped 
ferrules. 
3. Capped and welted ferrules are of the same 
form as the two mentioned above, but the caps 
are plain, as shown in Fig. 14. 
In all carefully made German silver ferrules 
the outside diameter of the female ferrule at g 
(Fig. 14), is identical with the inside diameter 
of the cap at h. This is a help to the novice 
in tapering his joints. This also applies to the 
center. In purchasing ferrules always specify 
“capped and welted ferrules, closed-end centers.” 
Some of the centers are left open at the bottom, 
which is necessary when dowels are to be put in. 
I have given preference to capped ferrules for 
the reason that they are better for the novice to 
work with than straight ferrules. By straight 
ferrules 1 mean those in which the female is a 
true cylinder inside and out. Many serrated and 
split ferrules are made straight, but if they are 
not to be fastened with pins, they may be set 
too far down on the wood and work loose more 
easily if the cementing is imperfectly done. It 
is possible to obtain straight ferrules which are 
shorter than those that are capped. For three- 
joint rods less than six feet in length, by using 
short straight ferrules, you can slightly lessen 
the total length of metal in the rod, and if it 
is to be quite willowy, they are excellent for the 
purpose. Specify either “welted straight fer¬ 
rules” or “ welted short straight ferrules” in 
ordering, but in either case add “capped closed- 
end centers.” The use of straight centers will 
spoil the taper at the_ joint. 
Dowels should be Avoided by beginners. The 
plain ferrules have, through long use, been 
proved fully equal—and in the opinion of some 
anglers, actually superior—to doweled ferrules, 
even for heavy salt water and salmon rods. In 
this opinion I do not concur with respect to 
very heavy rods, in which there is abundant 
space for the dowel without weakening the wood 
at all. For small caliber rods, however, the 
dowel has no advantage over the plain ferrrule. 
Few amateurs can hope to properly fit doweled 
ferrules to a rod, the effect being rather to 
weaken than to strengthen it. -The intricate 
parts of the old-fashioned doweled ferrules may 
be seen in Fig. 15. 
Every ferrule should be fitted with a metal 
plug, to keep out the dust while it is in its case. 
Sectional View of Doweled Ferrule. 
Waterproof ferrules are well worth their 
slight extra cost. In these a metal disc is brazed 
or soldered in the ferrule, to prevent water from 
getting into the wood or bamboo. 
In purchasing a reelseat it is necessary to de¬ 
cide whether the rod is to consist of one piece; 
of a tip and a separate handgrasp; or of two or 
three joints of equal length; and in any case 
whether the grasp is to be single or double. 
If the rod is to be one piece, or if the hand¬ 
grasp is to be fitted direct to the butt of a twc 
or a three-piece rod, and is to be single, the reel- 
seat should be like that pictured in Fig. 16. 
If the handgrasp is to be single and separate 
then the ferrules shown in Fig. 17 will be needed 
Of these, the center goes on the large end 0 
tip and the ferrule fits into the tapered end 0 
the reelseat (Fig. 16). The method of fitting 
will be described further on. 
If the handgrasp is to be double, then the reel 
seat is ordered without the tapered end, and ; 
