The Angler’s Workshop. 
Fishing Rod Making for the Beginner 
By PERRY D. FRAZER 
VII. — One-Piece Bait-Casting 
r O make a rod of the second class, in which 
the handgrasp is to be single and nine 
inches in length, the wood for the tip, in- 
lusive of the agate top, will be approximately 
8^4 inches long, as the ferrule center on the 
arge end of the tip will enter the handgrasp fer¬ 
ule about Ij 4 inches. These ferrules should be 
5-32 of an inch in diameter and of the type shown 
u Fig. 17. The large end of tip is marked for a 
istance equal to the small end of the center, 
nd the wood carefully reduced with a file until 
: will enter the center snugly to its very end. 
s illustrated in Fig. 34. The center is then 
fig. 34. 
arge end of tip, shouldered to fit a capped ferrule center. 
emented on, and the tip is ready for its rubbed 
oat of varnish and the winding. Obviously 
fis tip is to be made of the same diameter as 
ids of the first class—described in a preceding 
hapter—save that it begins to taper at the 
':rrule. 
Rods of this class are not always made with 
vo tips, but this can be done by purchasing 
vo centers to fit the ferrule in the hand-grasp, 
y making one tip as described above, and the 
ther one with a rapid or hollow taper for six 
iches above the ferrule, then gradual to the 
nail end, practically two rods will be the re¬ 
fit. One tip can be stiff, for distance casting. 
fig. 35. 
l'errule riveted on wood core of hand-grasp, pine sleeve 
Jdy to be glued on, and reel-seat and corks for grasp. 
id the other one more willowy, for accuracy 
light lure casting—a very useful combinj- 
ni. I have made a tip of this sort from 
■thabara which will cast a quarter-ounce lure 
cely, and is so well proportioned that it is 
pleasant rod to fish with. The dimensions 
How, and may be compared for reference with 
ose given in Fig. 29. The center is 15-32 of 
1 inch, and the wood tapers quickly at first, to 
Rods with Separate Hand grasps. 
23-64 at the six-inch mark; at 12 inches, 21-64; 
18 inches, 19-64; two feet, 17-64; 2>4 feet, 15-64; 
three feet, 13-64; 314 feet, 11-64; four feet, 5-32; 
4.14 feet, 14 ; 5814 /inches, at the top, 7-64 of an 
inch. 
A separate single hand-grasp can be made as 
follows: Fit the ferrule (Fig. 17) on a piece of 
light but springy wood like spruce, dagama or 
greenheart. This must be rounded nicely and 
the ferrule seated on it just so that the center 
will not touch the wood. Cement and rivet the 
ferrule on to the core, fit a pine sleeve over the 
wood and the ferrule, with forward end of sleeve 
tapered to fit a reel-seat like that shown in Fig. 
16. Now try the reel-seat, and when it fits snugly, 
with its lower end extending a quarter-inch be¬ 
low the pine sleeve, glue the sleeve on the wood 
and the reel-seat on it, and rivet or screw the 
reel-seat in place. 
Slide a perforated cork forward over the 
wood and work the end of the reel-seat into it 
until it butts against the end of the sleeve. Glue 
this cork in place, following with others until 
the total length of grasp, inclusive of reel-seat, 
is nine inches, when the wood core is cut off 
and the cork finished and fitted with a butt- 
cap. A hand-grasp of this form will never come 
apart if properly made. Its parts are anchored 
at both ends. 
If to be cord-wound, the pine grasp is fitted 
over the wood core and ferrule, the taper placed 
over the ferrule and the grasp fitted to it, as in 
Fig. 35. Beginning at a point that will be 
covered by the after end of the reel-seat, the 
grasp is wound a few times with cord and the 
reel-seat fitted over it. The core is then coated 
with glue and the grasp pushed forward until 
the reel-seat and the tapered end of the grasp fit 
closely, when the winding is resumed and tied 
off at the shouldered butt end. The butt cap 
and reel-seat being riveted in place, this sepa¬ 
rate grasp is ready for shellac and varnish. 
If to be double, and cord-wound, the. forward 
grasp is first fitted over the wood core, the 
taper (Fig. 18) pushed up against the welt on 
the ferrule, and a few turns of cord wound on 
the tapered end of the upper grasp, then this 
grasp glued in place on the wood core, with 
the winding covered by the taper. Continue to 
wind down to the cylindrical part, fit the reel- 
seat and glue it on, wind a few turns over the 
lower grasp, try it and finally glue it in place, 
then wind to the shouldered butt end and fit 
the butt cap. The two parts of the pine grasp 
abut inside the reel-seat, as illustrated in Fig. 33. 
Twa-Piece Bait-Casting Rods. 
For a rod consisting of two pieces of equal 
length, it is well to begin with a butt three feet 
long ana 34-inch square, and two tips, each 
three feet by Jfj-inch. If the taper is to be the 
same as in the rod of the first class, the only 
extras will be a 17-64 inch ferrule with two 
closed-end centers, one for each tip; The tips 
will taper from 17-64 to 7-64 inch. 
Naturally the beginner would make the butt 
first, whereas I advise him to make the tips 
first, for this reason: The offset and tub'e tops 
are not all of the same length, and if it is de¬ 
sired to make all pieces exactly the same length, 
the tips should be finished first. This applies 
especially to three-piece rods, in making which 
it is difficult for the beginner to figure correctly 
on the separate parts; for the length of the tip 
is added to when the top is put on, and each of 
the ferrules adds something, so that it is hard 
to get all pieces of the same length without 
wasting time trying and cutting until all are 
correct. I give exact lengths for each piece, 
but if it is desired to make the rod longer or 
shorter than five and one-half feet, it must be 
remembered that the trimmed tip shown in Fig. 
38 is slightly more than one-half the total length 
of the rod, for the reason that the ferrule on the 
butt adds iJ 4 inches to the actual length of the 
wood; hence the wood in the butt must be 
slightly shorter than the wood in the tips, in 
order that all parts will be the same length 
when completed. 
Extreme care must be exercised in fitting the 
centers on the tips, as the least uneven place 
will force the center out of true alignment, and 
this applies to the ferrule, too. It is also easy 
to break a tip in sandpapering. When the tips 
are finished (see Fig. 37) they will be 33 inches 
in length and 3314 when fitted with centers and 
tops, as shown in Fig. 38. When polished for 
the last time, they should be rubbed with 
varnish and suspended. 
fig. 35A. 
A cork single hand-grasp and a cord-wound double hand-grasp. 
