The Angler’s Workshop. 
Fishing Rod Making for the Beginner 
By PERRY D. FRAZER 
XII —Varnishing Rods. 
W HEN your rod has been wound, it is well 
to take up each joint, and while turning 
it rapidly, pass it over an alcohol or gas 
flame to remove all fuzzy ends of silk. Be care¬ 
ful that the flame is not close enough to scorch 
the windings, however. If any ends of silk pro¬ 
trude, cut them off short with a sharp knife. 
Now warm your grain alcohol shellac slight¬ 
ly, so that it will flow well, and with the thin, 
round artist’s brush previously referred to, coat 
each silk winding evenly, being careful to keep 
the shellac off the wood. As a rule one coat on 
the windings will be sufficient, but if the silk 
seems to be dry and dull after the first coat has 
dried, go over it lightly a second time, and let 
the rod dry for several hours. 
When you take it up again, go over the wood 
with a piece of flannel or linen, rubbing lightly 
but thoroughly to remove any wax, grease or 
oil that may have accumulated there during the 
winding. This is absolutely necessary to the at¬ 
tainment of a nice finish, and after the shellac 
on the windings is hard no harm can be done by 
polishing the wood with a strip of soft cotton 
or silk, boot-black fashion. To do this hold one 
end of the joint against your chest and rest the 
other end against something firm, to prevent 
turning. While it is not necessary, the shellac 
can be warmed slightly over a flame at this stage 
and the joint turned while a finger is passed 
around each winding to smooth down any un¬ 
even surfaces. After this do not touch the wood 
or windings with your hands; pick it up by the 
ferrules instead. 
When you are ready to varnish, select a warm 
day if possible, or at any rate one when the air 
is not humid or moist. The rod should be 
warmed in a room where the temperature is 75 
degrees, and your can of extra light coach var¬ 
nish should be left for ten minutes in a pot of 
steaming hot water, to be sure that it will be 
thin and all particles of gum contained in it will 
be melted so that it will flow nicely and dry 
rapidly. A warm rod and hot varnish will in¬ 
sure a nice finish. 
For your work it is assumed that you have 
procured a flat brush of good quality, and that 
you are ready to begin by holding one end of a 
joint on a table and the other in your left hand. 
With a modest quantity of varnish, pass the 
brush from the top down for four inches, turn¬ 
ing the joint slowly while the brush is held at 
an angle of about 20 degrees to the rod. Work 
very slowly, and in going over each winding see 
that a bare spot is not left there, caused by the 
brush skipping over the silk and missing the 
wood just beyond. To prevent this it is some¬ 
times advisable to pass the brush around the rod 
at each winding first, then, when the varnish in 
it is nearly exhausted, go over that part length 
wise, to insure an even coating. At any rate, 
great care must be exercised to prevent daubing 
the varnish on in places and skipping others. 
The first coat should be worked in, with no 
attempt to flow the varnish on, and be careful 
lest varnish accumulates around the guides, and 
leaves them gummed up and unsightly. The 
same care is necessary with reference to the fer¬ 
rules. To avoid marring them, pass the brush 
around the contiguous winding very slowly, 
'coating the silk but not encroaching on the metal. 
When all the parts of the rod are varnished, 
if they can be assembled and the rod suspended 
in a fairly warm, dry room, free from dust, for 
two or three days, all should be well. A brad 
driven in a picture moulding is ideal, provided 
the rod does not hang close to the wall, but the 
center of a room is a better place, as some walls 
are cold, even damp, and on the side of a rod 
hanging close to such a wall the varnish may 
crawl and spoil your work. 
In spring or summer it is usually safe to var¬ 
nish a rod in the morning and suspend it in a 
window. The morning sun is not too warm, but 
it is often too warm after 10 o’clock for the 
best results. Plenty of fresh air is best, but a 
windy place should be avoided, as dust is likely 
to be flying there. Do not leave separate joints, 
while they are drying, where careless persons 
may accidentally knock them over or break 
them, and see that they are kept indoors at 
night. Do not touch the varnish with the hands. 
Perhaps you will be satisfied with one coat of 
varnish. If it is evenly applied it will be suffi¬ 
cient for split bamboo rods; but coach varnish 
applied while warm is not very thick, and a 
light second coat will keep out moisture. The 
first coat should set in four hours and be hard 
enough for a second coat in less than a week. 
The second coat, however, should be given as 
much time as possible to dry and harden before 
the rod is used, depending on the temperature. 
This coat can be deferred with safety until thq 
middle of the season or even until the fol¬ 
lowing winter if the rod is not subjected to 
hard usage; and if it is still in good condition, 
the new varnish will make it like a new rod. For 
hard use, however, two coats of varnish will not 
be wasted, but three will not be needed. 
If spar varnish is to be used^-and many salt 
water anglers employ it—three coats, with sev¬ 
eral days between, will be necessary. 
Cord-wound hand-grasps should be given two 
coats of shellac and one of coach varnish. More 
will be likely to render the cord slippery. If the 
grasp is sumac, omit the shellac and put on two 
coats of coach, giving it ample time to dry. 
Rod Cases and Forms. 
On the use. to which you will put your rod de¬ 
pends the kind of protective covering you will 
need. There are anglers who will have nothing 
but a thin muslin cover, but something better is 
needed for rods that are to be carried far. 
The makers of the best fly-rods supply bam¬ 
boo tubes with screw caps for the tips, this tube 
and the middle and butt joint going into a can¬ 
vas case, so that the stiff tube protects the two 
other parts when all are bound with the tie-tapes 
of the cover. The wood form is the most com¬ 
mon type, and these are cheap. Aluminum tubes 
with screw caps are obtainable in the trade, cost¬ 
ing $2 or $3, and suitable for either fly or bait 
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