 |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
IMPORTANT
SITE UPDATE:
Visit the relaunched
Fish & Fly at fishandfly.com
PowerFibre built-cane rods
Profiled by Terry Lawton
Is bamboo, used for building built cane fly rods, still a viable material or is it something that should be forgotten? There are still plenty of fly fishermen around who still swear by it. Terry Lawton talked recently to Pete Pilley and Bob Lawes who run Waterside Innovations which produces its unusual PowerFibre built-cane rods.
 |
"After something like 30 years, I still don't know if they're actually the best, or if they're just pretty and compelling and historic and all that. All I know for sure is that some anglers can't see what all the fuss is about, but those of us who like bamboo rods really like them." So wrote John Gierach in his Sporting Life column, Bamboo Fly Rods, Obsession or investment?, in the November/December 2001 issue of the American magazine Fly Rod & Reel.
Built-cane rods refuse to lie down and die. Although for the vast majority of fly fishermen worldwide, carbon produces a far superior rod, there is still a rump of anglers that wants to own and fish cane. Why is this? One reason is the long tradition behind built cane rods; then there is pride of ownership of a beautiful hand-made cane rod and the casting action. Much has been written about the "lovely, lively feel of a traditional cane rod". Much of this is nostalgia and ignores the many rods which were overweight, floppy and slow. If they were that good why did we discard them when fibre-glass first appeared on the scene?
 |
|
|
But, the raw material of a cane rod is one of nature's most remarkable plants. It has remarkable tensile strength as well as lightness. Is bamboo cane really the original composite. Two men who believe that it is are Pete Pilley and Bob Lawes. Together they have over 80 years' experience of rod building. Originally they built their own rods because they could not buy exactly what they wanted. They now offer a bespoke service, through their company Water Innovations, so that each rod is unique and personal to the customer.
Pilley and Lawes have developed a new way of using traditional bamboo cane and it is this unusual method, coupled with very carefully designed tapers, that has resulted in rods built from the most traditional of materials but with actions more akin to the best of the latest composite rods.
 |
|
|
Careful selection of the raw material, the way that it is converted into a rod and the design of that rod are crucial to a rod ending up as the owner expects. Waterside Innovations has written a computer program to produce its own tapers, tapers that work for the material that it makes for building its rods. As it rods are lighter and more powerful, the traditional tapers are no longer relevant. Pete Pilley measured and analysed the tapers of a wide range of rods before developing his own program to produce tapers to suit blanks he and Lawes produce. The builders will loan prospective customers a rod and will then customise tapers to provide the action and performance required. So far they claim to have had no failures to produce a rod to a customer's requirements.
In developing PowerFibre rods, Water Innovations set out to eliminate the drawbacks associated with the traditional methods of construction of bamboo fishing rods. Some of the problems start right at the very beginning of the process, the cropping of the raw material and then the subsequent selection of canes from which the rod is to be built. Problems to be avoided include stressed/damaged fibres, fibre loss, action dead spots and inflexible joints, over weight and, ultimately, delamination.
 |
|
|
Composite materials combine high and low tensile strength and modulus of elasticity so they can absorb loading stresses which would rupture the weaker component and at the same time isolate imperfections in the stronger component. Bamboo cane combines strong high modulus fibres of cellulose with a low modulus plastic matrix of lignin. Just beneath the enamel surface of bamboo cane lies the powerful outer fibres that give the material its strength. It is from this part of the cane that fishing rods are made. The inner surface is made of progressively weaker, pithy material.
Traditionally built cane rods suffer from action dead spots. The causes include over heating the knots that occur naturally in bamboo (which results in the knot being stiffer than the material either side. The effect of this can be reduced by staggering the knots when rod sections are glued together.) and heavy ferrules. Waterside Innovations has eliminated the problem of knots by removing them completely. They remove the knots, split the cane and then splice the short lengths back together again. This is obviously a painstaking process, fitting and gluing each little strip together, but is at the heart of the success of its rods. Using modern adhesives eliminates another problem associated with older cane rods, that of delamination. As the inter-nodal lengths are split down to within .040" of the required finished size, there is no fibre loss as in other methods of construction. All further work is done using a series of hand planes. You cannot control this vital part of the process using any powered tools especially milling machines. Most importantly the fibre density is retained using this technique.
 |
|
|
The splits of cane are reduced to the familiar triangular cross sections which are glued in bundles of six to make a rod section. Originally this was done in a grooved wooden former using hand planes, a process which takes hours. Many rod builders today use a milling machine which is produces a machined strip in a matter of seconds. This procedure takes little notice of the grain of the cane and often the fibres can be seen to disappear off the side of the splines: a sure sign that a milling machine has been used.
The problem of rigid ferrules has been overcome by using flexible ferrules that Pilley and Lawes developed over 30 years ago and is patented. They bond a fine sleeve to the male (butt) joint and a carefully matched flexible tube to the female (tip) joint. Together these alter the deflection of the rod for only a very short section which has a minimal effect on the action.
Another interesting aspect of Pilley and Lawes individual approach to producing custom fly rods is they they make each rod handle to fit the owner's hand. Fly rod handles are sized and turned to fit the angler's hand as this, according to Pilley and Lawes helps reduce strain on the wrist and forearm during long fishing sessions.
Waterside Innovations offers three finishes: blond which is a light honey colour, flamed (deep brown) and two-tone, a mixture of blond and flamed. Rods can be whipped in a wide range of colours and varnish can be high gloss, satin or matt. Every rod is varnished by hand and each coat is rubbed down most carefully to ensure that there is a conistent thickness of varnish on each "flat" of the rod, and no build-up on the corners which adds unnecessary weight. A wide choice of reel seats and materials for the fittings and rings is available.
As a guide, a typical cost would be about £550 for a 7' 6" 4/5# two piece fly rod. Delivery is normally around eight weeks. If you are unable to visit Waterside Innovations in person to discuss your new rod, don't worry because the company made a three-piece, 7' 6" 5# rod for a South African customer with all communication via e-mail.
Pete Pilley and Bob Lawes have developed, they believe, a way to make lightweight and versatile cane rods that makes cane acceptable to the modern angler.
To find out more, visit www.powerfibre.co.uk or e-mail: info@powerfibre.co.uk