To create a fishing rod from a piece of bamboo you need the following bamboo rods making tools.

bamboo culms of the type Arundinaria Amabilis. The culms come from the Tonkin area and are also referred to as "tonkin bamboo". Like mostof IBRA rodmakers I use bamboo specially selected by Andy Royer, THE bamboo broker, who directly goes to China, select and ships them overseas. (Andy Royer was present at the gathering in Sansepolcro in May 2008.)

A planing form in wood (or metal) for the first preparation of bamboo strips in an equilateral triangular shape. This form is also called parallel planing form and is generally in wood to keep price low. You can also make your own by cutting a small trench of 60° on one side and 30° and 60° on the on the other side. The one pictured below was kindly made for me by friend and bamboo rodmaking companion Luciano Oltolini, a furniture maker by profession now retired with an incredible easiness, rapidity and inventiveness at making tools and of course working with wood.

You can notice from the drawing above that the planing form can be made out of two wooden pieces joint together in the middle - so that it will be easy to cut a 30° or 60° side - and that the edges are smoothed for practical purposes - while planing you will get less chances to touch the edge. (The picture below has been modified to allow you to better see the bottom "60°/30°" side - the "spot" is high-lighted)

A Morgan Handmill can be used as well. The link takes you to the Waischenfeld Gathering's notes of my website where Swiss Bamboo Rodmaker Philippe Sicher showed it to all of us. I plan to write soon more extensively about this special tool.

A plane and Sharpening kit for the plane's blade is more than a MUST. It's vital. The blade should be of good quality steel, but if you cannot sharpen it...this is something of extreme importance. I am learning the trade and sharpening (like in hand-engraving) is 90% of the job. This is why I wrote an article on how to sharpen a blade. In a few dozens of rods time, I will certainly feel more at ease...

I am not an expert here but I would not start buying a Lie-Nielsen plane right from the beginning. A Lie-Nielsen plane is more a life-investment and I will certainly dream to own one when my skills get better. To begin with, I would certainly go for a good Stanley plane. Besides, most of my expert companions use one.

I would also like to experiment with japanese planes one day, (and also with a mini-lathe to make my own seat-reels) but this is another topic...

Concerning sharpening blades, many rod amekrs are fond of the excellent professional TORMEK Water Cooled Sharpening System . Larry Tusoni gave a demonstration on how to sharpen during the recent Sarnen gathering (September 2009).

Only Luciano Oltolini, who has a professional workshop (he was a cabinet maker), says he prefers his own sharpening machine. But you need a small crane to move it around and it is solidily anchored to the ground....

Below you can see the oven made by Luciano Oltolini, who learned the craft with me. Below the oven the first planing form in wood -against the wall - and the metal planing form for the taper.

You can see the hot gun - which is used for both straightning the bamboo nodes as well as heating the oven - in front of Luciano's oven.

This is German Professional bamboo rodmaker Rolf Baginski's oven. The oven is vertically placed, as opposed to the oven above which is horizontally fitted on a wall.

Below is an electric oven seen at the First European bamboo Rodmakers Gathering, held in Sansepolcro, Tuscany (Italy) in May 2008.

A second planing form, in metal. This is to make the actual rod in the taper you desired. It is THE main item among bamboo rods making tools. You MUST get one. People like Alberto Poratelli or Lauro Rosset made their own in the very beginning, when they were alone and at the beginning of their craft.

More bamboo rods making tools: a solid vice, one or two wood files and a smaller jeweler file (for the snakes guides feet if necessary, not necessary if using the Brand Snake ones, duh!), a hand-sander, clamps and one chisel

A caliper to check the TAPER of the rod.

Epoxidic glues and cotton cords to bind the bamboo strips together

Rod building components:

• ferrules
• Snake guides and stripping guides
• Rodwrapping nylon or silk threads

Sand paper of different grit

Varnish for finishing the rod

Other bamboo rods making tools are perhaps "optional" (you can also bind the bamboo strips by hand keeping a cotton thread under tension with a heavy book) like these self-built strip-binder made by Luciano's Oltolini.

Very useful to keep the bamboo strips together for two important moments of the bamboo rodmaking process: tempering and glueing.

Below is an historical reproduction and yet still popular item among bamboo rods making tools: manual binding machine in the way that Everett Garrison made it.



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