Per un tutorial in italiano su come fare una canna da pesca in bambu, cliccare il link.

The art and craft of bamboo rod making can be subdivided into the following steps ( hexagonal , 2 pieces bamboo rod):

1. Sawing and flaming (optional) the right length of the bamboo culm
2. Splitting 24 strips from the bamboo culm (the 12 best strips will be used for the actual rod, the rest 12 will be kept as spare parts in case of mistakes or breaks)
3. Flattening of the nodes of the bamboo strips
4. First rough planing of the bamboo strips in a triangular - isosceles - shape by hand of a wooden "paralel" Planing Form
5. Binding together of the bamboo strips and tempering them in the oven
6. Fine planing (tapering) of the strips with a metal Planing Form
7. Glueing the finished bamboo strips
8. Cleaning and removing the glue
9. Assembling the ferrule
10. Assembling of the cork handle and of the reel seat
11. Assembling of the stripping guides and of the snake guides (this step can be postponed and be the last one)
12. Finishing the rod (varnishing)

Ok, I know, pictures speak more than words...Here you can see an illustrated guide on building bamboo fly rods. Enjoy it!

Better still is this video on Youtube: a Korean rod maker (selling rods about $350;...). Basically all steps are there. It's in the detail and in the rod taper design and in the tempering the difference between a good and a poor rod. Which is impossible to see from a video. Cast the rod and you will see what I mean...

While here is another video with Gabriele Gori (founder of the Italian Bamboo Rodmakers, IBRA, with Alberto Poratelli) straightening a bamboo node.

If you want, you can see pictures and details of the rodbuilding school in Sansepolcro, Italy.

Traditionally, bamboo fly fishing rods can be in 2 or 3 pieces attached together with metallic ferrules at the ends. It's customary to some rodmaker to make a spare rod tip (but bamboo fishing rods are very resistent, you can even drive a car on it). It's also very important at the moment of splitting the bamboo culm not to mix up the strips with those of other bamboo culms around.

Similarly you should also mark the bottom of the strip in order to know what is "bottom" and what is "top", hence the coloring of the lower part of the culm section: you want to make a rod following the natural directions of the SAME bamboo fibers, don't you? As logical this may sound, I have seen a respected company not following this fundamental rule and making their expensive bamboo fishing rods from just any strip they would get from their chain operation!

More than words, I think that images can tell more as just text. Here is an illustrated guide on building bamboo fly rods.

Tip!

By the way, the scientific name of this magnificent grass plant (bamboo IS a grass!) is Arundinaria Amabilis (ok, the new, correct scientific name is "Pseudosasa Amabilis" but the former name is widely used in bamboo rod making) and it must be of the best quality in order to have te best fibers for the best quality rods. Here I try to show you how to see quality in a culm.

Of course there are many books today relating to the craft of bamboo rod making, too. I may here suggest three important ones:

Everett Garrison, "A Master Guide to Building a Bamboo Fly Rods"(reprint 1994)

The first book by E.Garrison is universally recognized as the most authoritative book on bamboo rod making but it's probably not the best book to start with if you just want to make your first rod. Mr Garrison was an engineer and applied his knowledge for the first ever theory on taper design. An excellent reference and a "cult" book for any serious bamboo rodmaker.

The second book, by W. Cattanach is perhaps the best choice for beginners rodcrafters because it's affordable and well and clearly written.I got a positive feedback from this book from my rodmaking mentors and friends.The Amazon link let you also "look inside" the book to get an idea of the content.

Rolf Baginski, "SplitCane Rods - Bamboo Treasures" (2007)

Rolf Baginski's book is very recent and most probably the most complete and updated book on the subject of bamboo rod making in Europe, covering the history of handmade bamboo fishing rods, step-by-step illustrated instructions and personal impressions. Quality comes at a price and the book (hardcover only) has a higher price, though. Excellent book in all aspects! Mine also comes with a personal dedication by Rolf!

Making bamboo fishing rods is not too difficult, yet to master it is by no means easy and even the most experienced professional bamboo rodmakers do not have any problem to admit that they are still learning their trade. Each rod which you make will be different from the previous one!

Tip!

Now, let me just give you a tip on safety. The first think I bought before starting making my first bamboo rod was...a pair of gloves! Bamboo fibers are very very sharp and can cut through your skin like a surgeon knife. Always, handle bamboo with gloves on in your bamboo rod making sessions! More bamboo rod makig tools here!

Here you can see an illustrated guide on building bamboo fly rods