Selection, splitting and staggering.
Step two
Straightening
Step threeBasic Beveling
m
m fly rodsHeat treating
Step five Hand planing 1
Hand planing 2
Step sixHand planing 2
Gluing
Step sevenFinal dimensions
Step eightAttaching hardware
Step nineWrapping
Step tenFinish
Rod sock and tube
Step 12 Shipping and
Customer care.
Eventually it's time to quit messing around and get the rod to the
Customer. I include a Hints and Tips pamphlet, the guarantee and
and any other useful information I've been able to think of. 
The
rod goes in into the rod sock and then the rod tube and the cap goes on
for the last time at my shop.
I wrap the rod in heavy brown paper, tape it along the seam and at both ends and head for the post office. I use USPS and have been happy with the service. I usually shop express and include at least $500 of insurance and tracking. It usually takes two to three days to arrive. I request my customers let me know when they get the rod so I can quit worrying.
That's not the end of it, though. I love to get the message for a customer that they've unpacked the rod and they're happy with it. I also like to hear from customers when they fish the rod, both good and bad. The good is a "warm fuzzy" but the bad is how I improve my rods. I can overlook something in every rod I make until someone points it out to me. One customer ask for a hook keeper, so I now make that an option at no cost.
I also guarantee the rods against defects in workmanship and material. Breaks from abuse are repaired at a small cost. I get very few rods back for repair or replacement, I'm happy to say, so I guess my customers are taking care of their rods!
I hope that my rods are fished for years and even passed down from generation to generation. I love to talk bamboo rod building and rods and enjoy getting e-mails from people who only have questions. Just don't ask me to make a rod using a living makers taper. To me that's unethical.
The
rod goes in into the rod sock and then the rod tube and the cap goes on
for the last time at my shop. I wrap the rod in heavy brown paper, tape it along the seam and at both ends and head for the post office. I use USPS and have been happy with the service. I usually shop express and include at least $500 of insurance and tracking. It usually takes two to three days to arrive. I request my customers let me know when they get the rod so I can quit worrying.
That's not the end of it, though. I love to get the message for a customer that they've unpacked the rod and they're happy with it. I also like to hear from customers when they fish the rod, both good and bad. The good is a "warm fuzzy" but the bad is how I improve my rods. I can overlook something in every rod I make until someone points it out to me. One customer ask for a hook keeper, so I now make that an option at no cost.
I also guarantee the rods against defects in workmanship and material. Breaks from abuse are repaired at a small cost. I get very few rods back for repair or replacement, I'm happy to say, so I guess my customers are taking care of their rods!
I hope that my rods are fished for years and even passed down from generation to generation. I love to talk bamboo rod building and rods and enjoy getting e-mails from people who only have questions. Just don't ask me to make a rod using a living makers taper. To me that's unethical.