Wow Kevin, very nice. I see what looks like a peacock feather inlay on one rod. Is that a fairly straightforward task?...... I can't say that I've ever read about the techniques/ process of rattan gripwork. Give us the thumbnail version. Very striking results,,,,Jim
Thank you everyone. Jim- I will post a better pic of the feather inlay in a few.... the Rattan process? Look to the next issue of the Rodcrafters Journal. Once it's out, I'd be glad to post it up here in a PDF if anyone's interested. Kyle - some are on cork, but for sensitivity issues, Balsa or Basswood is FAR better than cork. It's covered in the Tutorial as well. Thanks.
Anyone familiar with rodbuilder "Lance Rogge" ? I have a PDF tutorial he created discribing this very technique. I tried to post it but it is to large at over 3megs. If anyone wants it just email me & I'll send it to you.
Update. Never mind the emails, I was able to make the file much smaller and it is posted in the "Grips" section of the main TRB home page and in the Tech Vault as well.
Thanks Ray. Oh yes.. I know Lance. He's a great guy and talented rod builder who is glad to help anyone interested in Rattan. He did a great tutorial on making rattan grips some time back. I wish I would have had a tutorial like his to go by when I first started making them, that's for sure! So that I didn't step on anyone's toes, he was one of the first I called when I was writing the article/tutorial on rattan for the Rod Crafter's Journal. He also told me about a gentleman by the name of Jeff Hatton, who wrote the book "Rod Crafting - a colorful Pictorial History from 1843-1960". I called Jeff, and he taught me the way rattan grips were constructed during the Civil war. Very neat info indeed! His book is incredible...
Lance's Rattan Tutorial uses a technique similar to that, and I highly recomend it to anyone wanting to make one. The tutorial I wrote uses a technique I developed while making the Flamed Rattan Reverse-half wells fly rod grips for Mudhole. I had to figure out a way to simplify and speed it up for mass production, so it's much faster and easier than other techniques (at least IMHO), so, really, Lance's technique doesn't work well to make THIS type of rattan grip. However, his technique works VERY well when making the "Traditional" Fly rod grip. Easier than the OLD traditional way as well. He did a very good job.
I had planned to post the Rattan Grip Tutorials of Lance, myself, and another I'm currently writing on the OLD traditional way, at a later date in the Tech Vault. But, out of respect for the hard work of Ron Walters for the Journal, I wanted to wait untill after it had came out in the next RCJ. I'll be more than glad to help anyone interested in this, and Lance told me to extend the same to all from him as well. His email is lsrogge@cs.com
