Greetings, My name is Kenneth Lund, I would like to introduce to you a project that I have been working on for the past 5 years. A project and body of work that I am now ready to share with others.
First let me lay the ground work for how the project got started.
I have always enjoyed fly fishing, more for the time spent in nature exploring rivers, streams and what you will often in Utah hear refereed to as "cricks". I am also a passionate builder of things and am constantly experimenting with natural and man made materials.
Having read the book the Herter brothers wrote copyright 1949
I became intrigued by the inovation and creativity of the early rod builders and the building methods and techniques used in the 1930's onward.
Fast forward to the year 2010. My passion for building things with natural materials became intertwined with my work in fabricating with advanced composites, especially carbon fiber and Kevlar.
While pursuing certifications in advanced composites fabrication techniques at Salt Lake Community College I began combining natural bamboo fibers with carbon fiber and Kevlar, (Kevlar being a brand name for: (aramids such as Kevlar Nomex and Technora) Laminating layers of bamboo with the layers of carbon fiber and Kevlar resulted in strong beautiful
members.
Now fast forward to today, year 2015,
While building rods for myself using bamboo and advanced composites materials I reflected back on much research and on the many YouTube videos I have watched and felt like something very important was missing.
Instruction in alternative rod building YES but perhaps more important (at least to me ) was that I do not see boys, girls, men and women building and experimenting with and having the joy of building bamboo rods. I believe this is due in part to the complexity and the cost of equipment required in traditional bamboo rod building.
Let me say first off while it's been great to have access to the college lab and this opportunity helped me understand a lot about advanced composites fabrication. Also having my own well equipped wood shop also aided in my early work. However having a lab or wood shop is not required to make bamboo composite rods.
So, a huge focus of my work has been to develop tools and techniques that will allow almost anyone to enjoy this captivating, fun and, ok addicting hobby with just a few inexpensive tools. The materials are also very inexpensive.
The tools I use cost minimal and all of my jigs and forms are made from scraps obtained from wood shops.
Taken a step further.
Going back to the 1930's. The rod builders of this era used a variety of materials to make rods. Mostly hardwoods including Greenhart,Mahogany, Hickory and Elm, Lancewood, Dagama, and Bethabarra just to name a few. I bring this fact to light for the neysayers whom may find the materials I use unconventional, which they are but I believe they have an important place in building new types of Bamboo rods.
It is my sincere hope that anyone desiring to make a Bamboo fly or other type of rod will follow my blog and enjoy building Bamboo composite rods
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