Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - September/October 2021 - 37

Art Weiler planes a bamboo section held in the steel form he built.
Measurements of tapers from original bamboo rod makers are used
to manufacture his reproduction fly rods. Set screws on both sides of
the jig allow precise adjustments.
Weiler makes fly fishing rods from Tonkin (Chinese)
bamboo tree trunks shipped to him in lengths of 12 feet. He
manufactures many of his own tools and devices.
To my surprise, Weiler told me that the raw bamboo
trunks have to cure for at least 5 years before he can even
begin to make a rod. " After it is cured, you split it in half.
Then, you split each piece in half, and then into three pieces.
The 12-feet pieces are then arranged on horses, and I select
where the rod will go. You do not want nodes near where the
ferrules are going to be placed, because the nodes are weak
spots, " said Weiler.
" Once you lay the rod out and know where everything is
going, you cut across the six pieces and then sand down the
nodes. Then, you have to start splitting the pieces again into
butts or tips, " said Weiler.
" You cannot begin to plane the bamboo to the taper you
want until it gets heat treated, " said Weiler. Weiler takes each
six-piece set of pieces and wraps the sets with thread down one
way and back the other in an overlapping design. The sets are
put into an oven he built from a 50,000 BTU heater.
Then, the individual bamboo pieces are placed into a steel
die he built for planing to size and taper the rod. " I work on
planing three rods at a time and end up with 18 pieces. All are
precisely planed to within one-thousandths of an inch. It is a
lot of very fine planing. This past winter, I worked on 25 rods
and lost 15 pounds just planing, " said Weiler.
The process continues with more intricate work when
the six pieces for each rod section are fastened together with
special glue. The handles Weiler builds are unique to each rod
and then applied and shaped. Guides are exact replicas except
These bundled pieces of split bamboo are ready for
heat treatment.
the new guides are made with stainless steel. " Many
times when you are lucky to find an old bamboo
fly rod made by one of the masters, the guides are
rusted, " said Weiler.
After the ferrules, the guides are mounted with
the specific color thread matching the original
product. Then, the rod gets three or four coats of
marine spar varnish.
" When someone wants to buy one of my rods,
I have to talk to them first. I have to find out what
kind of fishing they are going to do. I have to know
if they are experienced with bamboo rods or if they
are coming from graphite to bamboo, " said Weiler.
" I always have 20 to 25 different kinds of rods
available, and I know what each rod can do. I fit
the rod to the type of fishing the buyer likes to do.
I even have people come here and maybe try five
or six rods out before they buy one. For example,
one dry fly angler wanted a fast rod, and I sent
him a fast rod. He said it was too fast, so I sent him
another, and he was happy, " said Weiler.
" My bamboo fly rod reproductions start at
Art Weiler reproduces classic bamboo fly fishing rods in many sizes. He makes a
strong 81/2-foot Atlantic Salmon rod, and made the Leonard Fairy that takes a " 0 "
weight line. This is the tip of the Leonard Fairy compared to a typical ballpoint pen.
www.fishandboat.com
about $1,000, but you get two tips. You should
use one tip one day and the second tip the next
day to not overstress the tips. I take a lot of time
to work with my buyers, because I do not want
them to have a
rod that is not
right for them, "
said Weiler.
Art Weiler Rods
www.artweilerrods.com
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater * September/October 2021
37
http://www.htlureco.com http://www.artweilerrods.com http://www.fishandboat.com
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - September/October 2021

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