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Bamboo Journal
Italian Bamboo Rodmakers Association
The Former Beam Method
REVISITED
At the X IBRA gathering Marzio Giglio presented a work on the revamping of an old construction
technique called “Former Beam Method”, described in literature in a small book by Lawton Moss
and published in 1947. The book was designed for amateur rod builders. The method is little
known and probably not in use anymore. Marzio has re-elaborated the method to eliminate the
limitations of its original form and he has developed a series of techniques to obtain an accuracy
comparable to that of a planing form. The advantage is that the method requires only tools used
for hand woodworking, like a block plane and a scraper plane. Marzio has devised a simple and
ingenious technique to plane bamboo strips according to a taper . The technique does not requi-
re any mechanical adjusting system like those needed for the planing form or the Hand Mill.
From conversations with Edward Barder, the famous English rodmaker, it seems that the origi-
nal technique is in fact, much older than Moss’s book and it can be dated to Hardy, circa 1880.
The technique was used by Walker and Bampton, in business until 1965. It has then been used
until quite recently by small laboratories run by people initially connected with Walker and
Bampton.
The presentation sparked a lot of interest and we thought it would be desirable to publish the
introductory chapter of a booklet that Marzio is preparing on the subject. The chapter contains a
little history of the method and a brief description of the innovative parts of the “revamped”
method with technical comments and explanations. This part was expanded for this issue of the
Bamboo Journal to supply a basic framework for the presentation of some of the photos shown
by Marzio at the X gathering.