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page 41
Bamboo Journal
Italian Bamboo Rodmakers Association
I entered Mr. Wilson’s laboratory with curiosity
and wonder. Against the wall there was a huge
quantity of long bamboo culms, and an even
greater quantity of wooden beams with an
equilateral triangle section, all painted emerald
green, and as long as the bamboo culms. I asked
him what the wooden planks were for. He
answered they were essential for the construc-
tion technique. He took six planks with both
hands and formed a type of large hexagonal
pencil. Then he told me what was more or less
described in Moss’s book. Like Moss, he said
nothing about how he guided the plane in the
planing operation of the track according to a
selected taper. Not having started constructing
yet, I did not have the presence of mind to ask
for more details.
In a small tray, there were some slices of double
built salmon rods butts, to give the visitors as a
small present. I noticed that the sides of the two
concentric hexagons were clearly straight. He
said nothing about the booklet written by Moss.
Curiously, Wilson started his activity in 1947;
the same year Moss’s booklet was published.
Some years later, early 80’s, I was lucky enough
to borrow a copy of the “Bible”, which I devou-
red in a few days. I reached the conclusion that
the planing form was deinitely better, and I
started in that direction. A friend who had a top
quality machine shop built my irst planing form
and I soon forgot of the method I had seen in
Brora.
Building quadrate rods. A dificulty with the
planing form.
In recent years I have been particularly intere-
sted in rods with a square section that I ind
have a more pleasurable action than the hexago-
nal rods, as they track very well in the casting
plane (a personal opinion but commonly shared
by aicionados of quadrate rods).
Working with a planing form, I noticed that I
often stumbled on a peculiar instability caused
by the pronounced curvature of the external
part of the bamboo strip, which I remind you, in
a quadrate rod, has a width almost equal to the
diameter of the rod. This highlights the natural
curvature of the bamboo culm more than with
hexagonals rods, where the width of the enamel
side of a strip is substantially smaller.
A strip for a square rod has a central angle of 90
degrees, conined by the lat surfaces that in
section are the catheti, while the curved surface
represents a strange curved “hypotenuse” and is
the longest side. The one that in a planing form
sits on the face at 45 degrees in the right and
left grooves. However, while the catheti sides
rest lat against lat to the side of the groove the
hypotenuse side contacts the groove face along
a line only (it is a cylinder against a lat surfa-
ce).
In the drawing, we have indicate with “c” the
middle point of the side at 45 degrees of the
groove of the planing form. Ideally, we would
like the curved surface of the bamboo to always
lean on point “c”. But it is not at all guaranteed
that things will go that way, as there is no
automatic correcting mechanism that will lead
you there.
n Bamboo Rodmakers Association
y machine shop built my irst planing form
oon forgot of the method I had seen in
lean on point “c”. But it is not at all guaran
that things will go that way, as there is no
automatic correcting mechanism that will
you there.