Drying cabinet material?

[RJD2]

I build bamboo fly fishing rods, and am planning on constructing a drying cabinet. The purpose of the cabinet is to have a dust free environment for the rod finish to dry. They are usually somewhere around 5' tall, 12" wide, and 12" deep. A heat source (e.g., light bulb) is added to help maintain temperature around 90 degrees. I wanted some input concerning what to utilize to build the cabinet. Sheet goods (e.g., plywood) are available from Home Depot and Lowes, but quality (e.g., voids) as well as warping after a few days is always a problem. Melamine coated particle board and MDF are options, but I have limited experience with MDF as well as none with particle board. Hardwood lumber would be overkill (i.e., not making a piece of furniture for inside the house) for such a project, and pine is always a battle against warping. Any suggestions?

[steve-norrell]

If I were doing that I would try using melamine shelving so I wouldn't have to buy a full sheet. My experience is that if you use a good plywood blade the melamine covered particle board cuts nicely, without noticeable tearing of the melamine. A shallow dado cut removes the melamine coat when you have to glue cross pieces together.

On another tack, I have never made a bamboo rod and it sounds like you have to hang the bamboo rods upright while they are drying. I'm guessing that you are talking about the individual bamboo pieces that make up the rod.

So what do you do about the threading to hold the guides in place? (I have build fiberglass rods and the only drying time is for the coating on the guide thread - there you need some kind of a roller device.)


Sounds like fun. Good luck.

[LCHIEN]

why not a 6 foot length of 6" PVC pipe? Cap the ends.

[phrog]

why not a 6 foot length of 6" PVC pipe? Cap the ends.

PVC pipe - cool idea. Sounds like Loring is "thinking outside the box."

[RJD2]

The rod sections are hung vertically after they are dipped in a spar varnish. For example, there could be three sections consisting of a butt and two tips. Each section is made up of six pieces of bamboo that are glued together. Varnished silk thread is used to keep the guides in place. A bamboo rod is very labor intensive, and could involve upwards of 50+ hours to complete. There will be multiple rods in the cabinet at a time so there needs to be more room than what a 6" PVC pipe would provide. The drying cabinet provides an environment that is dust free as well as an ideal temperature while the finish cures. The following link provides some examples. http://www.bamboorodmaking.com/html/...cabinets1.html

Are there any potential problems utilizing melamine coated particle board and a heat source? The interior of the cabinet is a rather confined space, and will be roughly 90 degrees inside for an extended period of time. Also, what type of screws should be used for joinery purposes, or use dado/glue? Thanks.

[Black wallnut]

Melamine should fit the bill nicely. There are special melamine screws that are available, their use alone should be enough for what you are needing.

Do you make your own reel seat spacers? Glue up your own cork? Got pics?

I've always wanted a three section 8 1/2' for a #5, birdseye uplocking with nickel silver hardware; maybe someday.....

[RJD2]

Mark. I make all of the hardware (e.g., ferrules, reel seat) except for the guides. No pictures. I am not at the stage yet to sell, but maybe in the few years.

I started refurbishing old mass produced bamboo rods. Then made a few 2 strip quads, and finally hex rods. It can be a very expensive hobby, but that depends on how much of the tooling you are willing to build.

Mark, you could build a 8 1/2' in a 2 strip quad version for less than a $100, or purchase a ferruled hex blank for around $300 that would require you to complete it. Actually, you probably already have the tooling being a woodworker to construct a 2 strip quad.

Feel free to PM me if anyone is interested in starting, and want more information.

Ron

[Charlie R]

There was a movie on TV about Hoagy Carmichael JR showing how he makes bamboo rods. Here's a link about him and rod building.

http://www.upon-bamboo-fly-fishing-r...armichael.html

I think he dipped the rod into a pvc pipe to apply the finish. You might consider suspending the rod in a length of stove pipe, heated with a lamp, as a drying chamber.

[mnmphd]

An easy solution would be to build the cabinet from sheets of the
rigid foam. Easy to cut, seal up the ends with duct tape. You could
make it more rigid by gluing the edges, or even just pinning together
with wooden skewers. 2"thick 2x8 sheets are ~$15 at HD. Should
take about 1 hour of effort and less than $40 for 2 sheets a some tape

If you have a bulb in there, you may need to vent it to keep the temperature
from building up to high.

[LCHIEN]

If you have a bulb in there, you may need to vent it to keep the temperature
from building up to high.

or put a lamp dimmer on it to control the temperature

[TrentT]

I've always wanted to build bamboo rods but after buying some books and doing a lot of reading, I just never found the time. I do tie my own flies for fly fishing but never got around to building rods. What about a metal cabinet like a locker? Melamine would work but it might be really heavy.