Over the past 15 years knotless (nodeless) rod building has become quite popular here in Europe. Almost every professional rodbuilder uses this method. I think it's not because the knotless rods are superior to the "old fashioned" ones, but because of lack in knowledge how to treat bamboo knots. Some builders think that knotless rods are stronger than with knots, but I don't agree with them. Mother nature created a bamboo that is incredibly strong, and it's quite difficult to be better than nature.
Anyway, a guy called Piet Veugelers is expected to be the first Prof. rodmaker that uses the knottles way, here in Europe. If that is true, I don't know. I talked to him and he to me, he used the book "A Masters Guide to Building a Bamboo Flyrod" by Hoagy B. Carmichel for this idea. Garrison used some sort of planing form to get the angle on his small splices (b.t.w. Garrison just built one knottless rod) and this form still does the job. But there is an easier and faster way. This idea is not mine, but it is quite common here in Europe. We use an electrical engine, for example, an old one from a washing machine.
1.Attach a round disk to the axle of the engine. The diameter deepends on the engine you use. The stronger the engine, the bigger and heavier (metal??) the disk can be. The faster the rotation of the disk, the faster the job is done. I've made mine of wood and is about 3 /4 foot) 2.Glue rough sanding-paper on the disk, the rougher the better. 3.Make some kind of working table in front of the disk. The height of the working table has to be on the center of the round disk. You can use wood, metal or plastic, as long as it has a smooth finish. 4.Attach a metal strip to the working-table at the angle you like to get on your splices. The smaller the angle, the longer the glue line will be. A longer glue line is stronger. I use an angle of 6 deg.
This is everything you need. All you have to do is push the splices between the metal guiding strip and the fast rotating disk. Keep the enamel to the down side. The enamel side is flatter and goes more smoothly over the working table. The whole job for one 7 or 8 foot rod is done in about 10 to 15 minutes. If possible, do the job outdoors because there's a lot of dust. I myself do it indoors, but use an old vacuum-cleaner to get rid of this dust. If you make sure that the position of the working table is stable to the engine/disk the angle will always be exactly the same, so gluing the splices will give a very professional look. If done right, you can't see the glue-lines.
Just see the GIF, this will tell more than words!
Success with you're rodbuiding and tight lines,
!!!! BE SURE TO WEAR GLOVES!! THE SANDING-PAPER TAKES THE SKIN OFF AS FAST AS THE BAMBOO !!!
Hans Kohl
You can reach me by e-mail at: j.w.e.kohl@ptt-telecom.unisource.nl
