The Boy Mechanic, Book 2: 1000 Things for Boys to Do - Unknown

The three-piece rod should be made up to 6 ft. in length to secure the best action, but even if so made, the use of the extra ferrules makes the rod less resilient and elastic than the rod of one or two-piece construction. The best action is obtained only when the rod bends to a uniform curve, and since the ferrules cannot conform to this curve, or arc, the more joints incorporated in a rod, the less satisfactory it will be from an angling standpoint. Convenience in packing and carrying are the sole merits which the many-jointed rod possesses. Complete specifications for making a three-piece bait-casting rod, together with a material list, is as follows: A rod, about 5-1/2 ft. long with a single or double hand grasp made of cork, will weigh about 7 oz. Caliper the butt so that it will taper from 15/32 in to 11/32 in at the cap of the ferrule, making it 21-1/2 in. long. The middle joint is tapered from 21/64 in. to 15/64 in., and is 21-3/4 in. long. The tips are 21 in. long and are tapered from 13/64 in. to 7/64 in. Dagame or greenheart is used for the butt, joint, and tips, and german silver for the fittings. All pieces are 2 ft. long, the butt is 5/8 in., the joint and tips, 3/8 in.

One 3/4-in. reel seat with straight hood;
one 1-in. butt cap;
one taper, small end 15/32 in.;
one 21/64-in. welted and shouldered ferrule;
one 15/64-in. welted and shouldered ferrule with two closed centers, one for each tip;
two 3/32-in. offset agate tops;
two 1/2-in. narrow agate guides;
two No. 1 size one-ring casting guides;
two dozen cork washers, and winding silk, size 00 or 0.

Fly Rods for Trout and Bass

Having made a good bait-casting rod, the amateur will find little trouble in making a rod with a number of joints, and no special instructions need be given, since the work of planing and smoothing up the wood, and finishing and mounting the rod, is the same as has been described in detail before. For fly fishing for trout, accuracy and delicacy are of more importance than length of cast, and the rod best suited to this phase of angling differs greatly from that used in bait casting. A stiff, heavy rod is entirely unsuited for fly casting, and while it is, of course, possible to make a rod too willowy for the sport, the amateur, working by rule of thumb, is more likely to err on the other side and make the fly rods of too stout a caliber. The idea is simply to help the amateur over the hard part by giving a list of dimensions of a representative trout and a bass fly rod. To make a 9-ft. trout fly rod, with a cork grasp having a length of 9 in. above the reel seat, caliper the material as follows: The butt is tapered from

7/16 in. to 25/64 in. at 1 ft. from the butt end;
1-1/2 ft., 11/32 in.;
2 ft, 21/64 in.;
2-1/2 ft., 5/16 in., and 3 ft., 19/64 in.
The first 6 in. of the middle joint is calipered to 9/32 in.;
1 ft, 17/64 in.;
1-1/2 ft, 15/64 in.;
2 ft., 7/32 in.;
2-1/2 ft, 13/64 in., and
3 ft., 3/16 in.
The first 6 in. of the tips are calipered to 11/64 in.;
1 ft, 5/32 in.;
1-1/2 ft., 1/8 in.;
2 ft., 7/64 in.;
2-1/2 ft, 3/32 in., and
3 ft., 5/64 in.

All joints are made 36-1/2 in. long. The material used is dagame, or greenheart, the butt being 5/8 in. by 4 ft., the joint 3/8 in. by 4 ft., and the tips 3/8 in. by 4 ft. The attachments, of german silver, are:

One 3/4 in. reel seat, fly-rod type with butt cap;
one taper, 33/64 in. at the small end;
one 9/32-in. welted and shouldered ferrule;
one 11/64-in. welted and shouldered ferrule with two closed-end centers, one for each tip;
two No. 4 snake guides for the butt joint;
three No. 3 snake guides for the middle joint, and
six No. 2 snake guides, three for each tip section;
two No. 7 agate angle fly tops, the kind to wind on;
one dozen cork washers, and
two 10-yd. spools of winding silk, 00 size.

A bass fly rod 9-1/2 ft. long, weighing 7-1/2 oz., with a cork grasp, 9-1/2 in. above the reel seat, is calipered as follows:

The butt is tapered from 13/32 in. to 25/64 in. 1 ft. from the end;
1-1/2 ft. from butt, 23/64 in.;
2 ft., 11/32 in.;
2-1/2 ft., 21/64 in., and
3 ft., 19/64 in.
The first 6 in. of the middle joint is 19/64 in.;
1 ft., 9/32 in.;
1-1/2 ft., 17/64 in.;
2 ft., 15/64 in.;
2-1/2 ft., 7/32 in., and 3 ft., 13/64 in.
The first 6 in. of the tips, 11/64 in.;
1 ft., 5/32 in.;
1-1/2 ft., 9/64 in.;
2 ft, 1/8 in.;
2-1/2 ft., 7/64 in., and
3 ft, 5/64 in.

The joints are 36-1/2 in. long. The mountings are the same as for the trout fly rod. Dagame, or greenheart, wood is used, the butt being 5/8 in. by 4 ft., the joint 3/8 in. by 4 ft. and the tips 3/8 in. by 4 feet.