Home Photo Gallery Bamboo Rod Making Rod Making Classes Pricing Philosophy Personal Philosophy Southern Rodmakers Gathering Contact information Rods on hand Order Progress		Photo Gallery (Click on smaller images to see a larger size photo) Page 1 - Rods present and past Page 2 - Reel Seats and Fillers Page 3 - Wraps and Details Page 4 - Fish and Friends (Clicking on any rod picture will open a new window with more, larger photos of the rod) Choosing silk wrap colors is an important design consideration in custom bamboo rods. The colors should either complement the cane or contrast with the cane.  The total aesthetic of this rod, with its smoky ferrules, brown silks tipped black, and walnut reel seat make an attractive package. Triple tipping red - orange - red with highly polished nickel-silver framed agate stripping guide.  All my custom rods use agate stripping guides unless otherwise requested. White silk turns perfectly clear when touched with a wrap finish.  This hollow built 8' three weight rod is wrapped in white silk tipped with claret and features 3-5 intermediate winds between each guide. The navy blue silks tipped crimson made for an unusual combination. Deeply flamed bamboo with black silks and separated tipping. Signature wraps give each rod maker his own identity.  My signature wrap pattern incorporates a number of small connected open-spiral winds equal to the intended line weight for the rod framing the rod signature, thus this rod is intended for a five weight line. Another rod with orange silks, this one single-tipped with crimson. A small agate stripping guide on a two weight rod with rich medium flamed cane and clear silks, tipped dark brown with a single turn inlay of brown silk. Hunter green silks, tipped black, with a midnight and white agate. An 8' seven weight built for my friend Roger Stouff, intended for bass and redfish in the south Louisiana marshes. Morticed butt inserts create a dramatic swell by using twelve strips rather than the customary six from a few inches in front of the cork all the way through the butt end of the rod.  This rod features alternating strips of light and dark bamboo.  Other morticed rods I have made use walnut inserts, and alternating walnut and white oak.  The look is dramatic, and the swelled butt makes a noticeably crisper action. Clear silks, tipped scarlet. Another rod with clear silks, tipped scarlet. Clear silks, tipped hunter green with antique agate guide. Antique gold silks, triple-tipped black, gold, black. Natural red agate guide, red silks tipped hunter green. Blonde rods and darkly flamed rods present strikingly different aesthetics. My personal tastes lie somewhere between these two ends of the sprectrum. The signature wrap pattern I used for several years. Translucent thread wraps allow the feet of this agate stripping guide to show through clearly. I prefer not to use any color preservative on my silks, but will if necessary to achieve the brilliance only silk thread can provide in certain colors. One turn of inlaid color in clear wraps catches the eye. Another example of a single turn inlay within a clear wrap. This copy of a Payne 200 features an original Payne milky agate stripping guide, and Pearsall's java beige wraps, tipped gold and orange. Payne brown wraps, tipped goldenrod and black at the ferrules, and black on each guide wrap look nice with the classic blued hardware. Adding my signature gives each rod a personal touch. After all, there's a little of my heart in every rod I make. Bright red wraps tipped black, and bright guides and stripper used on an early Otter Creek Special Antique Gold silk, tipped dark brown, is one of my most requested silk  wrapping combinations.  On flamed bamboo this look is understated, but quite attractive. When white silk is correctly finished, it turns completely translucent.  In the larger image you can see the grain of the bamboo clearly through the nearly invisible wrap. When tipped scarlet red, black, or hunter green, it adds a nice touch. I'll gladly ink the owner's name on the rod shaft, though many clients would rather not have their name on the rod. Copyright © 2000 - 2007  Boyd Rod Company Harry Boyd 507 Highland Street Winnsboro, Louisiana 71295 email: maker@canerods.com