# The Hammer



## JOHNNY QUEST (Mar 6, 2006)

This is the newest project i am working on. i want to build "trout scout" but duty calls. this is sledgehammers new tournament rod. so i guess you could call it "sledges new hammer". it starts out like this. birch bark slabs. [and jerry here we go] i cut the pieces out with my dremel tool and remove the fungus that grows on the back of the bark.
birch bark is what the indians built thier canoe's out of and it is lite wt. and water resistant. 
once this is done i will do the glue up.


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## jake67 (Aug 28, 2005)

that look cool is the bark gunna be facing out or what?


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## JOHNNY QUEST (Mar 6, 2006)

*glue up*

The pieces are cut in the first pic. [ jerry i drilled them to the size of the part of the blank that they fit. thanks for the previous info.]

then stacked up and glued together. this piece will be trimmed with the tortoise shell. [imitation]
wow i have to make 3 of these pieces for this rod.

Randall


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## bill (May 21, 2004)

I have a question or two.

Have you ever tried a hole saw? Pro's/Con's.

When you glue them, do you put them in a vise to compress, if so how do you adjust so there is not too much or little pressure? Is that something you just get a feel for?


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## JOHNNY QUEST (Mar 6, 2006)

bill said:


> I have a question or two.
> 
> Have you ever tried a hole saw? Pro's/Con's.
> 
> When you glue them, do you put them in a vise to compress, if so how do you adjust so there is not too much or little pressure? Is that something you just get a feel for?


 Bill i tried the hole saw and this bark is layered . it will delaminate on you very easy. so i went to the dremel tool to save as much integrity in the bark as possible. when clamping cork i am carefull not to deform the rings, but with this stuff i have to clamp the **** out of it to push the round out of it . its shaped like a tree trunk so it is not flat. ope this helps
randall


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## Goags (May 28, 2004)

Alright Randall, how much will it cost me for 10" of finished birch grip? I can get a preformed cork grip for about $5-10. Pretty labor intensive, right? You're doing great, keep on posting! Jerry


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## JOHNNY QUEST (Mar 6, 2006)

*1st. piece*

here is the first of 3 pieces sanded and polished.

jerry this stuff is wonderfull.


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## bill (May 21, 2004)

Thanks for the answers.


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## NurseD-bait (Oct 2, 2004)

the tortie with the birch is the "bomb"


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## JOHNNY QUEST (Mar 6, 2006)

*the fit*

the fit seems to be good and the first step is done. I have not glued it up yet I will wait till all the pieces are done.

I think you are right nursie the tortoise shell matches the bark well. all three pieces will have them as ends to keep the bark from delaminating.


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## twitch-twitch-reel (May 21, 2006)

thats some fine work bro! how much heavier is that than cork?


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## JOHNNY QUEST (Mar 6, 2006)

twitch-twitch-reel said:


> thats some fine work bro! how much heavier is that than cork?


Thanks twitch
Its not heavier really about the same. we may be talking grams of difference per handle. good looking stuff tho.


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## JOHNNY QUEST (Mar 6, 2006)

*3 pieces*

I took a few days and went fishing but all 3 pieces are complete now. i am really satisfied with the results and i am trying to figure out what type butt cap to put on it. its not glued up yet and this is just a test fit on a sample blank. 
jerry 75 dollars a foot. lol


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## jake67 (Aug 28, 2005)

aww man that is to cool is that blank colored like that on the split or is it marbled?


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## JOHNNY QUEST (Mar 6, 2006)

its a blue blank jake. i will be using a black one tho.


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## jake67 (Aug 28, 2005)

o ok that blue looks nice!


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## JOHNNY QUEST (Mar 6, 2006)

*Moving Right Along*

here it is without the stars for the team. i will be puting them between the grips. bark is very hard to work with and get right but the results are very rewarding. my camera always makes red look pink. ??????? but its red, white and blue. for the stars and stripes kayak fishing team.


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## jake67 (Aug 28, 2005)

aww man that looks great! whats the speical benefit of split grip if any?


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## bluefin (Aug 16, 2005)

Randall,

Love looking at your work. I've seen you post some of your other stuff up before and it's impressive. I know Bill asked about a hole saw but I was thinking about a round stamp press. Wouldn't that leave enough integrity if you made the circle big enough that you could just sand off the pinched edges? Just a thought. Again, love your work and the tortoise caps really look good.


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## JOHNNY QUEST (Mar 6, 2006)

*finished*

Here it is with the stars and stripes. it really came together when i added them.
1 more coat of finish and its out the door. team rod 2 of 8 finished.

RANDALL


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## bill (May 21, 2004)

Looks really cool! I like the stars, makes the whole rod pop.


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## twitch-twitch-reel (May 21, 2006)

Man that is so Nice. I like just about anything in red white and blue! what would what is the blank modules? how much for something like that with cork?


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## ellisredfish (Jul 5, 2005)

Very nice rod, indeed, Randall.


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## JOHNNY QUEST (Mar 6, 2006)

twitch-twitch-reel said:


> Man that is so Nice. I like just about anything in red white and blue! what would what is the blank modules? how much for something like that with cork?


 its a 33 million mod shikari blank in a medium fast, medium wt. p-703.

i will pm a price out of respect for the site.


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## JOHNNY QUEST (Mar 6, 2006)

ellisredfish said:


> Very nice rod, indeed, Randall.


thanks ellis, your opinion is always very important to me. good or bad. 
thanks again


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## SkipJack (May 24, 2004)

Looking good


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## GEM (Apr 27, 2005)

That is cool! Where did you get the bark?


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## JOHNNY QUEST (Mar 6, 2006)

sorry guys i was having a flashback and realized i did not answer cuba's question. 
i got the bark from washington. a canoe manufacturer on line with a little help from goags.
randall


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## swab (Aug 15, 2006)

If it delaminates that easily, what keeps it from happening when you use it a lot? Seems like you would want it to delaminate so you can glue all the weak spots. Am I missing something? It looks marvelous but also looks like a pain in the tail to work with.


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## JOHNNY QUEST (Mar 6, 2006)

swab said:


> If it delaminates that easily, what keeps it from happening when you use it a lot? Seems like you would want it to delaminate so you can glue all the weak spots. Am I missing something? It looks marvelous but also looks like a pain in the tail to work with.


 SWAB IT DELAMINATES WHILE YOU ARE TRYING TO DRILL IT TO THE SIZE OF THE BLANK. ONCE YOU HAVE IT BORED IT IS VREY STABLE GLUED TO THE BLANK.


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