The panel on finishing showed interesting new ways of finishing a rod with other materials and methods than varnish and dipping tank. Richard Sherman brought several, very good looking finished samples for demonstration. They had been hand rubbed using a special technique he has developed, using tung oil, tripoli buffing compound, Clearthane, Pro-Fin, and various other materials. Jess Wells, a professional violin maker from Portland, OR, told us about his experience when using varnishes for his work. It was especially interesting because his requirements are different for his instruments, but there have been a lot of similarities as well. It really helped me to get a better understanding about varnishes and their properties.
Tom Morgan of Twin Bridges, MT, the current owner of the Winston Rod Co. told us about the methods and materials he has chosen for his professional production purposes. He uses a combination of rubbing an final spraying his rods. The whole process is a little bit complicated and requires a lot of testing, special equipment and experience to copy it. Again I was surprised about the willingness of a pro to share his secrets with others. I have been talking about that with John Bokstrom, and he said that it is one thing to know how a certain trick or technique works, but it is something entirely different to do it properly. I completely agree to that..
At about 12:30 p.m. the 3rd bamboo rodbuilders workshop at Corbett Lake Lodge ended. Ray Gould and Jack Byrd felt relieved that all has worked well, no furious disputes, or other unpleasant events and I have to say that they have really done a very goodjob. The last thing they did was to book the lodge for the next meeting in 1994.
