Pick Up Sticks!

After assigning strips to their various locations I needed to establish a node staggering pattern. I have not settled on one particular pattern and tend to experiment with different node spacings. For these rods the decision was rather easy, as Ted used a 2x2x2 spacing. To do this it was important to put the strips for each section in the order they will end up in the rods.

Once they were oriented properly, I measured the inter-nodal space about midway along the strip and divided by 3. This gave me the distance that I should slide adjacent strips (the distance between nodes). I added some length to the strips before cutting them to give myself some breathing room when working on them. Plus I can use the scraps from the blanks for beads, dubbing needle handles and the like. I then marked the ends of the strips to be cut to working length.

Then I started cutting.

As the work session wore on, 72 end cuts hit the floor... Pick up sticks! Every time I do this I tell myself I need a band saw.

After making all of those cuts I began removing what remained of the nodal dams. A short bench plane makes short work of them.

By the day's end, I had managed to keep everything in order.

And 36 strips of bamboo were all the same length, looking much neater but still nothing like a fishing rod.

I bundled and labeled them all once again to be kept safe until next time.