Popular Science Monthly
��ends to find the center, and mark off the length of the hand-grasp. While a shorter grasp is sometimes preferred and used on tournament rods, the best length is a double-grasp measuring 12 in. overall, including the taper and butt cap. Plane the stick with the grain until it is evenly tapered in the square, planing from butt to joint, and check often with gage until the exact dimensions are obtained.
The work of rounding up the stick is accomplished by using a length of common %-in. flooring with a groove in one edge. Plane the groove to roughly correspond
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��chased punched to any desired diameter, but it is a simple thing to punch them by taking a common brass ferrule 15/32-in. in diameter, sharpening the edge with a file. Fold several thicknesses of cloth over the end to make a pad for the hand, and rotate the cutter, back and forth, pressing down at the same time, to force the cutter through the cork. Do not hammer the cutter, for this will make a ragged hole. Corks of 1^8-in. diameter and Y±-\n. thick are best, but the 3^- or j^-in. thick corks obtainable from any druggist may be used. Cut the butt off square above the holes,
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���Plan for the taper, gage and way of holding the rough wood for planing it to shape, together with the manner of cutting the handles from ordinary corks and the fittings for the entire rod
��with the taper of the rod. Nail or clamp the board with groove uppermost on the bench, and lay the stick in the groove. Plane off the four corners to make the stick octagon in form, then take off these corners to make it sixteen-sided. Work very carefully, setting the plane very close and use the gage often to obtain the desired taper.
The stick will now be almost round, and for the final rounding, make a scraper by filing grooves of different sizes in one edge of the steel cabinet scraper, shown in Fig. 4. As the bottom of the groove does the scraping, make it sharp by using a fine-cut file and hold it at right angles to the steel. With this little tool the edges are reduced to shape and sandpapering will make the rod smooth and free from hollow places.
The hand-grasp is fashioned from solid cork-washers. These corks may be pur-
��brush on a J^-in. band of liquid glue, and force the cork down in place. Coat the upper face of this cork and another section of the butt with glue, and force the second cork down against the first. Proceed in this manner until the grasp is of the desired length, 4% i n - being about right for the lower grasp.
The reel-seat is now fitted over a soft wooden core. This core may be purchased for a few cents, bored to any desired diameter, or made from white-pine. Bore a 15/32-in. hole in a stick of pine, and plane down to fit. The butt end of the core should be cut off l /i in. shorter than the reel-seat, at each end. As the ordinary reel-seat is rather long, cut it down to 4-in., reverse the hood and place it at the bottom end of the seat nearest the hand. When the core is a snug fit, give the upper surface of the cork and the butt it covers a
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