October, 2008. White River near Mountain Home, Arkansas. Southern Rodmakers Gathering.
I was almost asleep. Sitting at a well worn and weathered picnic table at Fulton's Lodge, overlooking the beautiful White River, I was watching some really good casters working out the rods made by their fellow rodmakers. Warm Fall sunshine and a belly full of good hamburgers, the charcoal smell still lingering in the air.....my head was getting heavy, my eyelids droopy...that warm, fuzzy feeling crept through my whole being.....
And then it happened. "That Rod" showed up.
Lulled into complacency by the pleasant surroundings, I was not in the best frame of mind for clear thinking. And that's how I got into this mess. A PVC tube with a screw in plug for a cap appeared on the table before me. It was white - the color of purity and innocence. And in my sleepy state I simply didn't see the threat it concealed. Someone was talking to me, but my attention was focused on that tube. What wonder would it hold?
"Restoration work?" I heard myself saying, "Yeah, I still do restorations from time to time.Especially if it's a rod I like, or one that's sort of different."
"This one IS different", the voice said. And the voice wasn't lying.
Suddenly it was there on the table in front of me. I must have pulled back from it - even in my sleepy state I could see it was......a mess.
"Can you fix it?", the voice asked.
"Well, sure, I can fix it." (Spoken with more cojones than brains. I do respond when challenged.)
And that's how it started.
I still believe I can do it - but I'm going to need group support to finish this rod. One hour's work at a stretch is about all I can take. It's almost as if this thing is radioactive or something. Of course, I know it isn't. A lot of things can cause these funny headaches I get when I'm around this rod. And I'm sure the twitch in my left eye is purely coincidental.
And so, with your moral support, I'm going to tackle this nasty mess and see if I can do the criss-cross wraps in silk floss...the entire length of this nine-and-a-half foot rod.
The first step is always to take some "Before" pictures. Here they are; but send the children out of the room before you scroll down....
When my eye stops twitching, I'll post the next part of the restoration process. God help us!
I was almost asleep. Sitting at a well worn and weathered picnic table at Fulton's Lodge, overlooking the beautiful White River, I was watching some really good casters working out the rods made by their fellow rodmakers. Warm Fall sunshine and a belly full of good hamburgers, the charcoal smell still lingering in the air.....my head was getting heavy, my eyelids droopy...that warm, fuzzy feeling crept through my whole being.....
And then it happened. "That Rod" showed up.
Lulled into complacency by the pleasant surroundings, I was not in the best frame of mind for clear thinking. And that's how I got into this mess. A PVC tube with a screw in plug for a cap appeared on the table before me. It was white - the color of purity and innocence. And in my sleepy state I simply didn't see the threat it concealed. Someone was talking to me, but my attention was focused on that tube. What wonder would it hold?
"Restoration work?" I heard myself saying, "Yeah, I still do restorations from time to time.Especially if it's a rod I like, or one that's sort of different."
"This one IS different", the voice said. And the voice wasn't lying.
Suddenly it was there on the table in front of me. I must have pulled back from it - even in my sleepy state I could see it was......a mess.
"Can you fix it?", the voice asked.
"Well, sure, I can fix it." (Spoken with more cojones than brains. I do respond when challenged.)
And that's how it started.
I still believe I can do it - but I'm going to need group support to finish this rod. One hour's work at a stretch is about all I can take. It's almost as if this thing is radioactive or something. Of course, I know it isn't. A lot of things can cause these funny headaches I get when I'm around this rod. And I'm sure the twitch in my left eye is purely coincidental.
And so, with your moral support, I'm going to tackle this nasty mess and see if I can do the criss-cross wraps in silk floss...the entire length of this nine-and-a-half foot rod.
The first step is always to take some "Before" pictures. Here they are; but send the children out of the room before you scroll down....
When my eye stops twitching, I'll post the next part of the restoration process. God help us!
