Bamboo Tips - Tips Area
Splitting - Marking

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How do I mark my culm as I split it to keep the relation of 1, 2 ,3, 4, 5, 6 etc in the proper/preferred alignment so as to produce the best strength when I do a 3 x 3 node stagger pattern?

I only made a 1 tip rod and I may try for a 2 tip rod on this next (my 2nd) build and maybe that has me a bit confused for marking the strips as well.

Pictures speak a thousand words for me so if anyone has a link or can send a pic or three of their marking process I would be extremely grateful as this is the step I am stuck on as of this morning. (Lee Slikkers)

If I use a 2x2x2 I mark individual strips with a number - usually Roman as it's easier with a saw. I also mark the butts in colours with a felt pen so I can easily tell which end they should be and which section they belong to. But if I do the 3x3 I mark the butt ends of each section. Red for tips, blue for mids and black for butts. So all my section strips have the same colour. I find it easy to arrange them in alternate positions by the nodes so no need for two colours on each section. Some makers advocate more complicated arrangements as you've alluded to but I don't worry about that unless the person I'm making the rod for asks for such a method. When I make 2 tips, I always do, I book match them which is no big deal just a routine that's easily done. (Boris Gaspar)

If you're doing a 3x3, the easiest way to mark the strips is with contrasting Sharpie colors on the bottom.  Since the 3x3 only requires two sets of strips for each section, and you are making a two-piece rod, all you need is four different colors, so as to separate the butt sections from the tip sections.  It doesn't matter much if the tip strips get mixed between the two tips.You don't really need to do a 1...6 strip relation, unless you want to be really anal about it.  I've never really worried about it much, and I sort my strips based on both strip strength and cosmetics before I get to the point where I stagger the nodes on the strips.  The 1...6 strip numbering scheme was used by Garrison when he was doing his version of the node staggering, which is the Chevy 6.But that's just me, I'm sure the other guys do things differently. (Mark Wendt)

I do find myself leaning towards the anal side of things at times...comes from wanting to make things the way I was taught and trying to make sure I am not screwing things up I guess so it's nice to hear this particular fixation may be all for nothing.  I starting my rod building while reading the Garrison book so that is likely where I was getting that reference from... (Lee Slikkers)

I lean towards the anal on some things, but you soon learn there's things to be anal about, and other things, not so much.  I got my start with the "Bible" too, and when I first started out, I was really obsessed with a number of things.  After a while, I figured out what things I needed to be obsessed with, and what things didn't really require it.  But, like I mentioned below, other folks have their own way of doing things, and that's a good thing.Put 12 rod makers in a room, and you get 13 different opinions.  (Mark Wendt)

I'm with Mark on this one. I used to do the 1 though 6 marking on the strips, but no more. The first thing I look for on a 12-foot culm is how to cut it to reduce the number of nodes. If I am I am going to make an eight-foot rod I know the strips when finished will be approximately 48 inches. If I am using a 3X3 node pattern with the nodes spread 3 inches apart I know I will need 51 inch strips. If I want two inches of waste on each end, I must add another 4 inches making the strips cut to 55 inches long.

Then I look at the tip of the culm and see if I can cut a 55-inch long piece which will keep the nodes five inches from the tip and at least three inches from the ferrule. That means the cut must be 10 inches above the node at the tip and 8 inches below the node at the bottom. If I can do it, I'll choose that culm, if not I'll pick out another culm.

For the butt section I simply come down to the next node and cut the culm just below it and make the second cut 55 inches below that.
As Mark says, color the butts of the culm differently. I use black for the butt and red for the tips.

If I'm making a one tip rod, I'll split the culm into halves, then into thirds and then split out my six strips for the tip and do the same for the butt and go to work.

If you still want to mark the strips one through six, split your culm into six strips and keep them in order, take a Sharpie or pencil and draw one line across all strips. draw a second line beginning at strip two and the same for the rest. Then split into 24 pieces and pick your strips one through six for the section. (Larry Myhre)

The last 3 rods I made a spiraled the nodes. I have never liked 3x3 and don't feel good about 2x2x2. I feel good about spiraling the nodes but don't know that it is better. As far as keeping the strips in order, after I split the culm in half or 3 pieces. I lay the out side by side and draw a diaginal line across the group. After I spit them out I can lay them back in order. Here, too, I don't know how important it is.   (Timothy Troester)

Just a general comment on node spacing--if you swap ends (heresy?!) of alternate strips, you automatically get 3x3 node spacing with no offset of the strips required (unless you are very unlucky with node locations). This can be quite helpful if you have some strips too short to offset and want to use them up in a "Frankenstein" rod. (Mike McGuire)