Ipe - it rhymes with ebay

[oc1]

I've been wanting to make a hardwood rod for a while.  But it is difficult to sort through the types of wood used in the late 19th and early 20th century and even more difficult to find the same wood today.  Shipping a single piece of lumber to Hawaii is ridiculously expensive too.  Then, I found some ipe right under my nose here at the local lumber yard.

Ipe is wood from the yellow trumpet tree, Handroanthus serratifolius .  Older synonyms are Tabebuia serratifolia and Bignonia serratifolia .  Some of the other common names are ironwood, washaba, also spelled washiba or wassiba, bethabara wood, noibe wood (selected bethabara), yellow poui, Surinam greenheart, and many others.  The tree is native to Central and South America and every country where it occurs seems to have it's own name.  It has been introduced into other regions as an ornamental tree.  It is really pretty when covered with the yellow flowers.  There are several here on Oahu, but they are in urban areas where you can't just go chop off a branch.

There is at least one other tree that was used for fishing rods and was also called ironwood.  I think there was another type of fishing rod wood called greenheart too but am not sure about that yet.  Old rod makers never called it ipe; but that is the current name used by exotic wood dealers in the U.S.  The name Bethabara was a fabricated trade name pulled out of thin air by a rod maker named Shipley.  Here is a screen shot from some old court proceedings:



and another from J.A. Henshall (1889) Book of the Black Bass:



P.D. Frazer (1914) Amateur Rodmaking (a really great book, by the way) had this to say:






I bought a ten foot 1x6 (3/4" x 5.5") of ipe for fifty-six bucks.  Depending on how it is cut, it could make five to seven 10 foot rods.  For the first one, a 3/4 inch strip was ripped off one side of the plank.  A jack plane, a block plane and a thumb plane were tuned up and sharpened and I started planning the taper.  After about ten minutes I had worked up a sweat and was maybe one percent through.  This stuff is really hard and the plane would chatter even with the finest cut and the sharpest iron.  So, I grabbed the hand power planer and soon learned that leather gloves are needed too.  A 90 degree angle planed smooth is sharp enough to cut you without raising a splinter from the wood.

Two right angle holes were drilled in the blank so the butt could be anchored to the edge of a doug fir 2x4.  Wood scraps were screwed to the side of the 2x4 to keep the blank from sliding off.  Next time I will use one-by lumber (3/4 inch wide) instead of the 2x4 to better constrain the blank laterally as it is being planed.  Stations were marked at six inch intervals along the 2x4 along with the intended final diameter at each station.  I would also scribble notes on the 2x4 about the current diameter as I went along.  A few swipes with the power planer would be made on one side.  The blank would be rotated 90 degrees, the diameters measured and a few more swipes made.  Rotate, measure, plane, rotate, measure plane.   In the foreground you can see the brass pin in the butt to keep the blank from sliding as the planer ran toward the tip.



The blank was first planed down to a straight taper; 3/4 inch at the butt and at the reel tapering to 1/8 inch at the tip.  It was still square in cross-section but I could tell the tip was going to be too fast and too heavy.  So, a new taper that took off more material in front of the reel with a slower taper toward the tip was cut.  When done it looked really good.  

Then I started chamfering the corners with the intention of turning the square cross-section into an octagon.  The planer has a chamfering notch in the foot but it is too deep so I was not using it.  That's when everything went to hell.  The blank slid sideways on the 2x4, the rod slipped into the notch and the planer gouged the blank much too deep.  I thought it was probably a fatal error but tried to salvage it anyway.  Now gun-shy of the power planer, I worked the blank down by eye with a 1.5 inch drum sander on the end of a flexible shaft tool. The area around the deep gouge was rounded out then the whole rod was reworked to meet that area.

When done, it sort of resembled a fishing rod but with a very slow action.  On close inspection it looks like someone whittled it with a knife.  Since that was the best it was going to be I rubbed it down with a drying oil.  Man, what a difference a little oil made.  The color became a rich reddish brown and the grain looked great.  But the oil also highlighted the whittling marks.  OK, I guess.  If it's a handmade rod it might as well look hand made.  Rustic is OK with me... but only if it catches fish and doesn't break.

Fishing poles are impossible to photograph.



The bare blank weighed eleven ounces and the balance point was 30 inches from the butt.  The next step was to bring the balance point back to 21 inches from the butt by adding a lead butt cap.  The lead was wrapped around the blank and pinned through the holes that had been used to earlier to secure it to the 2x4 when planing.  Then the butt cap was wrapped with linen line that had been dyed green.





A set of nickel silver wire guides were taped on for some initial casting and stress test.  The reel is a 60 yard size Shakespeare Criterion made in 1910.  It holds plenty of 20# spectra.  I couldn't break the rod but the direct drive reel will only make about three pounds of drag using thumb pressure.  It is super slow action and noodle-like but casts fine.  Actually, it casts as well or better than any of my cane pole rods.



It was finished with a coat of blonde spirit shellac followed by an oil/shellac French polish.  After wrapping, the rod is 15 ounces.  Heavy by most standards, but about the same as the ten foot cane pole rods I've been using.  So, it's ready to go fishing.... if this wind ever stops.





This is definitely a specialty rod for a particular situation (baitcasting for bonefish from a one-man outrigger canoe).  But, I think ipe could be used for a boat rod or a 130# class rod or whatever.  It is as strong as hickory and probably stronger than any single-built split bamboo.  It is easier to work with than hickory and definitely easier to make than split bamboo.  With better craftsmanship than I could muster, it would look as good as fiberglass or graphite.  Without close inspection a passer-by would not even know it's made of wood.  The biggest disadvantage is the weight.  The biggest advantage is that you can customize the taper, action and other characteristics.

-steve

[Alto Mare]

Steve, it amazes me that you're able to do this with just using hand tools. They don't call it Iron Wood for no reason, that stuff is very hard to work with while using power tools, I can just imagine how hard it was for you.
You must do lots of research, I'm always impressed with your work.
Thanks for keeping us entertained. Someday, people will fly over to see your stuff in  museum.
Keep doing what you do.

Sal

[Crow]

That's a fabulous job, Steve !!   

[Gfish]

Steve is this the commonly occurring tree I see all over the Islands(especially on the beach areas) called "Ironwood" with scalely needle-like leaves? Kinda resembling from a distance, a pine tree?
Gfish

[Swami805]

That's just incredible! and with hand tools.
We have a type of tree used for landscaping in the genus tabebuia but I've never seen one big enough to get a good length of lumber from
There is also Ipe wood they use here for decking by the ocean since it doesn't rot. It's a very heavy dense wood and doesn't float in water. I believe it has some silica in it which is very hard on any tool to keep sharp.
Looking forward to a fish report with it.

[Dominick]

Steve, I can only say that you have talent and patience.  I can't imagine making a rod from a blank.  I have to say you are the only guy I know that makes a rod from a tree.  Absolutely mesmerizing thread.  Thanks for posting.  Dominick

[Tiddlerbasher]

Great stuff Steve

[fishhawk]

Is Ironwood the same as Bois 'd Arc? Osage Orange? Horse Apple tree?

[STRIPER LOU]

Fantastic work Steve. That must have taken some serious effort!

..............Lou

[conchydong]

 We built the decking of a marina out of Ipe in Miami in the late '80s. The wood was marketed under the name Pau Lope. Super hard and heavy stuff. Never would have dreamed it can be used for a fishing rod.
Beautiful work Steve!

[Crow]

     I'm thinking of "Osage Orange" , too....although it is a different species...it also is very strong, and elastic (and heavy!). I've used it in various wood working projects, and it works well with tools, although, to find long enough pieces....for a one piece rod....would be a challenge . The trees we have, locally, are not that "tall" (without some pretty severe bends), and I'm thinking that a 6' blank would be about the max.  I wonder, also, if "splitting out" a blank....rather than sawing out a blank....would be a better option ? That would ensure that the grain was straight for the whole length.
     Osage Orange also bends...and retains it's bend...very well when "green", so straightening (by hanging, while weighted) should be an easy task. If a person had access to one of those old Stanley dowel making machines..?!...or wanted to take the time to make a rounding plane ?! That, of course, would result in  a "straight" dowel....with no taper. Steve's approach....tapering with a plane, would probably be less time consuming than "making" tooling...especially if a person had a spokeshave with a rounding blade ?!
     I suppose, if a person wanted to research how wooden rods were "ferruled" together.....then two, or even three piece rods might be an option. I "smell" another "project" will be added to my list (my list is already long enough to last me til I'm 105 !LOL !)

[newfuturevintage]

 

It's amazing the stuff you do, Steve!

My father and I built the deck in my back yard out if Ipe about a dozen years ago. The stuff, completely unfinished except for waxing the cut ends to prevent checking, still looks amazing. At the time we built it, my young pit bull was going through a chewing phase and would destroy the cut-offs of the redwood we used for the balustrade in seconds. She was only able to put a couple scratch/tooth marks into the Ipe cutoffs, in spite of working one of them for a week or two until we figured it would break her teeth and chucked it.

Given how fast this stuff dulled out blades, I'm stunned that you were able to get this to bend to your will.

One note that I'm sure you're already aware of, but thought I'd mention to make sure, there are reports of its sawdust being more irritating to lungs than more conventional lumber, so a better dust mask is called for.

[conchydong]

Steve is this the commonly occurring tree I see all over the Islands(especially on the beach areas) called "Ironwood" with scalely needle-like leaves? Kinda resembling from a distance, a pine tree?
Gfish

I think you may be referring to what we call Australian Pine (Casuarina Equisetifolia). It is a very invasive species in S. Florida and throughout the Caribbean.

[swill88]

Recommend wearing a dust mask power tooling any ipe, (any wood actually).

Ipe dust has made me feel pretty sick.

[oc1]

Gregg and Conchy, yeah, that's a different ironwood, Casuarina species.  I actually tried making a rod out of it a few years ago.  It is very hard and heavy but does not have much elasticity and broke easily.  It did not seem to have much oil/resin but I don't know if the oil is what makes for elasticity.

Fishhawk and Crow, among many other names, Osage orange is also called bow wood and was used by native Americans and colonists for making bows (as in bow and arrow).  Bows have the same demands as a fishing pole.  I think I read somewhere about using it for rods but can't find that reference now.

Sal, Keith, Conchy and Newfuture, the only reason I was able to find ipe is that it's such a good wood for outdoor decking.  Borate treated fir or pine only lasts seven years here in the rain and termite capital.  The old CCA treated stuff didn't do much better; maybe 8 or 9 years.  

Crow, I hate ferrules and prefer a one-piece rod.  But, most of the old hardwood rods were two- or three-piece.  The shorter sections are easier to work with and it would be a quicker build if using factory ferrules.  Using home made ferrules it would take much longer.

Swill and Newfuture, the ipe dust does not seem to bother me.  Maybe it's like asbestos and the trouble shows up later.  I hate dust masks because they make my glasses fog up.  I wore one using the drum sander but not while planning where the chips are thrown to the other side. It's all outdoors in an open tent so there is good ventilation.

I forgot to mention that I started out with a Dewalt power planer.  It must have been 30 to 40 years old and we've abused it planing all sorts of stuff including epoxy and polyester glue joints and high density polyethylene.  Ten minutes of planning ipe and the armature bearing blew up.  Maybe it was just coincidence.  I bought a Makita to replace it.  I doubt it will last 40 years, but the Makita is much lighter weight and can be used with one hand.

I also forgot to mention that after bending the heck out of the rod in a stress test it popped back straight as an arrow.  Whole cane and split bamboo will take a temporary set and has to be straightened after doing that.  It's neat stuff.  I'm trying to control my exuberance here because this is the most fun I've had in a while.  Can't wait to start on another one.
-steve