I had been split on whether to retain most of the wood's natural shape, or force bend it into more perfect circular shapes. At first I wanted to make it as circular as I could with a simple kettle and my hands, but the frames wouldn't get very circular due to the wood features on the nets I selected. I have decided it was important to make the frames as circular as possible and have thus given in to my reluctance to use a form to bend the wood into shape.

A couple of blocks away there is a kitchen supplies store, a very large one, so I thought of going there to look for a pot to use as a form. I found these great "wok stands", which are just about the perfect size for the 24cm nets. They are inexpensive and work great. I mounted my frames onto these and also steamed them for several minutes each.

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Tenkara USA, founder
打仁得流, テンカラ大使
About me and Tenkara USA

Yesterday I did all the sanding and detailing of my manzanita net. Also, as mentioned earlier, I needed to work around the handle, which was bent at the wrong angle. So, I decided to cut off the portion of the handle which was bent and replace that with a deer antler tip.
After my post, Stephen recently sent me some antler tips (Many thanks Stephen!), and one of them will work beautifully with the frame. Its colors match the manzanita wood very well. I also did some minor shaving off the bottom part of the manzanita, and the manzanita almost looks like part of the handle (more pictures later on)


Yesterday I measured the antler tip and the wood to see the places where I should cut both. This was intellectual work, it's important to measure it carefully (measure twice, cut once, as they say). Since the antler is not perfectly round it's also important to measure the wider and thinner parts of the antler and find the most suitable place to cut it.




I didn't take a picture of the Manzanita's widest measure, but it's pretty close to the antler's wide measure. It's also important to remember that the wood can be cut to fit the antler, so cut the antler just a tad thinner than the wood if needed.
Also, keep in mind any angles on the wood and the antler, they will need to match and provide a good final angle.
A lot of work has been put into these already and cutting the antler is not easy. So, whatever people decide to do, spend a few minutes analyzing the shapes and sizes of the materials to be used and cut. Once cut it's difficult to cut it again and get good matching pieces.

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Tenkara USA, founder
打仁得流, テンカラ大使
About me and Tenkara USA

This has been the most challenging part so far, fitting the antler tip to the net handle.
The dimensions had to be just right, the screw had to be inserted at the perfect place and just the right angles. I think I just about got it. I also peeled a little bit of the end of the handle to add some "texture" to it and help transition from handle to the antler, I think it worked pretty well.




The main difficulty I'm still having is getting a perfectly flush fit between the antler and the net handle, they seem flat, and I have spent some time sanding both surfaces on a flat block, but there is still a tiny gap which I do not like. I'll give another shot before gluing them on. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can accomplish a flush fit between the two pieces?

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Tenkara USA, founder
打仁得流, テンカラ大使
About me and Tenkara USA

i have read the tenkara net building post with great excitement.

i am going to give it a try and attempt to make some tenkara nets.

what type of wood would you recommend?

i am located in the UK therefore some woods would not be available.

i will have a look in my local home shop to see if a can find a suitable mould/device i could use to bend the nets diameter. the wok stand that daniel found looks like it would do the the trick.

i will keep everyone posted on my progress. time for a walk in the woods to see if i can find some suitable branches.

Daniel,
thanks you for your inputt in casting for heroes, its very much appreiciated.

Kind Regards
Tenkaranewbie

At this moment I can't say I recommend one wood in particular, and definitely wouldn't know what to specifically recommend in the UK. The main criteria, I have found so far, is the shape of the branches. Look at the pictures of the nets and start looking at the links we have posted here so far to get an idea of what angles and diameters you should be looking for. There are not many trees that fit the criteria. In California I have found the Jeffrey Pine to be the most common tree which also has the right branch shapes and angles.

For the mold/devices. Don't need to look for much, a cooking pot should do just fine. I didn't want to bother my wife and use our pots, plus, as I mentioned, I had the kitchen supplies store a couple of blocks away from my house. A bucket should also work, and I think it's feasible to make decent nets by simply using strings to pull the frame in certain directions and maybe a couple of dowels to push the frame out. Take your time looking for the right branches, pay attention to private property issues, and to the tree health. Good luck.

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Tenkara USA, founder
打仁得流, テンカラ大使
About me and Tenkara USA

thanks for the advice daniel.

i will certainly start having a look around the woods to see if i can find suitable branches.

kind regards
tenkaranewbie

It has been just about 1 month since I collected the wood, removed the bark, and did some initial carving and bending. In the meantime the branches have been air-drying in my office. Yesterday I got moisture readings from a test branch. After one month, the arms were at 7% and the handle at 10 - 11%.
I had already started on the finish of one net and now feel comfortable it should be okay, and will start finishing on the other nets too.

The finish I have used, and am VERY please with is Tung Oil. It rubs well (easy to apply), has great properties for the use and looks good.

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Tenkara USA, founder
打仁得流, テンカラ大使
About me and Tenkara USA

Over the last few days I started and have now finished what may be the most tasking piece of the project: cutting the frame branches to connect them together. This was challenging because it requires extreme precision and patience. The angles have to be just right for this.

One should ensure the measurements are correct, and then pretty much eyeball the correct angles (the higher the angle the more contact surface the pieces will have to adhere to, but be careful not to cut it too thin, otherwise pieces will split when a peg is inserted). Simply put the two pieces parallel and cut them together to make sure the angles are identical.



For one of the pieces I needed to use a small file to ensure they were perfectly level. This part required a lot of work on each net!!!


Once the two pieces were cut, I drilled small holes using a very thin drill bit.


Bamboo toothpicks were sanded slightly for a very snug fit to the holes. Glue was applied to the arms (I used Gorilla glue for a couple of the nets and got advice from the local woodshop to use Titebond III which doesn't crystalize. I like it better for that reason, and it seems to hold up very well). And, the pieces were bound very tightly together overnight.



The bamboo toothpicks hid very nicely among the jeffrey pine needle "holes". Here are the The joints:

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Tenkara USA, founder
打仁得流, テンカラ大使
About me and Tenkara USA

Sanding is the most important part of the project for a beautiful net.
Like any wood project you start with coarser sandpaper (80-120) and progress to less coarse ones. For the main parts of the wood I sanded up to 600 grit, this provided enough of a "polish" and the wood was extremely smooth. I spent a lot of time on this too.
Also, like any wood project, follow the grain when sanding to ensure you don't have undesirable scratch marks.

For the wood knots I sanded it even finer. One product I acquired and liked using for this was a "micro-mesh sanding kit". On some parts of the wood, particularly the parts where the grain face was open, I polished it all the way to 3600 grit, and got a beautiful look on it (you do not want any finer, as you need the finish to take hold).

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Tenkara USA, founder
打仁得流, テンカラ大使
About me and Tenkara USA

Looks great Daniel. I like that you used zip ties to hold the arms together and then used a bobbin and thread to hold it all together. Bamboo sticks are a good idea too. They're strong and will hold up well. I'm learning alot from your post here. Thanks.

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Rick

テンカラ。小さなストリームのシンプルさ。
My Tenkara Rods:
13' Ayu, 12' Yamame, 11' with a conversion handle, and an Ito.

My Wife's Tenkara Rods:
12' Ebisu and 13.5' Amago, 12' Iwana with a conversion handle, and an Ito.