After looking up information for hours upon hours, I finally decided that I could take on making my own landing net. It looked fairly simple, the idea at least, and I knew I could acquire the tools easily. Part of my inspiration came from browsing the Tenkara USA blog and forums. Daniel Galhardo tracked his progress while making a net of his own. He took branches from different trees and branches and bent them to shape. His adventure can be seen here: http://www.tenkarausa.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=704. My next net will be more Tenkara style, but I have a while before that happens. Maybe a gift for my brother sometime? I would for sure get a better net bag, probably from Tenakra USA, for the betterment of the fish.
Okay, enough of that. How did I do it?! It was a labor of love for sure. I had to find lumber with no knots and extremely straight grain. Unfortunately I am only surrounded by hardware stores so this was a task in itself. It was kiln dried, but that's all I could get! I split the wood into strips using a table saw and soaked them in the tub with extremely hot water. They became pliable immediately which was a great sign. I soaked them for a full day and built the form and cut the handle while they were in there. Since this was probably a one time deal, I utilized a heat gun instead of building a steam box. Steam bending probably would have worked much better, but it would have been silly. Bending with the heat gun was PAINFULLY slow.
I then each strip to the form and handle. Initially, I stripped 9 lengths, but settled on using only 3 for the final frame. I knew having extras would come in handy. As fate would have it, I didn't need them! I heated the inside of the bend to the point where it fit the form and clamped each section down. I had access to about 15 clamps. Note: YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MANY CLAMPS! I found that more would have been better. Once I clamped left the strips in for two days. This let the wood dry out some and hold its shape. Then came the glue. Oh what a mess! I used a wood glue that was water resistant, for obvious reasons, and it held up very well. Super strong bonds and sanded right away where there was excess. That dried out for about two days as well. Then I sanded everything down and put a slight round to the edges for a smoother look and feel.
Then came time to seal it. I wanted to go with tung oil, but that process takes too long for me. I didn't want to wait a few days between coats. I bought some spray sealer that was clear with a semi-gloss. I put 5 coats on and it looks great. nice and smooth! For the net bag, I ordered one online, Jann's Netcraft I believe, but it ended up being the right size. I would have liked smaller holes in the mesh or a rubber bag, but I went the cheap and easy route. I attached it with a type of waxed nylon. Super strong and held shape the knots like no other. I decided to go with the double knot design because each section held better and it just looked nicer to me.
Now, here are some pictures!
I then each strip to the form and handle. Initially, I stripped 9 lengths, but settled on using only 3 for the final frame. I knew having extras would come in handy. As fate would have it, I didn't need them! I heated the inside of the bend to the point where it fit the form and clamped each section down. I had access to about 15 clamps. Note: YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MANY CLAMPS! I found that more would have been better. Once I clamped left the strips in for two days. This let the wood dry out some and hold its shape. Then came the glue. Oh what a mess! I used a wood glue that was water resistant, for obvious reasons, and it held up very well. Super strong bonds and sanded right away where there was excess. That dried out for about two days as well. Then I sanded everything down and put a slight round to the edges for a smoother look and feel.
Then came time to seal it. I wanted to go with tung oil, but that process takes too long for me. I didn't want to wait a few days between coats. I bought some spray sealer that was clear with a semi-gloss. I put 5 coats on and it looks great. nice and smooth! For the net bag, I ordered one online, Jann's Netcraft I believe, but it ended up being the right size. I would have liked smaller holes in the mesh or a rubber bag, but I went the cheap and easy route. I attached it with a type of waxed nylon. Super strong and held shape the knots like no other. I decided to go with the double knot design because each section held better and it just looked nicer to me.
Now, here are some pictures!