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Project Information

This highly custom fly fishing net was created using some very special, instrument-quality wood for a fishing friend of mine named Mark. He linked me up with a very nice gentleman who has been harvesting figured woods for decades. We all made a trade, and this is the net I agreed to build in reply to me accepting a truck bed full of Quilted Maple, Bird's eye Maple, Curly Big Leaf Maple and figured Claro Walnut. I was a kid in a candy store when sorting through the lumber!
The net was designed by Mark, and we picked out the most highly figured, and colored, Claro walnut we could find from my lot. The hoop is Genuine Mahogany surrounded by Wenge
Pics are pretty self explanatory. I want to add that adding acrylic has been a really cool addition to my arsenal of net making. Using handle templates, you can place the template on the blank to maximize aesthetics or to avoid defects. Also, I recently began using acrylic jigs. Wood glue doesn't even THINKK about sticking to acrylic.
The images take you from sourcing the handle wood from a dried blank, to final finish. It shows the hand carved inlay process for an aluminum Royal Wulff Fly into the handle.

It's difficult to see completely, but this walnut is so rediculously figured! It's definitely not something you see every day.
I hope you enjoy this post.


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Gallery

Comments

· Premium Member
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11,639 Posts
Amazing. That walnut figure is obscene. I really like the wenge wrap. These are really special.
 

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12 Posts
Eye candy for sure. Very nice. What finish are you applying? How do you string the net?
 

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276 Posts
I always wondered how wenge bent, now I know. Beautiful work and a great gift.
 

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14 Posts
Great choice of woods, that claro walnut looks awesome, great skills!
 

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100 Posts
I really enjoyed the pictures of such great craftsmanship. That Walnut is just plain beautiful. Very nice indeed!
 

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1,106 Posts
I think you better waterproof this blog. The drooling is going to be a problem! Beautifully executed!
 

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34 Posts
Your clamp up looks like some sort of torturing device. Very nice work and attention to detail. Thanks for sharing all of the pictures.
 

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326 Posts
Can I have the walnut scraps!
 

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1,460 Posts
I have wanted to build my own net for along time but just never got around to it. I have searched for supplies in the past for the net itself but have come up empty. Do you make your own nets or have you found a supplier? BTW….the walnut is amazing!!
 

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3,315 Posts
That is some beautiful wood!

You did a beautiful job on everything… the plexi jigs, they write up, the fly, the finish, the whole project is a great example of beautiful craftsmanship.

Lee
 

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9,309 Posts
went on e-bay and found some claro walnut
as bid item from cook woods

24 1/2" x 5 3/16" x 13/16"
bid was $31 with 12 hours to go
i bid $32
he came back and bid $33

i waited till 11:00 pm (bid would be over at 2:00 am)
it was at $84 by then
i dropped out

in the morning it had sold for $125.75 !

you got the deal of a lifetime

great work
thanks for the build sequence
 

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681 Posts
Your wood find was fantastic! When I started carving laminated gunstocks, I ran into a man who traveled all over to small sawmills and bought up all the music quality wood he could find to resell for making guitars. He had a truck load of wood that was, for one reason or another, rejected. Short story is, he sold it to me for $1 a bft! Sad part is, it's all gunstocks now and spread all over the world. To get the same quality of wood at a price I could afford, I had to start harvesting my own… Your fishing nets are fantastic and this one you've featured is the most fantastic yet.
 

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1,466 Posts
Thanks for all the photos. Extremely cool and beautiful work :)
 

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I'm jealous. Hand some of that wood over. Fantastic net by the way!
 

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233 Posts
too pretty to catch slimy fish! Where's the net? do you make your own?
 

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6 Posts
Great Job!!!
 
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