The 2007 Eastern Sierra Rod Makers Gathering held on the 22nd of September 2007

The 2007 Eastern Sierra Rod Makers gathering was held on the 21st, 22nd and 23rd of September 2007 on Bridgeport Lake, in Bridgeport, Mono County, California.

On Friday night, a few makers arrived for discussions, drinks and dinner and for some of my award winning Cabernet Sauvignon wine.

Mother nature did not cooperate very well as we received around a food of new snow in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and most of the passes were closed for 2 days, preventing a few makers from attending. It was also a dry year, so the water in the lake was very low.

Chuck cooked a great breakfast as usual in his Dutch oven. Saturday was a little cool so we spent more time inside the garage vs. outside as originally planned.

One of the most interesting demonstrations was Forrest Maxwell's new roughing mill. It is an industrial strength mill incredibly well made.

Forrest used a very quiet but powerful Freud router motor on the mill. Check out the hold-downs!

There were plenty of interesting and well-made rods to cast. Chuck brought 2 of his wooden one-piece rods made from Cherry and Birch and I brought one I made out of Greenheart wood.
Since the lake level was so low, we decided to cast in my yard. The wind was off and on, and it got pretty cold but we did manage to cast most of the rods.

Here is Frank Rodriquez using his simple but effective node press making strips for Forrest's mill.

Frank gave a good talk about silicone in the shop, and what products to avoid.

All in all, it was a good gathering despite the weather. Next year, we are planning on holding it on June 6th through the 8th, and hopefully the weather will be warmer and the lake level higher.

Specifications subject to change without notice.
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