I had just finished my second rod, which I call a Dickerson 7914, a shortened 8014 taper from Chattahoochee rods. Glued with Epon, heat treated et 325-350 for 1/2 hour or a little more, heat treated again after gluing, at 200 degree. Always kept dry in roughly 90 degree furnace room when not being worked on. Finished with Mike's impregnating sauce  (4 hours only as I didn't want to stiffen the action any more) and another few days in the furnace room to speed the curing.

Took it fishing, likes a peach 6 wt and had fun, performing very well. After the second evening of a fair amount of casting a few landlocks discovered a definite bend to the tip. Easily corrected with holding it in a reverse bend for a couple of minutes.

Is it anything to worry about?

I haven't yet wrapped the second tip, would you do anything different with it?  (Henry Mitchell)

I made a comment a few weeks back regarding impregnated rods and sets. I suspect that you are experiencing this. Hang the tip and unwrapped section in a heated place and let them sit for a month or two. I kept a rod this year that I impregnated, it has gotten stiffer over the spring. I suspect it is now as stiff as it will get.   (Bob Maulucci)

Yes, if you're lucky, Bob may be correct in his assessment of your problem. But don't overlook the need to test strips before you build.  (Bill Harms)

You are probably right. It could certainly be a weak strip. I suspect that hoping for the best (that it is not a bad strip) is the only hope!  (Bob Maulucci)

Well, if one strip were bad because of an inherent weakness in the culm, all the other strips would be similarly weak through that same internodal area. Further, the weakness would be distributed over quite a large area because of the staggering.  This condition could happen as easily in a butt section, but because of the larger dimensions, it may not be quite as noticeable.  (Bill Harms)

I couldn't know for certain, of course, but from your description, it doesn't sound as if your construction process would be the "culprit."  I suspect the problem is in the cane itself, and there's nothing you can do about it now.  (Ask me how I know.)

There seems to be no reasonable explanation, but occasionally we find (even in the very best looking cane) an area that is simply weak and limp between a couple nodes.  As a future prevention, always test-bend a strip from each freshly split culm.  Only one such strip is necessary, as the others from that culm will be the same.

In testing your sample strip, place your hands just outside a couple nodes and give the strip a bend.   Do this for each internodal area down the length of that strip.  The cane should feel steely and want to return nearly to its original position.  But if there is a problem area, the cane will yield very easily, forming a horseshoe shape, and only barely want to return to its original position.  This is a culm that simply cannot be used, as the particular problem-area in your test strip will be identical in all the other strips, and no amount of heat treating will strengthen that area.

On the other hand, if you're building nodeless, you merely cut that particular area  out from the entire culm and discard it.  Then, just join the rest of the sections as usual.  (Bill Harms)

What could be the reason for a soft tip on a new made blank?   And how would you describe a soft tip?  (Olaf Kundrus)

Second question has to be addressed first. 

I'd say a soft tip is one that doesn't bend fairly all the way to the tip.  By that I mean it's got an area that bends more than it should, somewhere near the tip. 

Usually due to a little to much bamboo being removed.  Could happen when a person cleans up a tip after gluing. 

Or maybe you want a little faster tip?  

If this is the case, it could be the above or it could be the taper.   I like my tips a little on the "soft" side.  I don't have to work so hard to get the rod started on my back and fore casts!  (Terry Kirkpatrick)

I'm working on finishing out my first two blanks which I finished this winter.  One is ferruled and I was varnishing it this weekend.  I had put it in a PVC tube with glued cap and screw cap and had about a cup of desiccant in the bottom for about a week or two prior to finishing.  Did notice before I put it in that if I wanted I could make the tip take a set by hand.  I was in such a hurry to get to varnishing once I took it out of the tube, that I didn't think to check if I could still make it take a set.  Two coats of varnish and now I can make it take a set by just grabbing the tiptop and ferrule of the top section and bending it to what I think a small fish would and holding for 5 seconds.  I checked my other blank and same results.

So my understanding is there are two reasons for set, not tempered or too wet.  I have to believe they are tempered enough.  I built nodeless and used the kitchen oven.  I think I went like 16 minutes at 375, but I got the nice smell, and the boo got a little brown.  And as for humidity, I'm in Wisconsin, and the temp has been below freezing for a couple weeks and we have had very low humidities, and I don't have a humidifier.  So is there any hope to change this, or are my first pole just going to be crooked?  Oh and glue was PU for the splices and Titebond II Extend for the rest.  (John Wagner)

Don't be surprised if you can do this to most of the bamboo rods you meet, hardly any are immune to such treatment. The true test is to see if shaking it vigorously will make it return to normal.   (John Channer)

As there is a tip in front of me with a bit of a curve I can't get out I thought I'd try it.

No joy, unfortunately, unless you mean a very minor change indeed which rectifies itself on a very small wag.

The cane was baked at 350 for 15 minutes and the adhesive, UHU Endfest 300 baked at a similar temp for 5 minutes.  It’s a honey color and probably not much longer for this world as The Fat Kitten has now taken a great interest in it.  Perhaps you just get bits of cane which, like John Gierach’s bears, "Behave Funny!"  (Robin Haywood)

I don't know how the UHU glue would react to this, but I've had success straightening by steaming the section with a clothes iron, laying the section in my planing form and letting it cool in the form with weights on top. For some stubborn kinks I have to give it a reverse bend while the section is still steamed, but if the section will lay straight in the form with all six flats rotated around while steamed and allowed to cool in the form, it comes out straight. (Darryl Hayashida)

Another possibility is that you have run into some bad 'boo.  There are sometimes sections in a culm that are, for lack of a better term, softer than what we normally look for.  Quite unfortunately my understanding is that no amount of heat treating can fix this problem.  Since you built nodeless this may not be your problem.  Just don't know.  If you have some strips left from the culm try flexing them between nodes to see if you feel this anywhere.

In the future be sure to take the time to flex your strips at each internodal space right after splitting to see how they respond.  If you flex enough and find a soft one, you will know it.  Yes, I learned this the hard way.  But... I still fish the rod.  (Carl DiNardo)

Run a hair dryer over the area for a few minutes let it cool then bend the tip and see if it will straighten, if not try it again after about three tries. If its still no good take the varnish of the tip section just where it will not deflect straight, hang the tip section up you can run a hairdryer over the area. Let it cool it should be OK.

But if its still not deflecting straight try the deflection test on all six flats, forget the rod spine you have a bad strip in there You should find a good side to mount the guides.

Try it, but don't get it too hot.  Next time make a rod from at least 2 culms and alternate the strips this way any bad bamboo is minimal in the rod blank.  (Gary Nicholson)

I should add a follow up.

So I put everything on hold, and hung all sections above hot air vents in a small bathroom for about two weeks.  The blanks seemed better.  I then proceeded to finish them out, hanging them above the vents when not working on them.  I have cast and fished both and I wouldn't say set is an issue. There may be a small set after fighting a fish, but they bounce back; I haven't had to straighten them from fishing.  I stored one in a bag for three days traveling, and it must have kind of wrapped the tip around the butt a bit and it came out of the bag with a set, which I was able to straighten by hand.   (John Wagner)

I have a rod that will bend and stay bent it is easy to straighten but then it bends and stays bent. I think I will try to temper it at 250 for 20 minutes but I have some concerns about the glue line turning dark or something happening with the cork handle. any one with a suggestion or experience?  (Bill Vincent)

It sounds to me like you're using bad bamboo. If it's as bad as you say, get rid of it and start over. The quality of the rod is in how well it casts a line, something that limp won't cast 10 feet.  (Mark Dyba)

There is something really wrong if you are getting a set in the butt section. Bad cane or bad glue or both. What glue are you using?   (Doug Easton)