The Morgan Hand Mill — Manual Reference

A re-written, factual reference for the Morgan Hand Mill — the machine, its parts, and the taper-setting model — distilled from the Morgan Hand Mill Manual (chapters A–R, rev. 2005–2013) by Tom Morgan Rodsmiths (Tom Morgan & Gerri Carlson, Manhattan, MT).

Note. This page is a derived, factual digest — specs, procedures, and the taper-setting model summarized in my own words for reference and education. The manual itself is copyrighted and is not reproduced here. Source machine and maker contact: troutrods.com.

It is the human-readable companion to the caneDNA mhm_kb.json knowledge base, which grounds caneDNA’s Mill Settings and anvil-position visualizer in the actual machine.

What the Machine Is

The Hand Mill is two self-aligning parts: an adjustable plane that holds the cutters, and an adjustable bed that holds the strip. The cutters shave both sides of a strip at once at a fixed bevel; the taper is set by the bed, which raises the strip into the cutters station by station. The plane follows the grain rather than fighting it.

The redesigned plane (2004, developed with Dennis Detloff) has shipped since late 2005 and adds an adjustable hard stop (from Joe Byrd) that repeats the finish depth for every strip.

The Base

Install the aluminum angle with a slight ~1/8 in upward bow so the plane doesn’t dip in the middle; check by rocking the plane along the base. The vertical face has 7 slots on 12-in centers for the anchor screws.

The Adjustable Bed

A steel bar sitting on top of the base, raised above it by push/pull screws every 5 in to set the taper. The anvil sits on the bed; the strip sits on the anvil.

To set a taper: loosen the cap-head (pull) screw, turn the hex-head (push) set screw in or out to change the bar gap. Do not over-tighten — it warps the bed. Never adjust the bed by more than 0.020 in between adjacent 5-in stations or you may permanently damage it (matters for 3-piece / spey shim setups).

The Anvils

Anvils are white HDPE with embedded brass inserts. Critically, anvils only support the strip — they do not set the taper (the bed does), so they don’t wear as the taper changes.

• 5 anvils shipped: butt-roughing, tip-roughing, butt-finishing, and two tip-finishing.
• Hold-down stations: finishing anvils have 11 lettered (A–K) positions; roughing anvils have 3 (long / medium / short — short is for ~3-piece rods).
• Top widths (finishing): tip ~0.150 in, butt ~0.225 in. Top widths (roughing): tip ~0.175 in, butt ~0.225 in.
• Truing: finishing anvils must be shaved flat between stations (with a carbide insert in the dial-holder/shaver) before use — target ±0.001 in (0.002 in TIR). Never recut the factory-installed reference anvil. Never mill an anvil narrower than the smallest strip.

The A–K Hold-Down Letters & the Mill Stop

The base has tapped holes on its right front labeled A–K; matching letters are stamped on the bed just below the finishing anvils’ 11 hold-down screws. A movable mill stop screws into one lettered hole and does two jobs: it stops the plane so the cutters can’t hit the strip’s hold-down screw, and it gives an automatic plane stop matched to the rod section’s length.

Selection rule. The strip’s tip always anchors between bed stations #12 and #13 (as close to #13 as possible) so the anvil stays widest at its tip. Choose the mill-stop letter from the bamboo hold-down screw’s position: set the mill so the cutters just clear the hold-down screw, then mount the stop just behind it — in most cases the mill-stop letter equals the hold-down letter. Untapered rough cutting uses hole A (rightmost).

Worked example (7 ft rod). The strip is fastened in hole D (4th from the right), putting the ferrule/tiptop point at station #12 with ~3 in of strip past it; the butt taper is set from station #3 (stations #2/#1/#0 left at zero).

For one-piece rods on the extension bed, use hole B for rough/finish butt and hole A for finish tip. Short (3-piece) sections may anchor farther up the anvil for support.

Cutter Heads

Swappable heads for 8-, 6-, 5-, or 4-strip rods (6-strip is standard).

Morgan uses 61.5° for 6-strip (not the traditional 60°), per Winston practice, to reduce visible glue seams.

Inserts. Two carbide inserts, 3 edges each; a set planes ~3–5 rods. Cut depth ≤ 0.010 in/pass green, 0.001–0.003 in/pass heat-treated. Regular inserts are TPGW-321, 3/8 in inscribed circle, 0.015 in tip radius; since July 2011 supplied inserts are C5 carbide (harder), 15% relief, TiN-coated relief edge, diamond-lapped top. Install with tops parallel to the pocket; rotate/pair inserts to double edge life.

The Measuring Block

A caliper-mounted 6061-T6 aluminum block that reads strip height in per-geometry grooves. Calibrate with a #38 drill blank (0.100 in).

Add 0.100 / 0.200 in when a strip exceeds 0.100 in. Glue up ~6 measured sections to verify your own constants, since glue and pressure shift results slightly.

The Taper-Setting Model

This is the heart of the machine, and the part most often confused.

Two separate steps.

1. Set the taper. Using the plane’s dial indicator, raise the bed at each 5-in station to the correct height above the base.
2. Mill. Measure the strip height with calipers / the measuring block as you cut, and stop at target. The hard stop then repeats that depth for every strip.

• The station “setting” is the cumulative rise of the bed at each station relative to a chosen reference (typically #2 = 0.000). It equals (half-dimension at reference) − (half-dimension at that station) = caneDNA’s total_increase. It is not the strip height.
• The strip height is half the flat-to-flat rod dimension at that station (one strip). It is measured during milling, never set by the bed.
• Reference station. Register the taper so the strip tip is near the anvil tip; for shorter rods start the taper at station #2 (or higher), not #0/#1, to avoid cutting the anvil too narrow at its tip.
• Extend past length. Continue the taper one or more stations past the rod’s end so strips have extra length for straight gluing (Morgan likes ≥ 5–6 in extra; min 3 in on tips).

The Plane’s Dial

Calibrated dial reads 0–50 in 0.002-in steps; one revolution = 0.050 in of cut depth (clockwise lowers). Dial indicator travel is 0–1 in at 0.001 in accuracy. A dovetail slide + gib runs the plane; backlash is removed by a spring-loaded Teflon plug (never remove it). Nylon side pads (moly-impregnated) let it slide — set them 0.628–0.629 in apart with the supplied jig.

RodDNA caveat (from manual chapter J). Of RodDNA’s MHM Settings Report, use the Station #, Increment, Rod Dim, and Increase columns; disregard “Form Depth” (should be strip height) and “Settings” (wrong on some tapers). This is why caneDNA computes strip_depth + total_increase itself rather than porting RodDNA’s report. Free taper sources with Hand Mill station settings: RodDNA.com and hexrod.net (Frank Stetzer, with Chris Obuchowski).

Workflow, End to End

Split → prep / straighten nodes → drill anvil hole → rough cut (taper preset) → swap anvil → finish anvil, set taper, finish cut in many light passes.

Always mill butt → tip, and mark the butt end. Grip behind the adjusting head (never on it) with centered downward pressure; take many light passes and re-cut the first 2–3 in of each pass to full depth.

Strip Preparation

• Buy ≥ 10 poles (ideally 20+). Reject deep cuts, big dark splotches, and node heat marks; power fibers must run the full glued-section depth.
• Wall thickness: butt 5/16–1/2 in, tip 3/16–5/16 in.
• Node spacing: butt 9–14 in, tip 14–20 in. Common three/three node match; avoid nodes at cut ends, ferrules, and tiptop.
• Straighten with heat (gun 350–450 °F) and remove twist, especially the first 18 in of butts; square or slightly inward-taper the strip sides.
• Heat-treat to light brown (raises MOE, resists set); black = brittle. Remove maximum material before treating (harder afterward); rest treated strips ≥ 1 week to regain moisture.
• Rough sections ≥ 6 in over finish (+~2 in on the butt for the anvil screw); split ~1/8 in wide.

Milling

• Rough on a wide roughing anvil (strip + mill stop in hole A) to a 61.5° bevel just wider than the anvil; mount the hold-down shoe once an apex forms. The stainless, spring-loaded hold-down shoe mounts in the head’s center hole and rides ahead of the cutters, so it doesn’t affect accuracy — critical for slender tips and stiff quad strips. Clean it with alcohol / dry graphite only (never oil).
• Then switch to a finishing anvil and set the taper.
• Measure strip height three ways: micrometer + height/width chart, thread-wrapped strips, or the aluminum measuring block (most accurate). Don’t measure the apex directly (leftover “fuzz”).
• Finish in two stages: cut ~0.015 in oversize, then install fresh sharp cutters and finish at 0.001–0.002 in/pass. Remove apex fuzz before gluing and saw off the thick held-down butt.
• Minimum strip width: tip 0.200 in / butt 0.250 in. Tip hold-down 2-56 (#43 drill), butt hold-down 4-40 (1/8 in), hole ~1 in from the butt.

7 ft #4 wt example (#12 ferrule): strip height 0.096 in at the ferrule (station #12), 0.033 in at the tiptop.

Accessories

Reference & Further Reading

No book covers the Hand Mill itself. The manual recommends:

• Garrison & Carmichael, A Master’s Guide to Building a Bamboo Fly Rod — the amateur’s “bible”
• Howell, The Lovely Reed
• Maurer & Elser, Fundamentals of Building a Bamboo Fly-Rod
• Ray Gould; and the Stoner / McLane encyclopedias

Tom Morgan runs a private owners’ list server (join by email via troutrods.com). Free taper sources with Hand Mill station settings (including quads and pentas): RodDNA.com and hexrod.net.

Source: The Morgan Hand Mill Manual (chapters A–R, rev. 2005–2013), Tom Morgan Rodsmiths. This is a factual reference re-written in my own words; the manual is copyrighted and not reproduced here.