Lipstick on a pig

[JasonGotaProblem]

I put some Fuji alconites on an ugly stick. I liked the action of the rod, but the guides were cheap and lame, and not even in a straight line. I saw more wind knots on that rod than really any other. Not sure the guides were the only cause but an easy factor to address. But I did like the action. Figure since my daiwa ss600 reel is basically tan/gold, I might as well try tan wraps. And it would look great, but I learned a dumb lesson. On my last rod I was doing black wraps, so there was likely soot from using the bic lighter, but i didn't notice it. Ya know, because it was already black. Well, i noticed it this time. But I'm calling it camo wraps, and pretending its intentional. Lesson learned! I'll get an alcohol lamp for the next one.

[oldmanjoe]

   What are you using a lighter for ,bubble popping ?      Just so you know the flame never hits the wrap ,the very, very outer boundary of the flame were the  CO2 gas is .
  doing the bubble pop.    About 3/4 inch or little more away should do the trick

[JasonGotaProblem]

   What are you using a lighter for ,bubble popping ?      Just so you know the flame never hits the wrap ,the very, very outer boundary of the flame were the  CO2 gas is .
  doing the bubble pop.    About 3/4 inch or little more away should do the trick

Lesson learned. Yeah I was totally letting the flame hit it. My understanding is the heat softens the epoxy and allows it to soak in better, filling in the voids between the guide and the wraps, and maybe getting behind the foot of the guide.

What I keep telling myself is I'm too new to this to really worry about final appearance. I think back to the experience of learning judo, where people focus too much on making it look cool, and learning the cooler looking techniques, when they should focus on the fundamentals at the early stages. And i wasnt immune to that either, but hindsight, well, you know.

And maybe that's not the best analogy but makes sense in my head. I wanna focus on making functional rods that work exactly as intended. And I suspect as I do more they'll look better and better each time (the wraps and epoxy on this one are def better than the first one).

Sooner or later I'll make a rod that everyone agrees looks awesome. But I'm not quite there yet. And frankly I'm enjoying the journey. I have a very hard time falling asleep at night, but for some reason doing something highly detailed with my hands late at night tires me right out. Before it was working on reels. But I've serviced all the ones I own, and done all the upgrades that seem reasonable. I guess this is a logical progression.

That warranty replacement st croix arrived yesterday. And that will likely be the last of my factory rods. I will likely revise all the factory rods I currently own to better match their reels. Other than that st croix. They've shown just how enthusiastic they are about warranty service, and I don't wanna void that. Even if it is built 120° off spine...  

[Brewcrafter]

Don't feel too bad Jason; I repaired one of my Dad's old Fenwick's (one broken guide) and did the same thing!  The epoxy looks a little "smoky" but mechanically it is fine, and since the rest of the rod has it's share of scars (like missing 5" of tip) it all kinda fits with "the look" but as a bass worm rod it works just fine... - john

[oldmanjoe]

  Hey i know i have a stick laying around here with smokey thread and even burnt epoxy  .   Bin there ,done that, wrote the chapter .....

[Ron Jones]

If you aren't planning on making a living at it, the journey is all that matters. I hope you relish it and widh you God Speed!

The Man

[JasonGotaProblem]

Also, this blank has a bit of a curve to it. I'm thinking it's from leaving it in my hot trunk, potentially pressed against something, for a few weeks. I aligned my guides to the spine not the curve, and put the ones on the tip such that they're not perfectly straight currently but will be when the blank straightens out. I feel like if they were rotated to be in line with the others now, they'll be out of line when I straighten the blank. So I am attempting to play the long game. Did I get it right? I guess time will tell.

[Swami805]

I use a heat gun on the finish.  I used to use an alcohol lamp but it's a pia.  A hair dryer works ok but a heat gun works much better.  Heat does improve the epoxy penetration

[Midway Tommy]

I use a heat gun on the finish.  I used to use an alcohol lamp but it's a pia.  A hair dryer works ok but a heat gun works much better.  Heat does improve the epoxy penetration

Yep, either will heat the epoxy enough to help it flow into the thread spaces. Personally, though, I don't like to heat the epoxy after it's on. If your work space is warm enough and you've been careful mixing you really don't need to heat the epoxy. Just using your warm breath and blowing above the wrap works just fine.

[jurelometer]

Nylon is not inherently UV resistant.  That is why "graphite" reel frames and reel seats are fray or black (pigment hides the UV inhibitors and provides extra UV protection).  My guess is that since non-muddy color is so important on wrapping thread, the UV resistance is very low.   Having exposed thread (or probably even just a light epoxy coat) will probably affect durability.

Preheating the bottles in warm water will make measuring, mixing, bubble removal and thin coating easier,   This and other tips, including thinning the resin for light finish here:

https://flexcoat.com/learning-center/rod-wrapping-finish-tips

-J

[JasonGotaProblem]

For what it's worth I can throw a highlighter cap about 30 feet on a side flick. If I were smart I'd have done a before/after. But I'll take it to the lake and cast from the normal spot and compare.

Thank you all for the encouragement. I really do appreciate it.