Zebco 33 Rod?

[jgp12000]

I got some aluminum tape somewheres   but it's kinda thick what I have.

[jtwill98]

I wanna try find the silver rod tape to stay close to original

My wife has a Cricut and she has many different rolls of adhesive backed vinyl and foil.  She's has silver and gold foil and many variations of colors and sparkly colored vinyl.  I've been know to borrow some of her supplies every now and then.

I once had her create some gold-lettering to restore a baseball plaque for my father's Roberto Clemente baseball card display. 

I believe Walmart, Michaels and Hobby Lobby has Cricut supplies in stock, so you might shop one of them for silver foil. Or purchase it online from Amazon. 

 

[jgp12000]

This is what the handle looks like NOS. I just need a 1" or 25mm butt cap

[happyhooker]

I have a rod something like the one depicted.

If you are looking for foil underwrap, the HVAC tape is certainly an option; an even cheaper but no less effective alternative that I have used successfully is to cut out a piece of a potato chip bag that has the silver color on the inside. Wipe the oil off, of course. 

Should there be a need for a small quantity of striped thread, just get a thread that is the same base color as the thread you need, then use a Sharpie or similar permanent marker in the color you wish to make dashed lines on the thread as you wrap the guide.  I did this with offwhite thread and a black marker on a rod I re-wrapped a couple of years ago & it worked almost perfectly.

Frank

[Swami805]

Checked my variegated thread, here's what I have, if any of this will work let me know

[jgp12000]

Swami, I think the thread  ordered might be a better match  with the gold bluegill decals, but thanks fer looking. Good idea Frank.

[jgp12000]

Learnt something,called washi tape looks perfect never heard of it 

[jgp12000]

Well it looks better than it did. My primitive equipment & rookie know-how. Bottom half done except for some tweaking taking a break .

[jgp12000]

I left the last original guide as is, to keep some "provenance" as Steve suggested. I had a scrap piece of cork the right length for the handle. I am stringing the 57' Zebco 33 up with line & gonna try to catch a fish.

[Gfish]

Looks real nice. No AR on those. Got the clicker and drag, though.

[jgp12000]

Yep I figured with mucho drag & bait alert on it will help having no AR.

[happyhooker]

Went in the basement and found that old rod I had mentioned in an earlier post.  It is a Zebco, Model 3600 to be exact.  This rod was listed in the 1970 Zebco catalog as "new for '70".  Specs mention medium action, 6ft., 2-piece, fiberglass with "select specie" cork grips.  Came with 3 chrome-plated guides plus the tip.  Could get the rod alone, or in a combo with a Zebco 600 Lexan reel spooled with 8 lb. test.  By the 1972 catalog, it was gone.

Not sure where I got this rod.  It had a white/green Zebco 404 reel on it that was so packed with hardened grease I thought at first it was broken (a later cleanup restored it to working order).  The tip section was unusable.  Thread wraps were off-white with black variegation, over chrome-colored Mylar, well worn.  Three guides on a 6-foot rod didn't impress me.  Rebuilt it with 5 all metal guides and a replacement tip section, and since the tiptop takes a lot of wear from the line passing through it, I put a ceramic insert tip on.  Re-wrapped thread mounting and trim with my "potato chip bag" chrome Mylar with off-white thread hand striped with black Sharpie to make a variegation.

As rebuilt, the rod is a tad shorter than the original, and I find the rod more suited to medium light use (panfish, small walleye, etc.)  Ended up mounting an old Johnson Century 225 reel on it; this reel had most of the front foot broken off, so I rigged a new reel mount that would firmly grasp the stub of the front foot that was left.  Yes, I know the Johnson fans would consider this a sacrilege, but Johnson rods of that era are few and far between, so....  It has turned out to be a handy crappie rod & reel combo, so I guess it was worth the effort.

Frank

[Gfish]

I have one of those rods. Look's like James's with a slightly shorter cork handle. The action is too parabolic for me, I-like a little snap back after loading the rod during casting. Not an origin/brand, etc., mark anywhere on that thing.

[jgp12000]

Gregg,I caught a shellcracker with it yesterday it has a good fiberglass feel, Pretty stout. I like the thread Frank! I bought that handle in the earlier photo (next to the ruler) & might build a new graphite rod for it with the old school look, one day.

[jgp12000]

This is the kinda bream I would catch with my neighbors,the rod owner neighbor would just laugh everytime he caught one