My first custom rod build...Spiral "acid" Wrap

[sundaytrucka]

Just finished my first custom rod build. Although not perfect, it has some epoxy runs, some tiny air bubbles, and not all the thread lined up and stayed put through the whole process, I am extremely proud of the outcome...Live and learn type of thing. I used an old AllStar rod I have had for years, based on the Calstar 670H blank,

Removed the wraps and guides, removing the old wrapping was the most difficult part and do not think I will go through that process again, rather buy a naked blank. Went with black, gun metal, and royal blue thread and reversed the pattern for the last four guides; spiral wrapped the rod. Going to be used as my 40-50# Yo-Yo and live bait rod, with a hotrod'd Penn 4/0 sitting back.

Thanks for looking. -Scott

[HOLEINTHEWATER]

LOOKS GOOD TO ME.
  I THOUGHT ABOUT BUILDING MY OWN BASS AND CATFISH RODS ONCE.  THE SKY THE LIMIT, ON HOW MUCH YOU WANT TO SPEND.
DECIDED RELOADING MY SHOT SHELLS WAS A BETTER TIME AND MONEY SPENT.

[wallacewt]

will  become your favorite once you land a fish on it.good stuff.

[BMITCH]

Very nice takes a lotta work. Love the acid wrap rods.good luck

[HOLEINTHEWATER]

WHAT DOES THE SPIRAL WRAP DO? SAW A GUY BASS FISHING WITH ONE YEARS AGO.

[harryk3616]

hi   scott        nice job for a first timer.   next time take a barbeque motor, hook it up to the rod and let it spin for approx 4 hrs. , this way the finish will dry uniform and not drip and sag.   to get the bubbles out, use a small propane torch and as the rod is spinning, sweep the flame back and forth on the finish, the heat and flame will expel the bubbles as it burns up the co2.  worse case the finish will drip a little getting thin from being hot, not a problem, you might have to do it a couple of times, start and one end and when you get to the other end, go back and check if you have to torch it again.   harryk

[day0ne]

WHAT DOES THE SPIRAL WRAP DO? SAW A GUY BASS FISHING WITH ONE YEARS AGO.

Takes the twist out of the rod tip under heavy loads.

[harryk3616]

twist makes it fancy,  if when the rod is built and the hard spot of the blank is up, the rod wont twist.    when you build a rod from scratch, you turn the rod on a hard surface back and forth , as you spin it while putting downward pressure on the blank maybe two feet from the butt  end, you can actually feel the blank get stiff and once you pass the stiff point you can feel the blank actually jump off of the hard spot, when you find the hard spot, thats where you line up your guides, put a piece of masking tape on the blank and use a pencil to mark the hard spot, hope this helps.    harryk

[Keta]

Keep at it, every rod you do will be better.

[harryk3616]

when you put down ward pressure on the blank , you push down with the palm of your hand

[broadway]

it's called static deflection, I think?! ...compression side down!
...and I never had the ba**s to build one myself.
Kudos to you for your determination!
I have a custom (Capt. Neil-Long Island) spiral wrap that looks very similar with some extra chevron wraps towards the fore grip, and I love it especially cause she don't twist on me.
Nice job!
Dom

[day0ne]

twist makes it fancy,  if when the rod is built and the hard spot of the blank is up, the rod wont twist.    when you build a rod from scratch, you turn the rod on a hard surface back and forth , as you spin it while putting downward pressure on the blank maybe two feet from the butt  end, you can actually feel the blank get stiff and once you pass the stiff point you can feel the blank actually jump off of the hard spot, when you find the hard spot, thats where you line up your guides, put a piece of masking tape on the blank and use a pencil to mark the hard spot, hope this helps.    harryk

That is "splining" the rod. Acid wrapping is a bit different. You still spline the rod, but spiral the guides. Splining will take some of the twist out, but any conventional rod will still twist under heavy load, the key being "heavy load". It is inherent with the guides sitting on top of the rod. The line will try to fall off to the side, twisting the tip. Spinning rods, with the guides on the bottom, don't have this problem.

[sundaytrucka]

Thanks for all the comments guys.

Cannot wait to start the next build already, trying to decide on a blank to purchase. Might pick one up at Baja Fish Gears Sale this Saturday.

Thank you for the comments and input harryk. Did not know about the torch technique to get out bubbles, I will be utilizing it on my future builds. And yeah, I did not get a rod dryer yet, to impatient and could not wait. I set it in one of the rod supports and twisted it for a couple hours, had my coffee and tv, but I will definitely be getting a dryer setup before the next build.

Curious, should the spiral be going down the left or right? I chose left because I read others say it offsets the pull/torque applied to the handle when a fish is on. On another board they said I should have ran it to the right, same side as handle, so I could lay the rod down and not worry about the guides on the floor!? Confused me, my rods are in racks at home and only used on boats with stand up rod racks, so I do not really understand that comment.

-Scott

[Ron Jones]

Alan (Black Pearl) sells his on either side. He says that it depends on what hand is your dominant.
Ron

[broadway]

DayOne,
    Splining it is!  I agree any conventional rod will twist to some degree, but that doesn't happen at all with my spiral wrap because the line off the tip is at the lowest point already just like a spinning rod.
You guys are gonna get me motivated to try this someday soon... keep it up I need it
It's not my thread but Thanks for the great explanations guys,
Dom