Reel Repair by Alan Tani

I got one guide to replace as posted earlier,the mudhole order arrived.I got the old guide removed,rod cleaned up & now I am ready
To start wrapping now that labor day is over.I cut some Vs in a low profile cardboard box to spin the rod in & have viewed some elaborate YouTube
Videos of guys showing off their woodworking skills which seem overkill for 1 guide.I am thinking of a DIY Jig to hold the thread
Tight while I wrap, maybe cardboard,pencil,rubber band similar to mudhole's cheapo version.Maybe fender washers,1 bolt,spring, & a wing nut mounted on a 2X4 then running the thread through an eye screw up to the guide if that makes sense?I am sure someone here has made a jig
I haven't seen if you can share your ideas.If I get into rod building I will probably get something better down the road.
JP

Put a paintbrush thru the hole and apply tension with your thumb. Move your hand with the spool along the rod as needed.

You can use a book . Open book ,lay the thread in the pages close book .  If you need more tension put another book on top for weight

X2 on the book, works like a charm

Thats 2 simple,I will try it

Quote from: jgp12000 on September 05, 2024, 09:42:40 PMVideos of guys showing off their woodworking skills which seem overkill for 1 guide.I am thinking of a DIY Jig to hold the thread
Tight while I wrap, maybe cardboard, pencil, rubber band similar to mudhole's cheapo version. Maybe fender washers,1 bolt, spring, & a wing nut mounted on a 2X4 then running the thread through an eye screw up to the guide if that makes sense?I am sure someone here has made a jig
I haven't seen if you can share your ideas. If I get into rod building I will probably get something better down the road.
JP

I was on the same boat as you some years ago, I was planning also to JUST install one guide and dont wanted to spend money even on a cheapo Manual wrapper (consider Im in Baja Mexico ) so, I came up with the idea of a DIY manual wrapper from an old wood box I had (still have it).
check the pictures, with the wood box I also used a worm screw 1/4", springs, washers to add tension to the thread spools and tips from broken rods also for tensile force when wrapping the thread, I had those ideas from checking different DYI manual wrappers
I liked it that much that I later on (months later) I installed some wheels on it for turning the blank easier and I used that DIY wood wrapping box for YEARS !!  , I might have repaired almost a hundred of fishing rods to friends and local captains and built many custom rods on using that Jig before going for an factory Power wrapper

https://alantani.com/index.php/topic,18922.0.html

Alex,

I always thought your wood box wrapper was a innovative and neat idea! 

Betta than store bought,great engineering mind there

Alex,rookie question with mudhole wrappers the rod is turned away from you wrapping the guide left to right,not that it matters seems with your box you would spin the rod towards you still wrapping left to right is this a preference or easier depending left or right handed or...  ?

Quote from: jgp12000 on September 06, 2024, 10:28:46 PMAlex,rookie question with mudhole wrappers the rod is turned away from you wrapping the guide left to right,not that it matters seems with your jig you would spin the rod towards you?

I noticed what you're saying on my my beginnings, when planning on how to modify that wood tool box to use it as a Manual rod wrapper and honesty, the reason is that I couldnt came up with an idea on how install the thread carriage at my side facings towards the rod ON THAT wood tool box, so I opted to install the thread carriage at the "other side" of the wood box and bring the thread towards me to the rod blank (Geez hard to explain since English is not my native Language), so in that setup in order to have Tension on the thread to wrap the guides firmly I had to spin the blank towards me (as you noticed), all I can say is that it worked and it worked pretty good for many years, around 4 years after using that DIY manual wrapper flawlessly I had the opportunity to get me a PacBay power wrapper from a good friend from this site, as expected that power wrapper came with a "normal" thread carriage which its sit at my side of the rod wrapper and facing towards the blank (away for me), I tried to used it that way but I never felt comfortable, so, I modified the thread carriage in a way to make it pretty similar to the setup I had it on my DIY manual wrapper, with the thread spools and the same broken rod tips at the other side of the power wrapper rails and facing towards me.
I might have been using it the wrong way all these years (almost 8 years wrapping rods so far) but it works for me 

one pic shows what it seems the normal setup for the thread carriage on DIY or factory Rod wrappers.
The rest of the pics you can see my modified thread carriage base (slider that used to be exactly was it shows in the 1st picture) modified in a way so, I could just could continue to wrap rods the same way I've been wrapping them for the last 8 years (in the pics appears my 13yo daughter helping me with that rod) 

I took everything off from the stock PacBay thread carriage and I just left the base plain, then I build it from there installing a long aluminum arm and used worm screws to install a new 4-pc thread carriage, for nostalgic purposes I used the very same broken rod tips as thread tensioners 

Great explanation Alex! While I was getting my cardboard box/book setup
To wrap,it also appeared to be easier to wrap with your technique then my headlamp died & we got a surprise visit from gkids
So its put off another day...

 Neodymium magnets on each side of the thread spool works great at keeping thread tension. You will need the flat round ones with the holes in the center and you place them in opposite polarity of each other. Check on Amazon.

I've become a minimalist in my old age and just do one layer of black thread on a black blank to secure the guides.  No ornamentation.  I wrap in a lazy-boy type chair with the rod in my lap and in front of a TV.  The right hand twirls the rod away from me while the left hand guides the thread.  Left-to-right or right-to-left is all the same.

I now know the secret to making such nice neat wraps

It seems to me having the rod closer to you & the thread out of the way makes more sense with your setup Alex.