Been busy

[Bill B]

So I spent a little time this winter re-wrapping a few rods that I bought on the cheap.  Picked up some budget guides from Jan's Netcraft and 1 part epoxy.  My mother-in-law was a seamstress and had 80+ spools of sewing thread.  I went through them and pulled the smoothest, non-fuzzy threads and got to work.  Two of the rods are Penn Power-Sticks and the black is a no-name rock cod special.  The Cod Special got new black pait and clear coat. I liked the color schemes.  A few things I learned cross-wraps are more involved than they look, using thin thread over thick thread does not work out too well, and I need a rod dryer  .  I figure in about 15 more years of practice John V. and Alex (Steelfish) will STILL not have any competition from me....

Before






After

[ReelFishingProblems]

Amazing what talented hands can do with everyday materials
Nice work

[Swami805]

Looks great Bill time to get them wet!

[oldmanjoe]

 Look`s like you are off good start , stay away from the fuzzy threads "cottons "          Now when you pick up the sticks you start thinking how about a diamond pattern here and a trim band there .

[Swami805]

Hey Bill. Next time you get the rod building bug hit me up for thread. Sewing thread works but nylon is better. I'll set you up

[happyhooker]

Nice work!  Great minds think alike--I'm just wrapping up a rebuild of a Shimano 6' 6" spinning rod; got rid of the old double-foot guides (only 4) and wrapped 7 replacement single foots; I hear your pain about the thin thread over the thick; nylon upholstery thread is non-fuzzy, although thick; some 100% polyester is pretty nice, but some is a bit fuzzy; get rid of the fuzz with a quick flick of a lighted match around the thread.

Need something to do inside; only 23 degrees here today for a high (Minn.)

Frank

[gstours]

Thanks bill for show n telling.  Your doing good.  Takes time to  be a good musician, ask any old one...    they even talk slow.  You keep working on it,  we are learning too.  My best rod is only a tool,  time will make you great.   Keep doing what you like.     Fishing 🎣 can be a good therapy for us all.   🚣‍♀️

[bill19803]

cotton  thread deteriorates   with  exposure   to  ultra   violet   nylon not   so  much. Cotton    doesnt    stretch  much  at  all   while  nylon  will, so  nylon  wraps  are  always  tight  where   cotton   will loosen   with  time in many cases. The  most   common  nylon  sizes  are A   and D.   D is biggest.   If  you want a brilliant   white   use   hollow  spectra  as  an  underwrap.
If   you  can use a   very  bright light   while  wrapping   you will  see a   glare  line  along  the   top of  the blank.  You  can  use   that  as  an  allignment  mark   for  getting all   your   diamond/chevron  wraps  alligned   properly.
Just  some   tips   to make  life easier if  you are   building or repairing   rods.

[Jeri]

Hi Bill,

Looks like you kept out of trouble over the winter. Some constructive observations, not meant as critisism, but perhaps to help you down this very addictive road.

Get some 'C' or 'D' NCP threads, the colours will be stronger, and the quality of the thread will be less 'fuzzy'. Won't need colour preserving, so that saves a stage in the build process. Look up 'burnishing', which basically evens the threads out across the whipping to an even and consistant finish.

A simple drying machine would help immensely with the final stage, which would be to use 2 part thread finish, there are various makes on the market, all reasonable in quality. This allows you to seal and finish the threadwork, so that it looks like plastic encapsulated coloured thread, without seeing individual threads.

Lastly, try to keep trim bands smaller, it takes practice, but 'less is more'.

At this point, you have to make a decision, do you become addicted to rod building, or just enjoy your fishing. Get too hooked on rod building, and you might as well start selling your fishing tackle...

Cheers from sunny Africa

Jeri

[oldmanjoe]

Hi Bill,

At this point, you have to make a decision, do you become addicted to rod building, or just enjoy your fishing. Get too hooked on rod building, and you might as well start selling your fishing tackle...

Cheers from sunny Africa

Jeri

OR you wind up with a lot of pretty sticks , which bring up another problem , what stick  is going fishing today

[mo65]

Great work Bill!

[swill88]

Thanks for showing that Bill. Looks great!
Steve

[oc1]

Very nice Bill.  Jeri has great advice about how to get the modern plastic-coated look, but I prefer the old-school look where you see the individual threads.  High-build epoxy and rod turners cover up a lot of inconsistencies.  Life was more difficult when we only had flat nylon colors, Weber color preserver and a thin coat of rod varnish to work with.  Even that was a modern improvement over silk thread, no color preserver and spar varnish.

Keep up the good work.
-steve

[Alto Mare]

Very nice Bill!...now show them in action.

Sal

[Bill B]

Thank you for the kind comments and suggestions.  I was lucky in the mom-in-law used nylon and poly thread for most of her work, and by being selective the major fuzzies were kept at bay.  Used the lighter trick to eliminate the ones that did pop up.  But also learned that if you use too much heat you'll burn the thread and POP the whole thing comes unraveled  .   Also the budget guide prepacks from Jan's are very affordable, no where near the quality of PAC Bay or Alps but will do just fine for me....until I start on heavier rods.  Next will be to build a dryer and try th two part epoxy.  I will admit it was fun and a great way to pass the time.....tight lines everyone.....Bill