How to wrap a rod?

[Ebalt18]

Hello, so its my first time every wrapping guides or a blank from scratch so i was wondering what tips or advice can you guys give me. Thank you in advance. The blank i want to work on is a pinhead d8 , and once getting the hang of it i have a couple ulua blanks i want to wrap. Thank you.

 

[swami 805]

Lots of good videos on utube and what have you. My advice would be to get a couple crappy blanks to learn on then wrap the nice ones you want to keep

 

[cortezpirasea]

You can find shitty poles at the swapmeet for super chaep. Use them to refine your skills...

 

[plj46]

Start with size "C" thread until you get a feel for it.And Youtube as already suggested.

 

[Ebalt18]

Start with size "C" thread until you get a feel for it.And Youtube as already suggested.

Thank you will do that.

 

[gecsr1]

find a rod building class in your area... it will be the best thing to do first....

 

[af dreamer]

I have some inexpensive Sabre blanks that were made for Fred Hall some years ago.$20 for black blanks and $10 for natural unpainted blanks.Will be good practice for you.PM if interested.Tom

 

[dalurker]

Batson Enterprises BuildToFish
Am Tac Rod Building

 

[GClev]

I'm confused. Why do you think videos are better than "Advanced Custom Rod Building," the book by Dale Clemens?

 

[dalurker]

I'm confused. Why do you think videos are better than "Advanced Custom Rod Building," the book by Dale Clemens?

i'm a Kinesthetic learners according to my retired teacher/wife.

only books i ever read had centerfolds.

 

[swami 805]

I learned from that book, before videos were available. Lots of trial and error. I’m probably still doing some stuff wrong. Haha

 

[Dbado1]

There are lots of great videos out there....Batson, Mudhole, etc. One of my favorites is Bill Falconer at Falconer custom rods and Doc Ski. Great tutorials. YouTube is your friend (in this case).

 

[plj46]

I'm confused. Why do you think videos are better than "Advanced Custom Rod Building," the book by Dale Clemens?

A book cant show what you actually have to do regarding movement of your hands and fingers and technique.That book was a great tool many years ago and still is but a video shows what actually happens.

 

[skrilla]

Take your time and don't rush it.

 

[HighWildFree]

File your guide feet ends, game changer.

 

[GClev]

I'll stick with my original suggestion for a couple of reasons. Videos are disorganized and are one man's opinion on doing one thing his way - and they're often misguided or just wrong.

A new guy is going to have a hard time sorting through google and Youtube since he doesn't even have the lexicon, the words, to know what to look up first. He'll be sorting through a ton of crap looking for a nugget of good info. Cases in point? The recent AT Video posted on this site showed a grip installation using compressed air and WD40 as a lube. I'm not going to use or recommend either. Maybe he has a compressor but maybe he doesn't. Maybe he recognizes WD40 screws up the glue but maybe he doesn't. Sorry Gary. Case two. Doc Ski grinds the guide feet and even posted a tutorial on it. Fuji spent a small fortune developing corrosion techniques for their guides and I'm not going to grind the best rust prevention ever put on a guide to make bobbin wrapping easier and faster. I want a tough build that lasts. And for the third example of a mistake in rod wrapping, never start with size C thread. A and D are the standards for multiple manufacturers come in all the colors including the metallics.

For a new guy, who doesn't know where to start, I'd say start at the beginning.

It should also be said that no one person is perfect and unlike these one-off videos, the book was put together with the best ideas from dozens and dozens of rod builders. I'm not the expert, but all these guys put together ARE the experts.

Even if you have a disability and can't read much, read the last paragraph in the acknowledgements, singling out Gary Loomis, who is probably a pretty good source in rod crafting.

The book isn't brand new. It doesn't cover everything, especially newer info like rail rod foregrips or tiger wraps, but it does a great job with the rest. Most importantly, the index gives you all the words so you know, what things are called, all the things you never even thought about, and what to actually put into google for a search.

Here, google this, video fans. You can watch a week of videos looking for a single topic on which you might need help, or just flip to the page.

Last I'd write that the new guy had a question that didn't belong in the tutorial section. It should have been in the other rod building section. I fixed that. Now it's a tutorial.

 

[Ebalt18]

I'll stick with my original suggestion for a couple of reasons. Videos are disorganized and are one man's opinion on doing one thing his way - and they're often misguided or just wrong.

A new guy is going to have a hard time sorting through google and Youtube since he doesn't even have the lexicon, the words, to know what to look up first. He'll be sorting through a ton of crap looking for a nugget of good info. Cases in point? The recent AT Video posted on this site showed a grip installation using compressed air and WD40 as a lube. I'm not going to use or recommend either. Maybe he has a compressor but maybe he doesn't. Maybe he recognizes WD40 screws up the glue but maybe he doesn't. Sorry Gary. Case two. Doc Ski grinds the guide feet and even posted a tutorial on it. Fuji spent a small fortune developing corrosion techniques for their guides and I'm not going to grind the best rust prevention ever put on a guide to make bobbin wrapping easier and faster. I want a tough build that lasts. And for the third example of a mistake in rod wrapping, never start with size C thread. A and D are the standards for multiple manufacturers come in all the colors including the metallics.

For a new guy, who doesn't know where to start, I'd say start at the beginning.
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It should also be said that no one person is perfect and unlike these one-off videos, the book was put together with the best ideas from dozens and dozens of rod builders. I'm not the expert, but all these guys put together ARE the experts.

View attachment 1446329

Even if you have a disability and can't read much, read the last paragraph in the acknowledgements, singling out Gary Loomis, who is probably a pretty good source in rod crafting.

The book isn't brand new. It doesn't cover everything, especially newer info like rail rod foregrips or tiger wraps, but it does a great job with the rest. Most importantly, the index gives you all the words so you know, what things are called, all the things you never even thought about, and what to actually put into google for a search.

Here, google this, video fans. You can watch a week of videos looking for a single topic on which you might need help, or just flip to the page.

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Last I'd write that the new guy had a question that didn't belong in the tutorial section. It should have been in the other rod building section. I fixed that. Now it's a tutorial.

Thanks man i do appreciate it

 

[Jose Caballero]

Well clev makes a compelling argument.

Imagine my luck: I moved next door to Sheridan (swami), a few months later randomly mentioned that I’d like to learn to wrap rods, and found out he’s one of the best rod builders, and a crushingly nice dude too. Walking next door was definitely priceless, but baring that I think that book looks pretty excellent.

Oh, but another thing, I wouldn’t start with those nice blanks. it took about a dozen rods before I realized how I really like them, and it takes a few in a row to get in the flow and not make stupid mistakes. Plus, long rods are harder (for me) to pattern well, and my wrapping setup needed some mods to handle anything over 8’. Get some cheap blanks and build a quiver of basic boat rods, and save those fancy blanks until you have a better idea how to get the most out of them.

 

[Dbado1]

I started with a rod building kit from Mudhole. Other rod building vendors offer them as well. They put all the components together and you build it. It's an inexpensive way to see if you are even going to like rod building. They include basic instructions and do most of the "thinking" ( guide placement,etc.) for you. As others have stated don't start with the expensive blanks first.

 

[a7ewizard]

I agree with the last post. Mudhole kits are a great way to learn and eliminate the time and thinking of putting components together.
I bought an ATC power wrapper about 20 years ago. It has been great! Just had to replace the rubber drive band for the first time.
I do a few blanks a year. I'm self taught. I don't have the patience to do pretty guide wraps; just functional rods. Here are some tips:
1) Spine the blank and mark the bend with a tape wrap and sharpie.
2) Glue on the butt cap and lower grip and let it set up. Eva grips expand/contract after being worked onto the blank. You don't want the grip to pull away from the reel seat if you put it all together at once ( until you have a few builds under your belt).
3) Buy a caliper. It will make your tape reel seat arbors more uniform. Line up your gimbal butt cap and reel seat with the spine sharpie mark you did in step 1.
4) Roughen the blank tip with sandpaper. Glue on the tip with 5 minute epoxy.
5) Mount a rod holder to your work table. This allows you to static test your guide placements easily. You want the fishing line running through your guides to closely follow the bend of the loaded fishing rod. Adjust and add guides as needed.
6) Wrap your guides. I never use thread that requires color preserver. I prefer metallic threads both as under and overwraps.
7) Adjust your guides prior to applying epoxy. I've never found a better way than by eyeball. Mounting a reel in the seat and looking from the butt end helps my alignment.
8) Apply epoxy while the rod is turning with the dryer motor. This epoxy is pretty slow to cure so there is no rush. I use an alcohol burner to pop air bubbles and flow the epoxy better. Don't use a butane lighter as it doesn't burn clean and will put smoke onto the epoxy.

 

[swami 805]

I think it’s better to a good high temp ferrule cement than epoxy for a rod tip. Pretty common to break a tip, sucks if you can’t get it off

 

[Jose Caballero]

very similar to a7e above, but I'll add a couple personal preferences:

1) I add a whole bunch of spline marks all along the blank, using a china pencil, then remove them as I align the guides on my way up the blank. I find it's easier to aim for these, as opposed to having to get out of my chair and aim for the tip top every time.
2) I don't glue my butt cap, just build up with tape if needed and snug fit. I've had a couple come off here and there, but I don't like them to be permanent.
4) like swami says, I use tip cement, which is kinda like a yellowish hot glue stick. makes replacement easier. this is the most common failure point on fishing rods so you'll probably have to deal with it sooner or later.
7) I find it's easier to check and adjust my guides by looking from the BACK of the blank, so that you're just seeing the outer edge of each guide.
8) I use a heat gun, just gotta make sure your space isn't too dusty.