Rod Building, Part 7

Eight guides, one hook keep, one furrel, one tip top, and a few for good measure; 20 total wraps. Until the first coat of epoxy all thread wraps are fragile, and the true identity of the rod is disguised. It is a great sense of accomplishment when you can seal all of that detailed and delicate work beneath a clear coat of epoxy. Between the thread wrapping and the epoxy brushing, It's easy to misplace the thoughts of the handle assembly. These very last steps require a steady hand, skill, and focus.

Above, the Gudebrod brand thread, size A, nylon 1892 (color), changes to a rich dark color olive when wet with epoxy. Unlike nylon thread, NCP thread does not get darker when wet. This makes you wish you were wearing NCP thread pants that day you accidentally splashed water on your crotch in the men's room; or does that just happen to me? Metallic thread color also stays, more or less, unchanged by epoxy.

Nylon thread unquestionably looks better because of the color texture. NCP thread can look pasty when used for full guide wraps. So, how do you get the rich color without darkening? Color preserve. This liquid material can be lightly brushed on the thread, and when dry the nylon thread returns back to it's dry color. The epoxy brushed on next not cannot penetrate the color preserve treated thread to darken it. Some rod builders question the guide binding strength of this method.

Rod Building, Part 6

Burnishing, grinding, shaping, filing, or sharpening; whatever you call it, this needs to be done to guide feet in order for thread wraps to ride up the foot of the guide without problems. I use a rounding motion to shape the sides and top, of the end, of each guide foot. I find that a small belt sander or dremel tool gives me an even roundness without flat spots. By the way, the sparks aren't normal. This happens on the nickel titanium REC recoil guides when you push hard, but I don't recommend trying to make sparks.

We've used three methods of many to get the guide spacing. Guide spacing are the distance between each guide on the rod, and is usually measured from the tip to the butt (For example; 4 1/4'', 9", 14 1/2", and so on). The three methods I used were manufacturer recommended spacing, comparison to other successful spacing, and flex tests. The reason I didn't just use the manufacturer spacings is that I added an extra guide in the line-up. This 6' 6" casting rod will have a total of eight (8) small and extremely light-weight guides. Unlike spinning and fly rods, casting rods are challenged with keeping the line from touching the blank between guides when the rod is bent downward. This is because the guides sit on top of the rod. An additional guide in the formula can reduce or eliminate this contact between the line and the rod. The inverse of this remedy is a casting rod where the maker or manufacturer skimped on the guides and there are just too few; lots of contact going on in this case.
The skill of thread wrapping is best learned from a live demonstration. Videos and books are ok, but a good teacher can propel you into doing basic wraps faster and cleaner. The same goes for more intricate wraps. More later!