I am having trouble securing my micro guides on the rod as I wrap up the guide foot. I tried a super skinny piece of masking tape, but when I tried to take it off it pulled the guide right out of the wrap. I cannot seem to get dental rubber bands to work either. It seems that I pull the guide out while trying to remove the band halfway through the wrap. Any other suggestions. I feel like I need something that is snug so that the guide foot will lay flush against the blank. Any suggestions or new ideas? Thanks

With the rubber bands, I think guys are just cutting them off to remove them, not trying to pull them off the guide. Myself, I start a few turns of thread, then slip the guide foot under the next turn of thread far enough to get the thread to hold the guide. Then I make several more turns. Once the guide is in place, I can very gently wiggle the guide till the guide foot slips all the way under the thread. I have not yet tried this with putting in a trim wrap that would be on the guide foot itself. The trim bands I have put on are really on the blank itself. I have some rods I am working on here for a presentation soon and I am going to try and work in the trim band on the guide foot so I can keep the amount of thread to a minimum.

Will;
Three methods:
1. When you pull the tape. Pull it in the direction of the foot point that way it pulls towards the wrap instead of away from it.

2. Place a finger from the non pulling hand against the back of the eyelet to prevent guide from moving when you pull.

3. Tape a little piece of anything behind guide it as blocking to hold it in place.

Easiest method is number 1

Will, my choice for securing the micro guides is these tie wraps pictured on the link provided. They are smaller in diameter than could be purchased at a hardware store. You can cinch them up as tight as you need to the still move them slightly side to side to adjust them for straightness. Once you have about 6 wraps of thread just use a cuticle cutter with the side nippers to snip the tie wrap off then slip in your pull tie then continue your wrap to the end.

[www.swamplandtackle.com]

Lance

I have a glss top table that I work from, I trim 1/16th of an inch piece of masking tape and use two pieces to secure the foot down. As I wrp, I can remove the front one after I have about 6 wraps up over the foot and still leave the rear piece attached until I get to that point. Also proper foot prep will save you a lot of frustration in the end.

This subject can get quite involved.

What guide are you using - brand and size please.

Do you place all the guides on the rod and verify alignment prior to wrapping?

Do you use the Forhan locking wrap?

After you get all the guides wrapped do you do a final tune for proper alignment?

Do you have to twist the guide to adjust the alignment?

Have you looked at the angle of the foot after the tuning process - is is cocked to one side?

Think about all this it is important - if the Forhan is used with proper thread tension the guides need to be wrapped as straight as possible with minimum movement.

Consider the tie wraps - put all on the blank - tune the guides - then wrap with a procedure that will minimize bumpong out of alignment.

For someone who is just starting out the tie wraps will get you on the way quickly.

The dental bands or 1/32" ID silicone model airplane fuel tube work best for me. Cut bands about 1/16" wide. Slice them off the rod with a new X-Acto blade or scalpel after wrapping. I prefer to use bands since I can adjust guides during static set up and then wrap. I haven't figured out how to do that using Mike's start the wrap - insert guide method. The cable ties - well that really seemed like a lot of work and I will give someone a good deal on the bag I bought. I should mention that I use mostly short foot 3mm and cable ties didn't leave me any wrapping room. I tried Steve's hole punch trick, but, again, lots of work when a little band works just fine.

Chuck

I'll chime in on this as i had the same issue the first time I tried to wrap micros. Tape wouldn't work, neither would cable ties, I tried the wrap a few turns then slide the guide in by hand and that seemed impossible. Rubber bands are the only way to go for me. You can get all your guides in place for static testing and then get them perfectly aligned before you start wrapping. Once you get enough guide foot wrapped to hold it in place cut the band and you are good to go.

No one has mentioned the brand and size of micro guide - choice of method may be significantly effected..

It is important - tie wraps may prove to be tough on some - much better on others - tape is not a choice if tuning is necessary before wrapping.

Nobody has mentioned it, but has anyone tried the guide foot adhesive from flexcoat?

I'm using forecast bmkl micros from 3's to 5's and I use the rubber bands to do my static testing and hold the guides in place for test casts. Then when I am read to wrap I take a flat wooden toothpick and tape it to the blank on the opposite side of the guide. I wrap until I hit the rubber band on the foot side and then cut it. The tooth pick keeps the guide from popping out from under the wraps and then as soon as wrap up to the ring I remove the tooth pick and I can forhan wrap. I've only done about 4 rods with the micros, but they are getting easier to work with. I'm planning on re-wrapping a few factory rods I've got laying around with a simple spiral and micros to the tip.

Tony Politi Wrote:
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> Nobody has mentioned it, but has anyone tried the
> guide foot adhesive from flexcoat?

X10

I and many of our customers use it on micros with zero problems.

People seem to complain that they can't adjust the guides after wrapping, but you simply need to check them BEFORE wrapping. The other complaint that I've seen a number of times is that excess adhesive "gushes" out along the guide foot. That's a case of too much adhesive which is simply remedied by not using so much!

The best practice that I have found is simply heating the guide foot and rubbing it across the stick, rather than the other way around. Site the guides before you wrap them and if you need to make any adjustments, simply pop the offending guide(s) off, re-heat and stick 'em on again.

Mark Griffin
[]
C&M Custom Tackle
San Dimas, California

Her is what I do:

1. I got some "very small diameter" surgical tubing from which I cut small rubber bands. I have a small compartmented Plano box with a whole host of various sizes of rubber bands that were precut long time ago.
2. I install the guides (single foot micros) on the rod with the rubber bands and position the bands so they are near enough to the tip of the foot to make it flush with the blank.
3. now I sight past the back of the blank and get them all aligned to the tiptop.
4. Now to make sure they don't move when I start the wrap on them, I lay the rod in my wrapper (guides up) and take a very fine pointed brush and load it with Cason Crystal Clear. Because this CP is super thin, it allows me to lightly touch the tip of the brush to the side of the guide foot and the CP will wick under the guide foot to lightly adhere the foot to the blank. To be sure I do two applications.
5. I start wrapping and when I get up near the rubber band it gently roll it further up the foot. When I get near the rubber band again I take a small sissors and cut it and it will fly off.
6. When I am finished wrapping, I recheck the alignment. If you happen to need to adjust a guide, the guide is not so adhered that it can't be moved.
Kerry

Will,
I purchase micro sized elastic bands. i.e. tiny bands that are sized to the blank on which I am building.

Slip enough bands on the rod to secure all of the guides being wrapped.

Use the bands to hold each guide in place.

Keep a scalpel on hand with a supply of fresh blades.

As you work on the guide wraps, and as you get 1/2 done, use the scalpel to cleanly snip off the surgical band. If you find that you are having any trouble at all to cut through the binder, insert a new blade in the scalpel. The rubber tends to dull the blades faster than one might think.

Simple and easy.

I have tried other methods, and although different methods can be used, this one seems to be the simplest and most error free.

Take care
Roger

Wow, lotta methods here...when I test placement, I use surgical tubing or tape...
when I wrap, I take 10# mono, tie a uni knot ,slip over the blank and guide foot and cinch up tight.
I guess some of you fish,so you might have some mono around the place...give it a try, pretty simple..very effective
Wes

just call the micro god Bill stevens at swampland and talk to him he have you going in no time

Random Babbling:

Alan my official titles are "The Bosses Boy, Deck Hand and Cook!

One answer to this attachment delima, without knowing the details, may be confusing.

What circumstances play a part in developing a work plan that is effective?

Is this your first rod or the tenth?

Diameter of the blank - lots of difference between an ultra lite and a Seeker BS706

The dimensions of the guide foot and riser - lots of difference between a Batson 2.0 and a Fuji 4.0

Are you building one rod or four at a time - how many times will you move the rods around before finish is applied.

Is test casting and loading required prior to build - how many do you have to build on a particular blank until you are comfortable deleting testing?

What size thread is to be used - lots of difference between 00 and B - is pull testing data available.

Is secondary attachment adhesive required.

When is the primary guide alignment done?

Thread Tension and Forhan method employed.

Is a quality control check done to verify final tuning of guides does not result in "foot miss alignment prior to adhesive or finish application.

After you think about how you are going to plan your work flow the old statement "What is Good For the Goose Is Good For the Gander" may not apply!

i use the method that Mike mentioned on pretty much every single-foot guide i've wrapped in the last 2 years. alps 3.5 micros, fuji alconite 4.0 micros, amtak NIMG 4s and successfully used them on the same brands of size 5, 6 and 7 single foot guides.

Just slip the foot under the thread and roll it around the blank until it is properly placed. Having very high spool tension makes this difficult sometimes. Its nice because there is no guide foot prep necessary. Using any other method - for me at least - would probably triple the amount of time it takes to wrap a single rod. Not to mention - no excess supplies or materials necessary.

Regards,
-Justin