I have been reading this board for some time and I just recently started my first project--a nine foot, five weight Lamiglas fly rod. Everything is going great so far, but I need some help at this point.

I need to construct my drying setup before I apply the finish to the guides. I have bought a motor from allelectronics.com and I am going to mount it on a stand. Can anyone offer advice on what to use for a chuck and how I can attach it to the motor?

Also, what are the best types of pens for signing the rod when I am nearly done? Thanks for your help. I've already benefited from the advice on this board.

You can make your own chuck for very little money. A PVC end cap can be drilled and fastened to your motor shaft with a few nuts and bolts. You can hold the rod butt a couple of ways. One is to drill 3 equally spaced holes and thread thumbscrews through them which can then be tightened on your rod. Another way is to affix 2 or 3 rubber banks around the motor shaft and then bring them around the front of the "chuck" and then back behind and to the shaft again. Affix them in a "cobweb" fashion and place the butt of the rod inbetween them.

Another simple way is to stuff the PVC cap with a piece of foam rubber or large EVA grip cut-off. The hole in the middle of the foam or grip cut-off should be just slightly smaller than your rod butt. Stuff the rod butt in there and let it turn. In all honesty, this is one of the better ways I have found. Too often I hear of horror stories where thumbscrews back out and rubber bands slip. The foam trick, if it is properly fitted to begin with, seems to be almost foolproof.

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Scott,

You can buy a Rodsmith's 3-jaw self-centering chuck for $20.00. This is a real neat, professional quality rod chuck. I bought mine at Squidco in San Diego, CA.

Squidco
3518 Barnett Ave.
San Diego. CA
(619) 222-8955


You just need a 1 inch long coupling adapter to connect it to your motor. The hole on one end of the sleeve is the diameter of the Chuck shaft, and the hole on the other end is the diameter of your motor shaft.

Shipping cost for this chuck should be less than $5.00. Call Squidco for actual shipping costs.

Go to this link to see a picture of the Rodsmith 3-jaw Chuck:

[pictures.care2.com]


@#$%&

I built a couple of chucks with the PVC end caps & eye screws. I drilled 4 holes, but I'm sure 3 would've worked fine. If you choose to go this route, do not forget to grind the point on the screws or they will scratch the blank, and if you're not careful you could screw right through the blank. Maybe put some epoxy, plasti-dip, or something to prevent the metal (after grinding)scratching the blank.

I built 2 for different diameter blanks. With this I can hold the smallest Ice fishing butts, all the way up to about 1 1/4 diameter rods.

Billy

I did the PVC thing and put the small rounded caps on the ends of the screws. Cautious as I am, I use the rubber band thing in addition to a lightly screwed thumb screw (three bands going from one thumb screw 3/4 around the blank and tucked around another thumb screw.

You may want to try this using the PVC end cap instead of using set screws take a piece of truck inner tube and stech it over the end cap. Tighten with a gear clamp and punch a 1/2" hole in the center. You then push your rod into the hole. the rubber will tighten around the cork and will not come loose until you pull the rod out. Also this will not mark up the rod. You can make various drum skins with various size holes to suit the size of rod you are building.

Hope this helps.

What I did is take some spongy rubber that I had and put it over the face of the PVC pipe cap and held in place with a hose clamp around the perimeter of the cap. Than I cut a small + in the middle of the rubber face. I took off the rubber face that came with my dryer chuck and replaced it with the above. I didn't like the hard rubber with the hole punched in it because it was too stiff. My method has plenty of give so as not to mar the blank yet provides plenty of grip. you can also hedge your bet by putting a ridge of easy removal masking tape that provides extra insurance.

Kerry

Scott, I tried several suggestions but stumbled on to the best yer. I took a nylon space that fit the shaft of my motor. Next I took one of those clips that holds a broom handle to the wall. I ran a screw through the hole in the clip into the end of the spacer on the motor. I slip the butt of the rod into the clip and away it goes. I had to widen the gap a bit to keep the ends from pressing too tight into the grip but that is easy enough to do. I also run a wrap of masking tape to keep it centered. Works great.