I was working on a couple rods this weekend, one an ultralight and one an ice rod. One problem I kept running into was when I get to the guide foot, the thread would keep slipping under the guide foot. No matter how tight I tried to tape the guide on, it would always slip under the foot. Is this problem just because the diameter of the rod is so small? I was able to use a rubber band to get it on the rod super tight so the thread couldn't go under, but I have a couple more guides with feet significantly smaller that I still need to do. Is there a good way to go about getting guides to stay in place during wrapping when they're small? If I glue the guide on first, is there a special kind of glue I should be using?

My first question is did you file the guide feet down so that they fit smooth and close to the rod blank with no gaps? When I wrap small guides I use a piece of 40lb mono, tie it in a uniknot and then use that pulled tight to hold the guide against the blank. you and either cut it off or if you leave the end of the knot long enough you can pull the loop loose and reuse it.

The bottom of the guide foot may not be flat. Take a round file, preferably a non-tapered chainsaw type file, and lock one end in a vise. Then sit the guide squarely on top of it and slide it along the direction of cut a half dozen times. This flattens and contours the guide foot to squarely fit the rod blank.

...........

Clint,
A couple of pictures on prepping guides as well as holding guides on a small blank:

[www.rodbuilding.org]

When you sand the guide foot holding the guide foot at 90 degree to the sanding belt, you will end up with fine horizontal scratches in the guide foot that work nicely to hold the thread on the guide foot as well.

In addition, the use of a flat stone to run the bottom of the guide over, to insure that the bottom of the guide is flat and that you do not have any turned up ends on the end of the guide.

Using an orthodontist dental band to hold a small guide onto a small blank. Put several bands on the blank before building - one for each of the affected guides as well as a couple of spares, in case you have issues with one or more bands.

[www.rodbuilding.org]

In the very worst case, start the wrap at the ring side of the guide rather than the foot side of the guide. Although difficult - due to the taper on the guide, this will often work for those very difficult cases where it is next to impossible to get the thread wrap started on the guide foot when wrapping from the blank side of the guide foot.

But, generally speaking if the end of the guide is very very thin, with a gentle taper and is straight and parallel to the blank, the thread will nicely crawl up the guide foot with 0 issues, no matter the size of the guide and guide foot.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/23/2016 05:09PM by roger wilson.

You can also sand the guide feet with 220 -320 sandpaper This will roughen the surface and give it bite so the thread climbs easier

Bill - willierods.com

All of the suggestions above are good.
We like to use the very soft glue stick from Flex Coat "Guide Glue" to hold while wrapping.
This is once the location has been determined.
Here is a link to that page on our site, part number is "J2";
[www.schneidersrods.com]

Best wishes,
Ron Schneider
Schneider's Rod Shop
Mountain Home, Arkansas
[www.schneidersrods.com]
mtnron40@yahoo.com
870-424-3381

Clint

Try reducing the thread tension just a bit.

What's the majority's opinion for situations where the blank is much narrower than the guide? Put it on as is or grind/file the sides of the guide foot down so that it better matches the width of the blank?

Chris,
Really no reason to have the guide foot wider than the blank. Thin down the guide foot to match the blank. Using a belt sander, it only takes a few seconds to thin the guide foot.

Be safe

Prep guide feet [ foot ] # 1 bend them so they are flat an an level on the rod # 2 make the leading point into a fine point # 3 then make a ramp so the thread can walk up , [ not to steep ] if the point is fine , an the ramp not steep , an the foot is on the rod the thread has to go up , don't for get to paint the foot so it don't look bad

William Sidney
AK