When the generous man showed me how to build rods, wrap guides, he taught me to run the epoxy past the threads onto the blank to seal it. I have always done this and never had any problems. I took in a custom rod this week to replace a broken tip top. The owner was very proud of the rod (he didn't build it of course) in that it was light weight and very sensitive. I noticed that the epoxy on every wrap stopped at the threads, and at least half of the wraps were fraying and coming loose. I offered to clean them up and add epoxy to each wrap to seal it off and he agreed. But I am wondering, why would the builder stop the epoxy at the thread? Does that contribute to the sensitivity of the rod? Did I do a dis-service to the guy by adding epoxy? I know this has probably been covered before but I tried the search function and did not get the results I was looking for. Thanks in advance for your help.

Steve Chontos

If you want the rod to last, you will overlap the epoxy as you have always done. You want overlap on both ends both to prevent abrasion and to prevent any water from getting in, which if it gets in, will at least cloud the wrap. But you observed that lack of overlap will in time fail the thread.

I cannot imagine a valid reason for building the way the builder of this rod did. The difference in weight will be so slight that sensitivity differences will not be measurable or apparent to the user.

X2 Michael.

If you look in L.A. Garcia's book on fly rod building you"ll see he did the same thing.

it makes it easier to replace the wire guides, less clean-up.

Why would a builder stop finish epoxy at the ends of the thread wraps? The answer is aesthetics. Nothing more.

Does stopping finish at the ends of the thread wraps increase sensitivity? It does in theory because it reduces weight. However the weight avoided is so small the sensitivity gain is essentially none.

Did you do the rod owner a disservice? No. Stopping the wrap finish at the last turn of thread is aesthetically pleasing to some but is challenging to execute well, and, if not well executed will leave the wrap less than fully encapsulated and at risk of failure over time due to water absorption.

Frankly, I am a reformed Garcia devotee previously preferring not to run the finish onto the blank. I now think the aesthetics and the weight avoidance are inferior to the downside risk of not running the finish a wee bit onto the blank.

I will admit, the wraps that were not fraying looked clean and crisp.
Thank you,

Steve

Exactly, Steve. The technique is pleasing to the eye, or it is to these old eyes.

As you observed, if the last one or two turns of thread are not well encapsulated bad things can happen. Does not mean frayed wraps would not have occurred had finish been run onto the blank, but running the finish onto the blank does put odds in your favor.

Steve,
Carry on. Your method of building rods works well for thousands of rod builders around the world to create long lasting weather resistant rods.

Be safe

i don,t think that l.a.garcia was doing this for rod aesthetics but for rod blank care. scrapping the epoxy ring left on the blank with whatever can easily damage the rod surface and paint. so it seems best to not get epoxy on the blank just thread, and fly rods can be very expensive. it,s much cheaper to replace wire guides over the life of a rod not a damaged rod...but everyone has their own style of making and caring for rods.

I tried it specifically for that reason and admittedly it did look cleaner. I do regret it however, because it might not last as long for my buddy who I built the rod for. But, in any case, it might be worth talking to the fella about both options so he can make an informed decision on what to do.

Please guys
if careful overlapping the finish will only KEEP WATER from going under the thread Also keep the guide foot from rusting from any water ----- IT IS A GOOD THING why not just do it ?????
Ya YA weight Stop

Bill - willierods.com