I am building a jerkbait rod from a 6'6" Med XF MHX blank the blanks OD at the point were the winding check will be is 12.67mm. Should I get the 13mm or 12.5 mm winding check?

You would like your winding check to expand just a touch so that the check will stay nicely in place.

If not sure pick up two or three checks in adjacent sizes and use the one that just stays in place.

Be safe

Rubber and vinyl winding checks will expand a bit as mentioned above, aluminum checks you will want to the 13. Also aluminum checks can have sharp inner edges, if yours do let the winding check down easy with your fingers, just dropping them down can cause them to cock to the side on the way down and jam tight on the blank. A pain to get off and the sharp edges can gouge your blank's finish.

Metal winding checks should fit a little loosely so not to create a shear point which might cause the blank to break if it bends down into that area.

Thanks guys I am leaning towards the aluminum check since I normally use rubber but i wasn't sure how to size metal ones

I have used a little hand reamer from Habor Frieght to slightly enlarge the hole in a metal winding check. Works pretty but it only goes up to a 1/2".
[t.harborfreight.com]
Norm

Through my limited wrapping experience, I have also found winding checks are never the proper size, either ID or OD. Hence, I make my own with appropriate combinations of ProPaste, ProGlue, or thread epoxy, with or without micro spheres and tint with coloring agents. The color exactly matches the wraps, it inherently produces a water-tight seal, and gives a really nice “swooped”, radiused edge. They take less time than attempting to massage ill-fitting store-bought units and are truly custom (with the micro spheres they probably weigh considerably less as well).

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

Very interesting Norm,
I wonder if this would work on SK2 hard plastic winding checks also? Have you tried it on those? What is the cutting/sanding surface on hand reamer? Great idea but a crappy pic on their website,
thanks,
Buzz

Buzz, they are quite handy for this kind of thing. They will do the SK2 hard plastic checks, easier than aluminum checks. All it takes is a couple if gentle twists. Give a nice round hole. It is basically a hard tapered metal rod that is grooved and the edge of the grooves are sharpened to give a cutting edge. They are called a repairman's tapered reamers. Can enlarge a hole in metal,plastic, or wood. They only cost a few bucks. I noticed that Grizzly also sells one that goes up to 5/8" I am thinking about getting one these for slightly larger holes.
[www.grizzly.com]
Norm

Roger is correct. Buy a couple winding checks of different sizes. I also wrap thread where the winding check will sit with A or 2/0 thread to cushion the winding check from biting into the blank.

Mike Blomme

Norm that is a pretty handy looking tool for reaming. A question I have, is how do you hold on to the aluminum winding check to get sufficient grip to bore without scraping up the outer edge of the aluminum?? I have pliers that have plastic jaws but they slip easily.

Tom



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/12/2016 12:53PM by Tom Wewerka.

I just hold it with my fingers with a work glove on. I do not jam the reamer into the check just put it in the hole and turn. I flip the check around come in from the top then from the bottom. Burring has not been a problem, when finished I run an exacto blade around the inside of the hole from the bottom to remove any burrs. I am not trying to change the size of the check very much just enough to get it to fit. A fraction of a mm is usually enough.The plastic SK2 checks are easy. The aluminum checks take a little more time and work. The thin aluminum checks are easier to do than the thicker ones. Because of the taper of the reamer it's hard to get it off center. Most of the time I use checks that stretch, but on occasion I use the hard checks. Nothing is more frustrating then to buy an aluminum check and its slightly too small. Slightly large is ok, but slightly small NO!
Norm

I've had to increase the inner diameter of a couple of aluminum winding checks in the past. I made my own reamers and used 80 grit sanding cloth to make them, so when I wanted to ream out the winding check, I was afraid the coarseness of the reamer would make for sharp edges as well as sharp gouges on the interior of the check. So what I did was, I took a piece of 1/4" round stock (I used steel, but you could probably use a wooden dowel) and cut a slot in the end. I went about an inch and a quarter deep with the slot.

I just take a piece of sand paper, or sanding cloth of whatever grit I want., cut about a 1" wide strip a few inches long, slip it into the slot. and chuck it up in my cordless drill. Roll the paper around the dowel of shaft to fit inside the winding check, and hit the trigger. Centrifugal force makes the paper open up against the ID of the check and viola. Larger ID that is pretty smooth.

Just don't do what I did and hold the check in your fingers. The sandpaper makes short work of your finger tips, not to mention the heat that gets generated. LOL A definite DUH moment on my part. I switched to holding the check with vice grips that I made some rubber jaw protectors for. It works great. Just be careful with the edge. because depending on the type of check and the amount you want to increase the ID, it can make for an extremely sharp edge on the winding check.

I just buffed the edge with some fine emery cloth, and all was good.

Its much more simple than the 10,000 words I used to describe it LOL

Sorry !!!

You don't need to buy three to get one, just go with the 13. Always, with hard checks, go big. Worst case scenario is you might have to put a wrap under it, which isn't all bad anyway.

On the rare occasion that I need to ream out an aluminum winding check I have used my Dremel tool with a sanding grit round wheel. It gives a pretty smooth finish but can build up some heat as Norm has experienced. Generally i go real slow to make sure that it is perfectly round when complete. I would like to try one of those harbor freight reamers just so compare the process.

There is nothing more frustrating than building a rod and go to the box of winding checks to see that with all you have in stock the one you need is not there.

Tom

If it's a metal winding check, round up. Nobody will see that tiny gap. Or wind a little thread on the location if you're anal about having to have it centered.

John Shear
Chippewa Falls, WI