Anybody have suggestions on brand of power wrapper to buy. I don't need a drying motor, just the base and motor, some thing that is expandable

They are all pretty decent machines now. Pac Bay and Batson's are similar. Batson's offers an excellent chuck upgrade as well as lathe attachments. I think the CPW machine is still available from Anglers Workshop, don't recall the name of the company that bought Anglers. I also think you can order the machines without the attached dryer motor. It may be that price and shipping costs will guide your decision..

Darrel

Our wrappers are great and are hand made right here in Driftwood, Tx in our shop. They are expandable. We have the DL713 and the DL747. The main difference is how the rod is supported. The DL713 has V uprights that slide on the long board and the DL747 has spring loaded roller supports that hang from a back board and stay out of the way as you work your way down the rod. They are everything you need and nothing you don't.

The motor is a quality USA made motor that is direct drive and comes wired with a foot pedal. This motor will start and stop in a dime.

Each wrapper comes with a motor brake so you can lock it in place and use it as a guide alignment tool.

Thanks for asking this question.

Here is a link to a video that shows off the break and guide alignment:
[flexcoat.com]

Flex Coat Company
Professional Rod Building Supplies
www.flexcoat.com

Darrel
Not sure exactly what you are looking for. American Tackle; PacBay; MudHole; any Batson distributor will sell you one of their extruded aluminum tracks. AmTak & Pac Bay share the same design. Any sewing machine motor will serve you well as a power source for wrapping - one with a rheostat in line and a foot pedal is much preferred. IMHO the chuck and drive wheels are the most important part and for that I would point you to the ALPS chuck - solid design and reasonably priced. Therefore I would lean towards the Batson Enterprises piece/parts to put together your wrapper. Another serious consideration in the way of motor would be a DC motor rather than AC motor. Do a search & you should find several posts by Roger Wilson as well as a host of photos.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/28/2017 03:33PM by Ken Preston.

Darrel,
Another thought is to make your own rod wrapper.

In a nutshell - a rod wrapper consists of the following:
Base
Rod supports - as many as are needed for the rods being wrapped. This will vary from 2- about 5 if wrapping very light and flexible rods.
Thread carriage or stand with a thread tension device or devices.
A power head that will consist of a device or chuck to hold the butt of the rod, and a motor to drive the chuck directly or through the use of a belt to drive the chuck.
A control device to control the speed and direction of the motor through either a hand dial, foot pedal or a combination of both.

The world is your oyster. Choose carefully and either purchase and or design and build your wrapper as you wish.

Since I have had the room, I have always made a one piece base for my own wrappers. Over the years, I have made various types of head units with various chucks and various motors using various control systems.

But, if I were to make a list of requirements for a power wrapper with respect to the power unit it would look something like this:
1. The chuck would hold the butt of the rod with 0 run out or wobble, would never let the butt go - unless directed to by the user, and would leave no marks on the butt of the rod.
2. The motor unit and drive system would be able to nicely control the speed of the chuck from 1/4 rpm to 1000 rpm with perfect control at every speed in between.
3. The drive system would be able to drive in either direction with equal speed control.
4. The drive system would be able to control the speed by either using a foot pedal or a dial so that the unit could also be used as a drying unit without changing motors, belts or anything else in the system.
5. The thread holding system would nicely hold the thread with no twists or catches, and be able to run from one end of the rod base to the other end without stopping or needing any readjustment.

Good luck