Silly me thought crisis management was behind me post retirement, but it seems only the venue has changed. Very shortly after applying the first coat of epoxy finish the issue de jour raised it's ugly, immediately time critical head and I was off to deal with it. You know what happened. Though the guide wraps' finish were perfect, the ferrule wraps, which included grape vine thread work, had two footballs each. Worse yet, a set of six, small diamond files I would have used have de-materialized and undoubtedly taken up residence in an alternate universe.. So, it was off to the the garage for sandpaper when I saw one of the wife's nail files in the kitchen (the cardboard type with an aggressive grit on one side and less so on the other) and though what the heck, give it a try.

The good news is the wife's nail file was the perfect size and grit for the task. Who knew? Mounted the rod in the lathe, spun it at a quick rate, and applied only light pressure to the spinning wrap with the nail file. Problem solved. I doubt it would work as well on a guide wrap football, but for a ferrule wrap football it will be the tool of choice if there is a next time.

Now the suspense is what nasty problem totally unrelated to rod building might arise when I apply the nextl coat of epoxy.

Donald,
If you have a foot ball on a rod from epoxy application; it is simply a case of too much finish being applied.

Less finish - equals no foot ball.

I baby sit the rod for the first hour of drying time. If a football is going to form, it will generally form in the first 5-10 minutes of drying time. If I find that a football is forming, I will apply a bit of gentle heat to thin the curing finish and use a brush to wick off the excess finish. But, a better choice is to not apply so much finish in the first place.

Be safe

GEt used to putting as much epoxy on at one time. Most of the better factory rod finishes, which are unfortuantely better than most custom rod builder finishes - they apply heavy coats. IT's a matter of knowing the epoxy you are using, how much is the right amount, how fast it spins. YOu dont' get any bonus points for puttig a lot of thin coats, all that matters is what you end up with. REduce time spent on epoxy by practicing putting more on, while not acrificing quality.

Donald,
I always enjoy reading your post in general, your writing style in particular. If attempting to create a thick “lens” on thread wraps, there seems to be a relatively fine line between applying the correct amount and too much finish. I personally prefer the appearance of a thinner coat of epoxy and it reduces weight where needed most as well. But most people I have dealt with are used to and prefer what equates to a minimum of two heavy coats of high-build finish. The only time I have experienced a football was when testing to see how much finish could be applied at one time. Now I know and have no problems. For anyone, it really is a simple matter of following Roger’s suggestions, especially the baby-sitting aspect.

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

If you got footballs, then you applied to much of that particular epoxy to the wrap. Generally the higher the viscosity of the epoxy the more you can apply before it will "football." The lower the viscosity, the less you can apply before it "footballs."

............

In my newbie experience, watching the rod for awhile helps quite a bit. I use a medium viscosity finish and I tend to put thin coats on. At one point I will stop the dryer and let the finish settle a bit then remove excess. Once that is done, put the dryer back on. I havent stopped it more than once as it seems that doing that removes any extra that I may have put on. My footballs have diminished greatly since my first build.

If you are using a 9 rpm turner it is that the speed will not hold the amount of finish you are putting on
If you can not speed it up -- Put the finish on Get all the guides coated ---- Then stop the turner and with guides - LEFT or Right - let the finish drip of - Excess finish - Then give the rod a 180 turn several times buy hand - then turn it on again
OR
Put put on a LIGHT COAT so it does not football If using a heavy finish you also maybe better with a light and two think coats As Billy says a lot of finish needs a quicker turner or ya get footballs

Bill - willierods.com

Bill did the period key break on your keyboard or are you just fundamentally against using them?

...Anywho, I would guess that higher rpm would CAUSE a football. The faster it turns the more centrifugal force that is applied, no?

Randy,
One of the reasons that I apply finish to a very fast turning rod.
Easy to get the correct amount of finish on the rod when the rod is spinning fast.

Good luck

Randy, I would have thought the same thing until I got a power wrapper recently. Actually, the main reason I got the power wrapper is so I could turn the rod faster while applying finish.

I've only done one rod with it thus far so I may be completely crazy here, but it seems that the finish flattens out and spreads a bit. I know it doesn't make sense, but I applied finish to a small decorative band wrap on the butt and watched it for several seconds. Maybe it was just wick-king into the adjacent thread, but it sure appeared to flatten out to me.

Then again, I am sure what Roger mentioned has something to do with it as well. My hands are a little shaky, and the faster spinning rod has made it easier for me to keep a light touch. I'm still trying to get the right turning speed for the rod though. Pretty happy with the results of the wraps on the initial build though. A little more practice and I'll be as happy as a pig in mud.

roger wilson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Randy,
> One of the reasons that I apply finish to a very
> fast turning rod.
> Easy to get the correct amount of finish on the
> rod when the rod is spinning fast.
>
> Good luck

Yeah, that's my favorite technique as well. I love it also for getting nice crisp edges. One of the best reasons for a power wrapper in my opinion. But I've always set my Alps on the slowest speed for drying. Maybe I'll slwitch it up and see if there's any improvement. I've got 4 rods with paint on them. One more on its way (turned out to be defective). Once I have it painted, then it's clear coat time and build time! I'll try on one of those and see how it goes.

Edit: didn't read David's post until after writing this one. As stated here, I agree it's one of the best reasons to get one!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/30/2017 11:28AM by Randy Weakley.

hay Randy -- did I dot all my I's and cross all my T's Is that badge reading - printing Police ? LOL

Bill - willierods.com

Ha ha! I sent you an email on an unrelated topic...when you get a chance.

Reply sent Randy

Bill - willierods.com