I am excited to say, that I have now made my Rod Wrapper! I did not follow the directions to a T, but mostly. All I really did was make the bed a bit longer. I am still missing a few pieces, because I need to run to Ace, to pick up the right things, since they tend to have more trinkets than the Homeless Deskpot.

I am heading out to MudHole after work to pick up some thread, and epoxy, and get to practicing my wrapping skills! I like this design, but I am wondering the best way to create thread tension.

Here are a few pics. I am wondering what things I can do to make it better. Any suggestions?

[www.rodbuilding.org] Front View
[www.rodbuilding.org] Side 1
[www.rodbuilding.org] Side 2

looks good, make the spool holder rods longer, put 2 plastic washers an a coil spring with a wing nut on each one, it will work great , you might think of looking into a rod spring going up to run the thread through before you go to the rod, this will help when you stop an back up a little [ will not loose the wrap ] need some thing to hold rod down into the V blocks , I think could be wrong ,
I have one just like it almost , the difference is my thread holders are detached from what you have , with rubber on the bottom an 2 LBS lead to stop from moving , I like more room between the spools an the rod , every place the thread turns I put a guide or a tip top for the thread to rub on [ old ones ] what I have is one that came together over time, not planed , but it works great for me,

William Sidney
AK

If you were to mount a CRB (Mudhole) thread tensioner on the rear (vertical orientation, just drill a hole and insert the tensioner) of your moveable center piece, a little cup hanger hook on the leading edge of that movable wood piece, you will have a very easy to use tensioner. I used one like it for years, and it works fine, easier than the wing nuts.

Then mount two or more simple wooden dowels vertically on your rig, sized to accept thread spools, and you can change threads in an instant, and you can use any kind of spool, even spools that don't have solid ends on one side. Not limited to one size spool. Run the thread from your dowel spool holders to the tensioner, to the cup hook, then up to the blank. Very versatile and easy to use.

Just another option, one that worked for me for years before getting an up-level outfit that uses the cumbersome wing nut approach. I like the other features of the rig I have (basically a power wrapper without the motor) I have, so have kept the tensioners that came with it. But for a wooden rig like you have, you might consider the CRB.

The design and workmanship of your rig, especially the movable center piece, are exceptional, IMHO.

Wing nuts for sure and consider round earth magnets on either side of the spool attracting or set together opposing each other on one side with a wing nut (and nylon washer) for tension. A little bit cooler than a spring. What you've done Looks good, factory style.

Wow Earl! It looks great. I’m a newbie as well and built the same setup several months back. Without a doubt there are more experienced builders on the board that have better ideas than I on this rig up. But I’m constantly looking for a “better mousetrap” so I’ll offer an aftermarket suggestion you might consider before you drive your new ride away. Cut some narrow rings out of 2” PVC. Attach them vertically to the upper sides of the 1x4 V supports that face you. When you’re ready to epoxy the threads, just slide a long closet dowel or broom handle through these two rings, parallel to the blank, and now you have a support to rest/steady your hand while applying epoxy.
Lots of other ideas but part of the fun of this rod building endeavor is learning to build that better mousetrap yourself. Great start. Best of luck!!

PS. Does your wife know you’ll be doing your rod work on the kitchen table?

Looks real good. Nice work. I built basically the same thing. A couple of suggestions if I may?

First, I made my rod stands just like the ones you made, what I found was I had the bases too wide as it relates to the 90 degree angle. Meaning the length between where your adjustment screw goes through the base, and the vertical rod stand. With them that wide you pretty much have to turn the stand 180 degrees in order to get your thread station close to the stand. I ended up cutting mine down to 2 3/4" which gave me 2" to put the adjusting screw through. As there isn't really a lot of weight on the stands and you have the screw securing it, 2" is more than enough material to keep the stands steady.

I hope the above makes sense. Kind of hard to explain I guess. Just look at your wrapper and you'll see what I mean.

Second, I think you might find your thread stand to be a bit tall. I have a feeling you'll find it gets in your way. I made my thread spool holders horizontal. I just ran a piece of all thread through the block, putting nuts and washers against the wood on both sides. Then I got a couple of small springs some teflon washers, metal washers, and wing nuts to use to hold the thread spools on the all thread, and the springs to set the tension on the spool. I used #10 all thread rod. It's about the perfect size for the center hole in a 100 yard spool of thread. At least it's the perfect size for Pro Wrap and Fish Hawk thread. Others spools may have different sized holes in them.

Third. I wanted to be able to secure the rod in the stands some how, so I put two 1/4" diameter dowels (I used steel rod) in each rod stand. I put them 1/2" in from the sides, and 2" down from the bottom of the V cut. I got some elastic hair bands from a craft store and just hook one end on one dowel, take the band up over the rod blank, and hook the other end of the band to the other dowel. I've also just used elastic banding and cut and tied the ends together to make a loop. The length of the band is going to determine how much tension is put on the rod blank. It helps keep the blank in place while you're wrapping.

I also place rods in the wrapper when doing static testing for guide placement. When doing static placement I use I guess they're called rod wraps? Basically nylon straps that have velcro on the ends. I put the straps over the butt of the rod and the dowels to hold the butt secure. You need the butt securely anchored when static testing, and the above description has worked well for me. It also works well if you get the urge to test a rod or blank using the CCS method.

Fourth, you may want to install an eyelet in the base of your thread station to run your thread through. On the wrapper I built I ran the thread from the spool to a small metal eyelet on the base, then up to the rod. I didn't install a thread tension rod. When I needed to back up the rod to fix an errant wrap I just turned the thread spool backwards as I turned the rod backwards. Worked well for me

One last suggestion ...... you may want to make your bed longer. If not, once you start wrapping a rod I think you'll find that a separate rod stand to hold the butt of the rod can be a pain in the butt. At least it was for me and for where I do my wrapping. You may not have that same kind of problem though.

Anyhow ...... based on how well your wrapper looks I have no doubts you're going to be making some nice rods in short order. Nice job.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/28/2017 06:18PM by David Baylor.

Thanks everyone for the replies, suggestions, and comments!

I have been a bit busy, so it took me a while to get back. I finally got around to finishing my rod wrapper, and here are some pics!

[www.rodbuilding.org] - Eye and Spools with springs
[www.rodbuilding.org] - Wifes hair ties being put to better use ;-)
[www.rodbuilding.org] - First ever wrap with silver trim band!

And if anyone is curious, it is not a super expensive rod or anything. It is an Ugly Stick, but probably one of my all time favorite "beater" poles, I take it everywhere. It has 2 broken guides, and I decided to use it as one of my practice poles. I used American tackle rod guides, since they almost perfectly match the stock ones. The original wrap has painted gold trim bands, but I figure it will be a little "upgrade" if I just go ahead and redo all the rod guides, and add silver thread instead of paint.

Thanks for looking!

P.S. How do i edit my pictures so they are all "right side up"?