Why should I use thread finish?
I have cheap guides and the rod is there to do a job FOR ME
It is a nightmare cutting into and sanding old varnish off a blank, so why bother when something can be fixed well with thread and tape in combination

Food for thought for amateurs maybe, of course with high quality guides that should last years a solid permanent proper fixing would be best



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/27/2017 09:33AM by Tommy Bee.

Tape can come off and then your threads will unwrap.

I can agree, but maybe just a single coat of lite build (only enough to saturate the threads and not require a rod dryer) or a single coat of PermaGloss. Seems just as easy, less chance of coming undone in the middle of a good fish fight, and will last a few seasons. Then, will be super easy to remove and redo.

Just my opinion, but I am with you on a "beater" rod, just finished one for my brother.

Electrical tape can be wound extremely tightly mate, then ''loose''wrapped to fix - if cut with scissors properly after the fixing loose wrap it doesn't tend to unravel

I'm thinking thread underwhippings, then tape, then guide, then thread, then tape again.. My thinking is that the guide may move a little and flex more without the varnish so I want to protect the blank more than usual from the metal guide foot

I think it will work, I heed your warning/advice but I intend to try it
As I say the last thing I want with cheap guides that may be unreliable is to have to cut them off and sand off solid thread varnish. I am not experienced at rebuiilds yet and I know they are quite awful risky work

If the guide foot is flat with no burrs, the blank doesn't need to be protected from it. Thread, then tape, then thread and then more tape will likely take longer than just one overwrap of thread a coat of any epoxy or urethane of your choice.

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

As I see it you are risking nothing by trying it. I think your detailed plan, thread, tape, guide, thread, tape, will be heavier than traditional resulting in a slower recovery and less sensitivity, but if you think it works, it works. If not, go with thread and finish. It works very well.

For me, I just couldn't get past the appearance of the rod and it would ruin my fishing day. But that's me.

I am down with the tape idea, and may try. Would be a "simple, quick" repair method for times when you gotta get out fishing but you need a temp fix and dont have the time to wait for epoxy to cure.

But I agree with both Michael and Tom, that the time used to do multiple wraps and tape, and the weight overall will not equal an overall benefit. But maybe a nice tight wrap, and then a few TIGHT wraps of electrical tape may work perfect.

Anyone that has ever had to repair a guide that has been attached with electrical tape will tell you it's not a good idea and certainly not a permanent one. The sun and heat do bad things to it.

...........

^ And theres that... the heat alone on a hot day causes the adhesive to "gum up" and slip off itself.

Just don't want to dash anyones dreams....

Taping on guides is a fairly common practice for long distance tournament casting. But not with electrical tape.

A friend did lend me one of his rods for a tournament in Australia. He wrapped Minima guides onto the rods the evening before the event using tape. The tape held up during temperatures reaching over 100 degrees F. An advantage of the big rods (regarding taping) is the large tube diameter.

The tape does need to be stretched when wrapping and several turns made with the last couple not stretched. The finished product can be compact and tight, No thread is required.

[www.sealersales.com]

Don Becker

I'm not sure a foot or two of electrical tape is going to weigh much!?

I know this might ''weather'' and that very hot sun can hurt the glue on tape, but I will have threads to fall back on and a roll of tape in the tackle bag to re-apply

But wonderful things happen to very tightly wrapped electrical tape, almost as if it ''fuses'' into itself

Anyway just got the old glass blanks and they look fabulous, can't wait to start building

Not going to rush it, these will be fun

I'm not sure a foot or two of electrical tape is going to weigh much!?

I know this might ''weather'' and that very hot sun can hurt the glue on tape, but I will have threads to fall back on and a roll of tape in the tackle bag to re-apply

But wonderful things happen to very tightly wrapped electrical tape, almost as if it ''fuses'' into itself

Anyway just got the old glass blanks and they look fabulous, can't wait to start building

Not going to rush it, these will be fun

Tommy,
Save yourself the trouble of doing anything with your old rod.

Just go over to the big box store and buy a new rod for $10 and go fishing. The rods are there for you to purchase and it will take even less time to run to the store and pick up a new rod than wrapping even one guide with tape.

Good luck and good fishing.

But if you wish and once you have experience under your belt, you can strip a rod, put on a new grip, reel seat and guides - in a couple of hours if you wish. The only thing that is going to take longer is for the finish to dry after the guides have been taped on.

15 minutes to strip the rod of everything. 15 minutes to glue on a new preformed grip and reel seat. 30 minutes to tie on a set of guides. 10-15 minutes to apply finish and 8 hours to let the finish dry.



Good luck

I wish I was so goo I was that quick! I re-did 5 guides and a tip-top on my brothers Ugly stick, and it took me 4 hours. Course, it was double foot guides, two trim bands on each guide foot , all metallic thread, and that was a pain. Fun and came out great! Ready for a 10 year stint i hope!

roger wilson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Tommy,
> Save yourself the trouble of doing anything with
> your old rod.
>
> Just go over to the big box store and buy a new
> rod for $10 and go fishing. The rods are there
> for you to purchase and it will take even less
> time to run to the store and pick up a new rod
> than wrapping even one guide with tape.
>
> Good luck and good fishing.

It wasn't an ''old rod'' I was talking about in the slightest

Even 'Cheap' guides will last a long time! It makes no sense to me to fish with a rod where the guides are taped in place. The thought of this makes most rod builders cringe. Forget your 'quick build with easily changed guides' idea! You will have more problems with the tape attachment failing before the guides fail, resulting in more work and frustration, plus the rod will look like a piece of junk. The only advantage of your idea is you will not have to worry about anyone stealing your rods.
Norm

Norman,
My thoughts exactly.

Be safe

It was a good idea

There was no doubt about that, so no need to slate the @#$%& out of it

There is no such thing as a bad idea, everything is worth a try once if it means a rod can be rebuilt very easily indeed

HOWEVER I just tried it and no matter how hard and tight I taped the guide feet on, with them being so narrow there was too much movement in the guides

hi tommy...there was someone on this site from years ago who suggesred to wrap the guides on, put three coats of CP and just fish the rod..maybe give it another coat next year.if you need to move the guides, cut off the wraps and use some iso to clean up old CP, alot easier than cleaning e-poxy.

Tommy,
I have actually seen quite a few ice fishing rods build using epoxy and heat shrink tubing.
The guide is placed on the rod with a single wrap of masking tape about 1/8th of an inch wide.

The guide is coated with glue and then heat shrink tubing is slipped over the guide. Heat is applied and the tube is shrunk tight over the guide holding it in place.

Likely takes about 10 minutes to build a rod using this method.

Be safe