I have been using a wooden hand wrapper for the last 8 years. The thread tension is my own homemade device and I have some issues with it. I have to move everything and setup for each guide wrap and cross-wraps are difficult with the handle on , especially if I'm doing a full grip. I am looking into upgrading but not sure about a power wrapper or some kind of newer setup.I mostly do rod repairs, but this last year I've built nearly a dozen rods for friends and family. Not a large volume of business but I seem to be getting busier as word of mouth spreads.I have looked at the CRB system which has the ability to hand wrap or power wrap.I was wanting to get opinions from the group on pros and cons of the various choices. ALPS,Forecast,AT,Renzetti, CRB or others.I don't mind spending the money, but I would like to make a more informed purchase. Thanks in advance for your insight.

Send me an e-mail, I might have something of interest.

The Alps chuck is worth its weight in gold. My next purchase will be a Renzetti, depending on money. Flex Coat has a nice one, but I have no experience with it. There selling point would be the slip chuck. Don't waste money on the upgraded AT chuck as I never could get it to hold with out tape and rubber bands.

Alps= Great wrapper, Upgraded chuck {about} the best out there, Make sure you get the {Slide Adjustment} on the 3 rod supports!!! The spring loaded one's just don't work well at all!! with any small dia rod tips!!! Tell them to swap them out!! [www.getbitoutdoors.com] You can see in this photo the first rod support is slide adjustment the next 2 are spring adjustment, [www.getbitoutdoors.com] You don't want the spring one's!! They cost the same. And of coarse you will get the extra base for full length 4' + 4' = 8' Cheers and tight lines!!! Jaa



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/27/2017 06:38AM by Jay Dubay.

In addition to the other units mentioned - think about the use of some of the excellent "Taig" machine tool parts.

Taig makes excellent machine tool and lathes and parts. in particular, the headstock and the chucks that fit on the head stock are top quality at a reasonable price.

A frequent concern by many users of power wrappers is the concern about a chuck properly holding the butt of the rod. If you check out the various Taig chucks, you will find them to be very well made of high quality and a selection of various jaws available to meet the various needs of the rod builder.

[www.taigtools.com]

[www.taigtools.com]

[www.taigtools.com]

[www.taigtools.com]

[www.taigtools.com]

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The following picture is the current power head that I use on my current power wrapper. This head stock consists of two pieces of nylon, 2 - 1/2 inch ball bearings to hold the shaft, a 1/2 inch keyless chuck with a 1/2 inch attached shaft, a 1/2-3/4x16 shank to hold the Taig chuck and finally the 3 inch Taig chuck with the soft aluminum jaws to hold the rod. The chuck is powered by a DC motor that is inside the pvc pipe in the lower portion of the assembly. The motor and shaft are connected by an XL cogged belt running on XL cogged pulleys for non slip operation.

[www.rodbuilding.org]

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Here is a picture of the new improved Alps head stock with its Taig like chuck and jaws. The head stock is essentially the same as the Taig Headstock. In this case, I have modified the head stock and pulleys to accomodate a DC motor and the use of XL cogged pulleys and belt to drive the head stock shaft. Again, an excellent product found on the Alps power wrapper:

[www.rodbuilding.org]

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Here is a picture of the new Renzetti power wrapper with a modified head stock to accomodate a DC motor. Note that the chuck used on this wrapper is essentially the Taig Chuck with the soft aluminum jaws shown above:
[www.rodbuilding.org]

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Here is a picture of my lathe which has one of the 3 inch Taig chucks mounted on it with the 3 -full circle aluminum jaws mounted to better hold the work piece in question. Also note the 3 ball bearing steady rest that is locked securely in place to hold the work piece in question. In the past, I have used 3-5 of these same steady rests to hold rods when I am turning the grip on a rod where the grip has been glued in place on the blank and then the entire assembly spun at high speeds to facilitate the shaping of the grips. The solid lock down and the ball bearing support is essential for a sucessful implementation of this sort of a full lenght rod lathe.

[www.rodbuilding.org]

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All of the afore mentioned posts about the selection of a wrapper with an excellent - headstock and chuck are right on, since the head stock, and chuck, and its ability to properly center and continue to hold without marking the grip is an essential part of a very good rod wrapper.

Do your homework and make your selection that will do your jobs successfully.

Good luck

David,
Do your homework as you search for the perfect tool for you and your needs.
In particular, if you are going to purchase a power wrapper, be sure to purchase one with the ability to vary the speed with great control from 1/2 rpm to its top speed with accuracy.

There are some wrappers on the market that have less than perfect speed control, so research your products before you make the purchase.

Good luck

David, if you think you may end up turning grips, then I think a power wrapper would be a good choice. You can still wrap by hand, on a power wrapper. Simply position the rod so the butt isn't in the chuck, or even more simple, just open the jaws of the chuck so they don't touch the butt of the rod.

If you need more tension, to keep the rod from moving if you stop in the middle of a wrap, than the rollers provide ..... you can tighten the chuck on the butt of the rod, and disconnect the chuck's drive belt. I've found that to be more than enough to keep the rod from rotating backwards. If you need even more resistance than that, the simple addition of a couple of well placed dowel pins in one of the rod stands, and an elastic hair band will do the trick.

As far as a hand wrapper that can be upgraded to a power wrapper goes .... while the CRB equipment appears to be easily and pretty affordably upgraded, I'm not a fan of the rod rest style. I built a hand wrapper with the V block type rod rest and it works fine, but you can't adjust them verticallyt. Do you really need vertical adjustment? Probably not, but it sure is nice to have the option, if so needed.

Pac Bay makes an RW-HW that one of the board sponsors, Utmost Enterprises offers. It uses the components of Pac Bay's power wrapper, but is a hand wrapper that can be upgraded to power if so desired. While I don't know how easily or costly upgrading it to power would be, I think it would be far superior to the CRB equipment, were the CRB upgraded to power. I'm not saying the CRB wouldn't be a fine option. It would be less costly to convert. but if you were to need lathe type equipment in the future, the CRB system isn't going to cut it.

Also, as others have mentioned concerning the chuck, were you to choose a power wrapper. I have only used two chucks (still pretty much a newbie) on my power wrapper. (I have a Pac Bay RW-3L) The black nylon chuck that came with the wrapper I bought is ........... adequate. But I found myself wanting to turn grips, and needed a chuck that I felt was much better suited to the task. As such, replaced that chuck with the Alps chuck, and am extremely happy that I did. It far superior to the stock chuck in ever aspect, and was money well spent.

Take a look at Utmost's web site. I think you'll like what you find there. And a word about Utmost themselves ..... and I mean no disrespect to any of the other board sponsors, I have used a couple of them and am very happy with their service, but to me, Utmost is on a different level.

Carol and the people at Utmost, are phenomenal. Absolutely out of this world !!!

David D,
As David B pointed out, you have lots of choices so do your homework and make your purchases after learning about, and verifying the working action of the particular product that you wish to purchase.

David B points out the ability to hand wrap doing a couple of things to let you do it with the power wrapper.

However, I would also like to suggest that really the only reason to hand wrap, is that one can not get the control that one wishes to have when one power wraps.

But, fear not, there are options for you.


I suggest that the main reason that folks who have a power wrapper, but continue to wrap by hand is that the power wrapper does not give them the control that they wish to have.

Thus, the acquisition of a wrapper with a power system and control system that gives you sub 1 rpm control is important if you wish to have the control with a power wrapper as you do when hand wrapping.

Good luck

I would not want to turn grips in the same room as doing wraps and epoxy finishes. I'm sure there are some who do it successfully, but I don't know how they keep it clean enough.

I have a small lathe that I use for turning cork grips and shaping. I keep it out in the separate side of the basement to keep the dust out of my finishing area. My use for a wrapper would be primarily for guide wraps and cross-wrap butt wraps. I have a separate dryer and finishing stand that works for when I am applying finish and drying. I do agree with Roger that I do want the control to slow down for thread wrapping. This gives the ability to make sure the threads are packed tight just as hand wrapping does. Most of these look like they have a rheostat combined with a foot pedal, but the website info for each does not specify the lowest speed. Thanks again.

Michael, you are definitely right in thinking it would be a heck of a chore to keep a room you turned grips in, clean enough to do wrap finishing in the same room. I pretty much have to do it, so I just do a thorough cleaning of the room, then let the room sit for a day before I do wraps and finish work. I don't turn a lot of grips though. If I did I'd set up a separate room. Cleaning my rod wrapper after turning a grip, is the easiest part of the cleaning process.

David, as far as how slow you can get the wrapper to turn using the rheostat and foot pedal ........... 3 - 4 RPM would be my guess. I will say that the wrap motor makes a rather audible humming sound when set to low speeds. I don't know for a fact if that has any ill effects on the equipment, but I did have a rheostat go bad recently, and I have only had the wrapper a little less than a year. And having only built 3 rods with it, in that time.

Pac Bay will warranty it as soon as I send the defective one back (I need to get off my butt and do that lol) but it is something of a concern. In the mean time, as I needed to finish some carbon fiber grips I was building, I ordered a replacement rheostat from Utmost Enterprises. Prior to installing the new rheostat, the speed didn't stay consistent. Since installing the new one, the speed at low settings is staying consistent, but the wrap motor still makes the loud humming noise. Time will tell how durable the unit is.

Roger seems to have the deal with the DC drive motors he uses. And if I built more than the few rods I do, I would be seeking his assistance in putting together a drive system like the one he uses.