The thread is standard nylon thread. The area with the problem is the trim band finishing off a tiger wrap on the butt section. I wish I knew how to upload a picture to show what happened better. It is an MB 709 IM blank and I just could not stand the ridges on the blank so I sanded it down to get rid of most of the ridges. You can still feel the ridges with your finger nail. Started with a
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I had sanded the whole blank. It was a North Fork blank that still had the ridges from the manufacturing process. I had used a tack rag but it left a residue and I wiped the blank down with the alcohol to get rid of the resin left from the tack cloth. I was wondering if I should have done another coat of sealer but I had saturated the threads pretty liberally and have gotten away with only u
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I was finishing a rod today and had a dark spot show up on the trim band after applying a coating of epoxy thread protector. The thread used was green Fish Hawk, nylon A . I used one coat of Flex Coat thread sealer and one coat of Rod Dancer Thread Master. The dark spot was not showing prior to putting on the epoxy. The size of the spot is is approximately 1/4' long by an 1/8" wide. Th
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What do companies like St, Croix, Bass Pro, etc. use on the rod blanks to give them a gloss finish and how do the do it? Thanks Sam Ledbetter
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Thanks for the help and recommendations! I was able to sand down the old finish without getting into the threads(had my fingers crossed the whole time) and apply the new finish. Time will tell whether or not you can mix or match thread coats but so far so good. No fish eyes or incompatibility issues when applying the new protector. Sam PS- My wife had the same comment about just using th
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I have a rod I did a thread wrap on but was never really happy with how I applied the rod finish on the thread. I had put too much thread coating on and it makes the wrap look bulbous. My plan is to sand down the old finish to stream line it and recoat. The problem is I can't remember what thread finish I used when I built the rod. Can I recoat Flex Coat over Thread Master or visa versa?
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Thanks everyone for their response. I think I will try David's s suggestion with Norm's idea about sanding a small section to start and see what happens. I will attempt it very carefully. It is just a curious thing that NFC sands some blanks and not others from what they told me. Because I like the smoother look with out the hassle of having to sand the rods myself, I will stick to already sa
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If I wanted a smooth finish on the blanks but did not want to sand them, is there a coating that I could use on the blank to smooth out the finish without doing much damage to the performance of the rod?
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One of the rods is a Delta (SJ-705) and the other is an IM ( MB-709), I was expecting a smooth finished rod blank and that is what threw me. Sanding is an option I guess but as others have indicated, maybe not something I really want to try if I can avoid it.
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The blanks are Mag Bass and Delta. What got me is my previous blanks from them have a smooth finish as have all the rest of blanks I have ever bought from other suppliers. It just seems odd to me that they come this way. Sam
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I bought a couple of rod blanks from NFC and they have parallel ridges running all the way up the blank. It is as it the blanks were not finished completely. My other blanks from then have all been smooth. Has any one else encountered this on their blanks? Sam
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I ordered my blanks on 11/30 and heard back them that the blanks will ship sometime in mid to late January. I ordered the Delta version. Sam
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I am working on cross wrap that I am trying to close but I am ending with too much space between the designs to fill in the space between them towards the butt of the rod before I run out of room towards the tip. I can't get enough thread laid down towards the back to be able to burnish out the threads to fill the gaps. I used the average circumference over the pattern length to set my center
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I just used some TM1 today and was getting a milky appearance as it cured. I was wondering what was causing this as well. Still waiting for the material to dry and see what happens. When I got my first couple of rod building kits, TM1 was include as material to use to cover the threads. It has been a couple of years ago and the material seem to beholding up OK. The rods get used about two
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Yes, that is very true. I have been teaching myself this craft of rod building and thread art as I go along. Getting better but I know there are tricks of the trade that kind make it quicker and results more pleasing.
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I am doing fairly standard cross wraps. I am copying various patterns from Dale Clemens' book "Custom Rod Thread Art" and other patterns I can get off the internet. the patterns have as few as 40 cross overs and as many as 96. Sam
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A problem I run into when doing thread art on my rods is that the threads become loose towards the ends of the wrap in both direction and in completing the wrap. The thread tension seems to be good at first but as I add more thread, to the pattern, it falls apart until the thread starts to bunch up. It occurs at both ends. I am using more layers of masking tap on the butt end of the wrap tha
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Thanks all for help Sam
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I need some advice on how to improve the look of my thread work when using light colors, especially yellows and whites. On decorative wrapping I know about using a white under layer but it is when I get to the rod guides that I have issues. No matter how tight I try to wrap the thread together and burnish the bejesus out of the thread, the dark colors still bleed through. Since I am building
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Thanks for your help Sam
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I have bought some extra spinning rod blanks and was thinking about turning them into casting rods. I got me wondering how much if any difference there in the design and construction between the two. For example: is a medium power, fast casting rod blank the same as a medium power, fast spinning rod blank? Sam
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FYI I tried the nail polish in a test run and it was a total failure. The moment I added the nail polish to the thread epoxy, the epoxy started to gum up and turn into a gooey mass. I was able to take a tooth pick and pull off about 80% of the epoxy off the test blank. Thanks for all of the comments Sam Ledbetter
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I will try it on test when I build my next rod and let you know what happens. Sam Ledbetter
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I was wondering if anyone has tried using finger nail polish for marbling. I have been using Testor paints and having decent results. I thought about using finger nail polish as well since you can get some pretty wild colors. Thanks in advance Sam Ledbetter
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I am working on a rod and trying to figure out how to wrap a "closed pattern". Is there a secrete to getting the spacing right in order to close the pattern? I want to double the pattern in the space I am working in and still keep the pattern square. If I just reduce the distance between the centers, then I end up having a mashed diamond instead of a square. Any help will be ap
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Go to the below website and look under the Maltese falcon how to for E.D. Ehler pattern. The website also has cross wrap patterns [] Sam Ledbetter
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This pattern listed below from Hector Rojas at . He has put many, many different pictures with instructions on his facebook pager under the above web site. He deserves many kudos for what he has done. Saint Johns cross instructions Regards Sam Ledbetter
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THANKS All ! I will try your suggestions and see what happens. Sam Ledbetter
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The thread color usually determines the color but is there away to make the tiger wrap multicolored? Thanks in advance.
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I will get another wrap done with the mono and post it in a couple of days. Sam
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