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Hi everyone, I am new to the board, read it alot but have not posted until now. I am looking at building my own rods instead of buying. I will be a cheaper Hook and Hackle kit to practice on. I have been looking real hard at the Sully rod wrapper. Has anyone used one and what do you think of it. Is there something better in the same price range? I am not interested in building a wrapper right now. Your recomendations are welcome.
Hi rainyday101,
I don't recommend spending over $150 for something you may not even like when you can get a basic wrapper from Hook & Hackle for a little over $30 complete with tensioner. With the money you'll save you can buy enough stuff to build several rods. I use the basic one like that and it is deluxe compared to what many use. I once tried a fancy motorized machine and I like the simple one better. I once talked to someone who works for Scott and she said she likes the simple one too.
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Joe
rainyday101;
The H&H kits are inexpensive but high quality. I mentioned to rainbowchaser that I might build some as Christmas gifts and after he cast my IM6 9' 3wt. he told me I'd have some very happy friends!
My first tensioner was made out of a mouse trap (found the plans in here) and it worked fine.
There are also a couple of rod building videos floating between members just getting started right now. Wait a couple of days and you may find out where it is.
P.S. Welcome aboard!!
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I feel more like I do now than I did when I got here!
Cactus AKA "Lucky Dog (Pirate Name)"
[This message has been edited by Jack Hise (edited 26 September 2005).]
I have a Sully wrapper, and for a manual wrapper, it is the top of the line. It has a built in tension spring that allows you to back up if you've made a mistake and still keep tension on the thread and you can also let go of the rod in the middle of a wrap and it won't "bird nest" on you. It is pricey, but I love mine. I don't do the type of wrapping to make a power wrapper worth buying (long underwraps or commercial type wrapping quantities), but the Sully is a terrific option for me. I would highly recommend one.
Please post info on mouse trap gizmo. The original thread seems to "be gone".
SonofMartin;
Sent you a photo too.
tyflier , I checked out Al Campbell's series from 1 - 12 , I read all 12 articles about rod building . Once again I am humbled by how lucky we were to have had Him here on FAOL His presence was such a gift to all of us . My problem is I cant get # 3 to work , I just get a bad page notice all the other articles work fine . Is this a bad link that JC should know about or is it just my puter which hates me .
Thanks
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I could be wrong , It seems unlikely , but I suppose it could happen.
gnu be;
It may be you! I just opened it here! It's about selecting componets, but if your buying a kit it wouldn't apply.
Your comments on Al are on the mark! But it so good to be able to go back to his wisdom still. Sort or like he's here guiding us. What a legacy.
Rod wrappers are nice things to have, but they are far from needed. I built/refinished quite a handful of rods without one. I only built a non motorised wrapper when I started to use silk and found the oils from my hands ruined the silk. My mentor, recently departed, built rods professionally all his life and never used one. He just sat in a comfotrable chair, held the rod in his hands and wrapped w/ his fingers. He was fast and GOOD too. Lots of the old timers never used one. I did find it handy to drop the spool into a coffee cup to allow it to feed thread w/o skittering accross the floor and under the furniture.
You can tension the thread by running it through a book, adding weight as needed, but I prefered to just use my fingers.
That said, using a non powered wrapper does speed things along a bit.
For a first rod, or even the second and third, I would probably recomend putting the money into the blank, components, etc.
AgMD
A cup and a thick book for setting tension works great for me after building over 100 rods.
I agree I also use a small shot glass to hold the thread and run the thread through a telephone book, and put a few books on top of the telephone book. It applies tension very well.
The Sully is about the best non powered wrapper out there and one of the few that handles silk thread well. A gpood investment if you are going to be wrapping rods in the future
splinter
Hey everyone thanks for the advice. Also thanks for offering to send me the rod wrapping video. I will wait on the video until I am ready to purchase and build the rod. Right now its fall in Wisconsin and getting quite cold at night. I am busy getting all the outside work done that I have been putting off all summer. This was my third year fly fishing smallmouth bass and panfish. Had so much fun I didn't get alot of yard work done!! This is also the second season on a custom river jon boat I built from scratch, and is it great in the shallow parts of the river.
I plan to build several rods starting with a cheaper Matrix kit from H&H. If I don't like it I will give it some young kid who wants to get started fly fishing. I plan to build all my rods, so I am probably going to purchase the Sully. The price is fairly reasonable, it comes with a video, and does not look to complicated.
Thanks to all who replied and tight lines.