A quick guide question.... and wrapping question

[Harebear]

WHat's the best place to start. do I work from tip top to stripping guides or reverse, butt to tip? Also is there any reason why I can't wrap all the guides and finish the wraps later. Reason being , I'm waiting for some color preserver from Hook and Hackle, and it hasn't arrived yet.

[Gemrod]

Start at the butt and work towards the tip. Then you can get used to the wrapping technique as the rod continues to get smaller and more difficult.
Also you can sight down the rod from the butt and see that your guides are in line and adjust them as you go.

Go ahead and wrap them all. You will probably eyeball them and tweak one last time anyway before you start applyiing the cp and finishing them.

Gemrod

[Harebear]

Can you adjust the guides after you have finished wrapping them, or do you hav to remove the thread and do it again if it's misalighned?

[Bugsy]

Although there is no reason why you couldn't work from the smaller guides to the larger guides, I always work butt to tip.

Yes, you can tweak the guides after they are wrapped. Just use a smooth utensil or smooth thumbnail against the foot of the guide. Slow, but firm, pressure will move the guide as you like. Don't try to adjust the guides after color preserver is applied.

As you've probably figured, you will want to wrap all your guides before starting finish application.

[AgMD]

No reason you can't begin and end as it seems convenient to you. Yes , you can wrap 'em all and finish them later. A suggestion, When I wrap guides I wrap all the feet on one side , say the up hill side, first , then I flip the blank around and wrap all the feet on the other side. For me this has two advantages. I can do all my wrapping working on the left side of the foot which I prefer. Second , the wraps will be wound in opposite directions on any given guide. Thought being that any twisting forces will counter each other. Is this really important? Don't know, but it works for me.
AgMD

[cross creek]

I do snakes from tip to butt, because I want to be in a good mood and not have tired fingers (arthritis) when I wrap the smallest guides. Doing this from the tip top down, as I go along, seems easier and results in less adjustment after wrapping (a primary cause of frayed threads, "nubbies" with silk thread, and tag ends slipping out. On two piece and longer three piece rods (with stripper on same section as grip), I go from stripper to ferrule on the bottom section to ensure that the stripper is aligned with the reel seat. I do detail work (ferrules, cork check, keeper (if one is used), signature wraps, and tipping) before I do the guides, just so I am fresh and the guides don't get knocked out of alignment or wraps rubbed while I am concentrating on detail work. I like to put a coat of varnish on each section right after I finish wrapping and aligning it to lock the thread in place.