The first few rods I did, I used nylon ( on graphite) and wound them with the spool in a cup , using my fingers to apply tension. Worked fine. But when I started to rebuild cane using silk I found that my fingers would fray the silk, and no matter how well I washed my hands, I would end up w/ dirty sweaty silk. Not nice. Out of need I built a wrapping rack and used an off the shelf tensioner. Better, but the tensioner would "stick" resulting in uneven tension and headaches. I now use a home built tensioner. The spool sits over a threaded rod , washers on top of that , a spring on top of that, another washer, and a wing nut. Simple, adjustable, and keeps my sweaty paws off the silk.
The alcohol lamp to singe the thread, and a burnishing tool, finish the job. DO NOT use a butane lighter to singe. Sooty and too hot.
AgMD