First Cane Refinish Questions

[skondolf]

Well I'm almost at the point of refinishing the rod and am just about ready to order parts. I do have a friend who has a spare butt section for this rod and if I can get it from him I plan on making the full 9' rod and cutting down the 2nd butt section to make a banty. I think I'm going to wrap with Pearsall's silk - I know some have suggested this is more difficult but I want to give it a try.

One seemingly simple question - will one spool of Pearsalls Gossamer be enough to finish a 9' rod with snake guides? I'm wondering as I know the silk is smaller diamater than nylon and will take more wraps and the Pearsalls spools hold less. As I have to order the silk I want to make sure I get enough.

I guess I could always use the leftover on some Wets/Flymphs.

[herefishy]

One more thing I learned when I was refinishing my SB290, you can set the grip and reel seat in place, but don't cement them until you have the guides on, not before(obvious if you think about it, but I didn't). Same thing with the tip top. I'm being a little more careful about it with this new rod.

[Shaky Wadr]

I recently did a 7ft - 6in two tip rod with one spool of pearsalls silk. Thats 14 guides. Still had quite a bit left. You should be fine if you don't have too many do-overs.

[hackleman57]

The most common silk thread to use, which is they type we carry, is 3/0, which is half the diameter of regular nylon "A" thread. This means that you'll have to put twice as much on each wrap. Nylon is definitely easier for "newbies." We sell FishHawk silk, which is made by YLI in Japan. Some people find the Gossamer difficult to use because it is most commonly found in 6/0, which is very fragile.

You can put a hand rubbed finish on the rod in either satin or glossy. If so, you won't have to mess with a dip tube. PVC is fine if you choose to build a tube. The "pros" hoist the blank out of the tube slowly, just an inch or two per minute!!

I'd first try to clean up the old grip before bothering with a new one.

I always, ALWAYS, say "don't make yourself crazy!" You can study details and get opinion for months, and all it does is inhibit you from starting because you're afraid something won't be quite right. Build the rod, learn from your mistakes, form your own opinions and then give it another try!

There is no perfect way!

Ron -

[skondolf]

Thanks everyone for all the replies.

Ron I agree, I sometimes drive myself crazy asking, asking, asking but I guess that's my nature. It also serves me well in my job so I guess it just spills over. I guess I just want to make sure I'm following a "tried-n-true" process and look for consensus among "you guys" who've done this before.

I should be just about at the point to order necessary hardware and finish this puppy up. I'll be sure to post pics when I'm done.

Thanks again.

[sanctyphillia]

some quick thoughts to add to the excellent advice.

Don't worry about the silk at all, use the gossamer 6/0. perversely I find it easier to do a good wrap with gossamer than nylon. Nylon, because of its diameter leaves a visible bump, no matter how well you trim and slip the tag end. Get a burnishing tool (I love my agate one from GW). It makes the thread lie flat and tight.

As for finish, skip the varnish and use a rub-on like Tru-Oil. You have a very low probability of getting the dip and extraction rate correct on your first rod, whereas the rub-ons are almost impossible to screw up. For more insight, read the following pages on bamboo rod finishing...http://www.bamboorodmaking.com/index.html