In the past, I have used masking tape to make up shims on the rod blank to fit into the real seat. I was wondering what other people are using.
Any other suggestions. What are others using?
ive only built 1 bamboo rod, restored 1 and now building another rod… i used # 6 silk thread to shim the blanks to the reel seat… it goes on more evenly than paper or tape, doesnt slide up or down and ya can get a tighter more dead center fit…
I’ve heard that sheetrockers tape is better than masking tape, so I’ll try that next build. Masking tape has always worked ok though but then I make the shim in three or four sections, fitting each one and then making sure I fill the spaces with plenty of expoxy. Not lost a seat since I quit using string.
Cheers,
MontanaMoose
I’ll second the Drywall Tape The little holes in it absorb the Rod Bond so much better
If the little holes are absorbing the epoxy, it is not ding it"s job…bonding the reel seat. If you use enough to fill all the holes, you are using about 3 times as much as needed and adding unecessary weight. I’ll stick with tape…in 20 + years of rodbuilding, not one failure that I am aware of…
Brad
I use graphite arbors. Put them on the blank oversize then turn on the lathe to fit the reel seat. I have never been a fan of masking tape or drywall tape under reel seats.
On the reelseats I make for bamboo rods I just make the reel seat to fit the blank without shims.
If there is very little room (a couple of wraps) then fiberglass mesh tape (drywall). If there is enough room, a polyurethane arbor for sure.
Thank you for all of your responses.
I am somewhat limited in that I do not have a lathe.
As far as polyurethane arbors – where would one find these nd then how do you fit them?
i dont shim the whole thing with string… i shim it at the mouth, the middle & the butt… the rest gets the epoxy… havent had any problems so far but aint built many rods either… still new to rod building…
When you talk about sheet rockers tape, do you mean that mesh like tape as opposed to the paper tape?
That sounds good bugman, not tried that but then I’ve not had any probs with the masking tape arbors…the thread method sounds like the same way I do it with the tape only it’s not thread. Expoxy to fill the spaces. Not had one come apart yet and some are 28 years old.
Yes, the sheetrockers tape I’m referring to is the mesh kind and I think it’s fiberglass. And now that I think of it, I got that idea from someone right here in FAOL.
If I remember correctly, the advantage of the rocker’s tape (the fiberglass kind) is that it becomes permanently bonded to the blank and becomes a solid and I would think machineable arbor,whereas the masking tape, if not applied and expoxied properly may loosen in time. But that hasn’t ever happened to me. Just with string but now I realize I must not have done it properly.
MontanaMoose
I use the 2 inch paper packaging tape that you moisten. I build up a paper tube by cutting to length the paper and using water to bond the layers together. Then I epoxy the tube to the blank and the reel seat to the paper tube. Haven’t had any problems.
good idear ya got there… im gona try some fiberglass tape on the next one i build just to compair it with the string method… sounds like its easier & faster…
I just use masking tape to make bushings. It seems to work fine. No problems.
Greg
I use 1/2" wide masking tape as shims, I leave 3/4" wide gaps between each masking tape shim. I attach the reel seat with quick set expoxy thickened with filler (micro ballons) to the conistancy of toothpaste, making sure to fill the gap area full of epoxy. I rotate the rod by hand a few minutes to insure even distribution of the epoxy.
Keep in mind it’s not the shims that hold the reel seat in place, it’s the epoxy/filler that accumulates in the gaps. Consider this when you layout the shim spacing, I like to place a gap at each end of the reel seat to unsure a solid plug of epoxy will form there.
The light weight ‘micro-ballon’ filler makes the epoxy stronger, improves it’s gap filling and keeps the weight down.
I use the quick set epoxy just in case I ever need to take reel seat off. It breaks down with a heat gun very easily.
Tell me more about the micro-balloons / filler.
Check this out regarding masking tape bushings:
http://www.rodbuilding.org/photopost/showphoto.php/photo/8017/cat/507/page/1
Greg
Micro-balloons is a brand name for an epoxy filler used in model airplane construction. The material is a white powder made from tiny hollow glas spheres, about the consistancy of flour. It is mixed with epoxy to form a thick paste. The filler makes the epoxy much stonger, more flexible and improves flow. Hardened epoxy can be cut and shaped with wood working tools. There are several brand names for similar materials. Note: Hydrophobic fumed silica (the stuff we call ‘dry fly crystals’ also makes an excellent filler.
Here are some sources…
http://www.epoxyproducts.com/2_fillers.html
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/WTI0001P?I=LXHZ15&P=8
Greg’s post showing the blown out reel seat is a good example of ‘How NOT to’ for masking tape shims. Notice how the 2" wide tape covers the whole entire width of the reel seat, this left very little room for the epoxy paste. I don’t see anywhere that the epoxy can bond to both the rod blank and the reel seat. This type of application it prone to fail since it’s depending on the inferior adhesive in the masking tape to do the work.
My method only uses the masking tape shims as a temporary ‘mold’ for casting epoxy/filler bushings. The strength comes from a continious bond of epoxy/filler from rod blank to reel seat. I use 1/2" wide tape leaving at least 3/4" wide spaces between the tape wraps. It’s the space between the shims that fills with adhesive paste making a ‘cast-in-place’ bushing of epoxy/filler. Leaving a 1/4 space at each end insures the tape shims are encapsulated with epoxy for a watertight seal.