… teach an old dog a new trick?!?
I’d always cut little strips of masking tape to hold the guides on the blank for wrapping, but, in reading through Al Campbells tips, he suggests holding the guides in place with cotton elastic thread. Whoa!! So much quicker, and neater, and straighter! Wish I’d tried that many blanks ago!
What’s that old thing? “Try it, you’ll like it”. You really will!
Trouts don’t live in ugly places
Betty, I didn’t learn that trick by reading AC’s tips. I was looking for a way to hold single foot guides in place, seen the stuff at Wally’s and thought I’d try it.
You must hold the point of the single foot to the rod when the wrap is started. If the guide is secured by the eye it holds the point off the blank. With the elastic thread I would tie the guide on in the middle of the foot, start the thread then slide the thread towards the eye putting back pressure on the eye with my thumb so the foot wouldn’t slide. When I got close enough so the wrapping thread would hold the guide I cut the elastic thread. Had some fuzz problems I had to blow away before finishing the wrap but overall it worked fine.
I’ll second orthodontic elastics. If you’ve ever had a kid with braces they probably have a lifetime supply of them sitting around somewhere- or you can probably stop in any orthodontist’s office and ask for some which they’d probably part with fairly easily.
Both of the methods mentioned on this string have been in the “Tying Tips” section for a long time. You might read through it, much really good information.
LadyFisher, Publisher of
FAOL
LF, why don’t you guys do a Tapply Tips sort of book that compiles all of those fly tying, rod building tips? JGW
Write a book on tips for fly tying and rod building? It’s already been done by Ms Ladyfisher and JC. It is called FAOL and it is an enclycopedia…updated weekly with appendices, supplements, and addendums and always of the latest information and technology. But it is FREE.
[This message has been edited by Plain Old Jim (edited 28 October 2005).]
In my opinion, a still easier solution for setting guides to rod blanks is to use a hot melt glue stick. Purchased from FlexCoat or your local craft store…same thing. Just gently heat the foot of the guide along the side of a candle flame, swipe it across the tip of the glue stick and into place on the rod blank. You only need a slight film of glue to hold the guide to the blank while wrapping it. Be careful not to overheat the guide foot. If it smokes, its too hot. Just a small amount of heat is required to the guide foot to melt the glue and a small amount of glue to secure the guide into place. Been doing it since I started building and repairing and found it easier than other methods.
Betty;
After fighting masking tape adhesive left on the blank and several burned fingers I switched to the elastic thread. The guides are easier to possition and less subject to moving while being wraped. You do get a little fuzz when you snip it but it cleans off.
David,
That was the way I used when I first started wrapping blanks. I may not be too graceful, but I always wound up with little globbies of glue where the threads needed to be. Or I’d get right up to where the thread met the guide and the guide would pop off and head for the floor. Neither of which was a workable solution for me. By using the elastic thread I finally got control of the situation! Jack, if you stretch the thread out from the rod, and use very sharp scissors
to cut, the fuzzies are kept to a minimum. If it’s double foot guides, wrap the other one first, then slide the thread off the unwrapped side, away from the guide, before cutting it off.
If you really feel the need to use masking tape, the blue painters tape comes off clean, leaving no residue.
Trouts don’t live in ugly places
[This message has been edited by Betty Hiner (edited 31 October 2005).]
I am kind of surprised that no one mention (or I missed it) surgical tubing for holding guides in place before wrapping. I just have tubes in the drawer and snip off a piece (whatever thickness I need) that is the right size and roll them up the blank and place the feet of the guides in them. Whe I get them set and start wrapping. Once the wraping come up to the tube, I snip the tube and finish the wrap, etc.