This is my first post in this great forum so please excuse any newbue mistakes.

I've been building rods for several years, mostly for my own use and have not experienced the following epoxy problems until recently.

The epoxy on the guide wraps on my two most recent rods is cracking and separating from the threads where the sharp angle occurs as the thread passes over the edge of the foot. The wraps and epoxy looked good to begin with but after a season of fishing, the problem appeared.

I've heard that putting too much color preserver on the wraps prior to the epoxy coat may prevent the epoxy from getting a good grip on and around the threads. Other than a liberal coating of color preserver (allowing it to dry 48 hours before applying epoxy) I did not change any other aspects of my wrapping techniques or products. (I went heavier on the color preserver to see if that would help eliminate more of the bubbles I see in the epoxy, thinking the bubbles occurred from air trapped in between the threads)

I've re-wrapped the defective rods, used only one application of color preserver, and the usual epoxy finish (and a hair dryer to "blow" the bubbles out as the rod turns on the dryer). I'll be waiting for the '05 season to see if the heavy later of color preserver was the culprit,

Anyone else experience similar problems with cracking epoxy? (I'm using one coat of Flex Coat Hi build)

Thanks for "listening"

Skip

You mention a "sharp" angle where the thread passes over the edge of the foot. The guide feet need to be ground (beveled) to a sharp point on a shallow angle so there's a smooth transition from rod blank to guide foot. It sounds like that's the problem. Multiple coats of CP should not be a problem.

Cracking of the finish is common on poorly or improperly prepared guide feet. The guide feet need to be ground or filed down so that it is a very shallow slope up the foot. The edge should be very thin. What causes the cracking is the rod flexing and the guide not flexing. It usually shows up mostly on heavy salt type rods. Properly prepared guide feet will pretty much eliminate on most rods and slow it down on really heavy rods.

No matter what the companies say, All guides need to be prepped before wrapping. Do a search here for guide prep or guide feet and you will get plenty of info.
I can't imagine what effect CP could have!!!

Mike

Go to the Mudhole site on the left, and under the rodbuilding 101 topic, take a look at the Artie Hebert video the have listed there. It covers just this very topic and you can watch how he does it.

Bill in WV

Skip,
I compeltely understand your problem and would have to say that although it has only happened to me while experimenting with different spiral wrap configurations not written about anywhere (for good reason!) it has nothing to do with grinding the feet on your guides. I've seen and done plenty of experiments with ground and unground feet. i had several initial reactions to your post. Firstly, I think your finishing layers are too thick. Another possibility would be improper epoxy mix. Another possibiliy is that the incorrect thread for the job may have been chosen. I've posted several times here about finishing layers. If using color preserver, the rules don't change too much. Remember that the first layer applied is the most important. If this layer is screwed up, you've got a weak wrap. My first layers are always done so that when dried, you can't tell there was epoxy even applied as this layer is simply to help bind the thread to the blank. If applied to thickly, air pockets actually form under the thread and you end up with just a shell! Color preserver, though better at making its way through thread, is not exempt from this. Your second layer of color preserver should be a touch thicker. Succeeding layers should get gradually thicker. My regular casting rods have between four to six layers of epoxy, look slimmer than most factory rods, yet yield a much higher amount of power needed to rip the guides off with a spring scale to show the readings. It's all in your finishing. Good luck and let us know how it turns out. Happy Holidays!

The guide should remain firmly in place when the rod flexes, not shift around. The guide frame should flex and absorb the bending of the rod to some extent. The fine feathering of the guide feet is a a must for a good thread transition and to avoid stress points when the guide is not wanting to flex with the blank.

With that in mind I used moderate tension when I wrap the guides on. How much is enough? Enough to to keep the guide feet from shifting around, enough to reduce the cracking. Guide feet are finely tapered, the feathered edges easily flexing with the blank. In addtion I use only finish, no cp, for maximum strength in the critical guide to blank region. If the guide stayed put and does not shift around finish cracking is less of a problem.

Of interest, I have several 30lb class roller rods that has been fished extensively, some flexed deeply while fighting large fish. No finish cracking is evident on these rods. Why? Solid glass blanks, high wrapping tension on roller guides (double wrap) without fear of crushing blank, finely tapered guide feet, NO cp.

Lou

Skip, I would tend to agree that it has to do with the CP. After extensive use many rods will get that little crack at the base of the guide feet. It sounds like you experienced a little more than this. I have one rod that after the first couple of flexes showed signs of cracking 1/4 of the way up the foot. These 'cracks' were around each individual thread in the affected area. The only thing I had done differently on this rod was two applications of CP before finishing. I also posed a question such as yours on this board, and the overwhelming concensus was my use of CP. I try not to use CP unless I absolutely have to these days. Best of luck. Jay