I have built about 6 rods everything seems be going well except i cannot get a nice straight epoxy line on the inside thread edge on double foot guides.As the guide revoles around the guide gets in the way and I make a mess out of it and I end up epoxying the whole area under the guide which is something i dont want to do.Ar there any tricks for this or is this something that will come with experience.

Try doing your line as close to the guide feet as you can, then use a small thin brush with long bristles or even a toothpick to reach under the guide and pull some epoxy through. Takes a fairly steady hand and a bit of patience but that's how I do it on the rare times that I don't wrap and/or epoxy the whole area.

mick

do you, and others, continue to use the rod dryer, having the blank turned as you coat that inside section? or does freehanding it work just as well? just wondering.

eric
fresno, ca.

I use a 2 RPM drier which makes this real easy with a dental pick. But I also underwrap the area between the double foot guides before placing the guides on the rod to wrap them. Just looks nicer to these old eyes.

Many rod builders don't use a drier at all which makes this very easy to do; their finish work is great, too.

Using my old 18 RPM drier required me to use the foot pedal to do this job. When I got these areas done, I'd switch it to manual and let it spin while putting the rest of the finish on. Haven't used this for many years, though.

Putter

Eric, the drying motor is running when I do the main part of finishing, but I freehand rods when working between guide feet, or doing the front side of a single foot. When I'm happy with the way the details look, I turn the motor back on.

Pac Bay now has a "clutched" chuck for their drying motors, that allows you to stop the rod just by grabbing it as it turns. Can't tell you how great it is, as I haven't used it yet. I don't think it'll work well on a really heavy rod: it doesn't need a lot of pressure to activate the clutch.

mick, thanks, i'll try freehanding next time. i didn't notice any problem with my first "test build" rod which used single foot guides, but fly rod number 2.. i noticed a bit of a problem, also using single foot guides. i was working past midnight and suffering from sleep depreivation that week so that might have contributed to it.

eric
fresno, ca.