Spiral wrapped a light 6-12lb 7'6" popping rod blank for sheepshead and trout. I finished the rod probably 6 months ago. I've got one good sized 12 lb black drum no the rod, and some sheepshead, but nothing huge on the rod. I noticed fishing it this weekend the epoxy (LS Supreme) had cracked around the top part of the stripper guide. I had offset it a hair to help line back on the level wind reel. Any ideas why the finish cracked? Now how to fix it, re-wrap the guide?

Did you taper the guide feet well? Some times it helps to have the feet taper very slowly. I say some times The guides may not be flexing as much as the blank Could try to take the guide off, retaper it and see if that stops the cracking??

IT happens. On wons upon tons of rods. Guide feet do not flex the same as the blank, the heavier the guide, the less they flex. I have somewhat tamed this problem, although it still happens. I use lighter guide, grind more off of them, use more tension on teh wrapping thread, and switched epoxies - Aftcote is very flexible, and I guess Glass Coat is too because the rods I've built with these 2 brands have cracked by far less than others I've used with other epoxies. Keep in mind, I've also changed the tension and teh guide selection, and teh prep of the guides, so I cannot pinpoint exactly what was casuging my problem.

You have a problem, which people will give you all sorts of suggestions to fix. You need to make some changes, until you figure out what is causing this to happen to you. Only way to do that is to build more rods for yourself, friends, family as gifts - and let them "test" for you. Keep notes on what you did on each - this way if one crack and one does not, yo uknow what teh problem is.

One thing I did different with this rod was try the YLI reflections thread, which seems to be thinner than gudebrod A. I did taper the feet, had to in order to get the thread to climb up the foot of the guide. Wonder if the thread is causing it? Never had this problem before.

Maybe the thread is stretchy? I have used Madeira Polyneon on a couple of rods, havent' had a problem but I did notice when I did a pull test on an individual guide that the thread did stretch. I dunno?

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/09/2005 10:50PM by Edward Sanborn.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/09/2005 10:50PM by Edward Sanborn.

I am assuming double-foot guides due to sprial wrap arrangment. Finish cracks are a fairly common occurence on guide feet, but in my experience less common with custom rods and even less common on double foot guides. I have noticed one factor that appears to create more issues with finish cracking, and that is when there are thick layers of finish that 'ride up' the guide foot away from the blank. Production rods frequently have a large gob of finish that rides up the guide feet past the blank, much thicker than the coating on the thread wraps. Because the metal of the guide feet (esp single-footed) moves in a direction that is perpendicular or an acute shear ange relative to the blank and thread wraps, it is not surprising to see this problem.

The good news is that this problem can be addressed on the rod without rebuilding, assuming that the guide and thread wraps are intact. Buff the existing finish with 600 grit or fine scotch-brite to ensure proper bonding, clean well, and reappy a moderate coating of the same finish as perviously used. Now for the "trick" part - To ensure that the cracks close and disappear, flex the guide or blank in a way that you know will open up the crack(s). Do this several times, then proceed with finishing the wrap's finish. The problem should disappear, unless it is due to the issue identified above.

Go to the Mudhole site (Rodbuilding 101) Artie Hebert addresses this very subject on a nice peice of "Free" video. Worth the watch. IMO

Bill in WV