I am having a terrible time tucking and cutting my wraps. I have experimented with different tensions while wrapping...

I get two undesirable results (inconsistently...but I can't figure out what I am doing right or wrong...)

The first poor result is the visability of the thread after it is tucked

The second is the fuzzy that sticks out after the cut is made...(I tried the pull and snap trick and razor blade)

Thanks!

PS (thanks to Bob at Custom Tackle...he's helped me get these fly rod gifts for my groomsmen going)

Al,
Try putting your loop in a few wraps sooner, start everything as before, but when the thread comes in contact with the wrap, stop pulling, tighten it and cut with a pair of small scissors and pull the tag through. It should now have disappeared under your wrap with nothing showing. Scissors that cut the thread with no tension usually cut clean with no filament residue, double edged razor blades are also sharper than the singles and this can help you also.

Spencer

How to do this easily and without fuzzies or nubs was fully covered in a photo pictorial in a past issue of RodMaker Magazine.

First, there are two ways to go about ridding yourself of this problem. One, is to put your tie off loop in much sooner, perhaps as much as 10 to 12 wraps before the end, and then insert and cut the tag end very short - short enough so that when you effect your pull-through the tag end does not come back out of the wrap. It stays buried underneath and there is nothing to cut.

The other way is to pull-through as normal and then pull back on the tag end, opening a small gap in the wrap, then lay a fresh single edge razor blade against the tag end and bring the tag end, under tension, back against the razor blade. This cleanly cuts the tag end and the resulting release of tension snaps it back into the thread gap and disappears. You just burnish the gap closed and no one is the wiser.

This is easier to do than to explain. Thus the photo pictorial on how to do it in the magazine.

...........

Al,
Here is a method that I learned from Artie Hebert. I use a tie-off loop made using Power Pro line because it lasts a long time. I make six or severn turns over the loop, pull the loop tight until it barely starts to go under the finished wrap. With a finger nail clilpper, clip the thread very close to the loop and pull through. The thread end should at this time be buried under the wrap and no more fuzzies.
Cheers, Ellis

Before you go nuts go bananas! Go to the beauty supply store, Sallys, and get a pair of German made cuticle nippers. They are expensive but if you are doing trim wraps and want thread cut close they are the trick. If you don't want to go nuts or fruity just Be Happy and Don't Worry. While you are at the beauty store get a box of Personna Hair Shaper Razor Blades. They are the sharpest single edge blades in the world and are about twice the length of a conventional razor blade. These single edge blades are also much safer to work with without slicing your thread wrapping finger. After the first coat of finish gets hard simply inspect each wrap closely and trim off any irregularities that you see with the Personna blade. These tricks will let you go anywhere you want to go - Nuts, Fruitland or Nirvana!

I am bringing my "Beauty Parlor" to Charlotte to demo the use of this stuff. Check them out at the Builders Booth. One of the sponsors will have a few for sale in their booth.

Gon Fishn

From time to time I have this trouble and I like the idea of inserting my loop earlier and cutting the pull through thread short.Great idea
Ken

All the above mentioned methods work, but you also need to pay attention to your wrap tension. To much tension will case the thread to fray when pulled under causing the little fizzies you mentioned.

Regards

When all else fails and I have a bit of a tag sticking up, I put a dental pick between the threads, one or two wraps behind the tag, and pull it straight between the threads to pull the tag down under the wraps.

I didn't think the nail clipper thing worked until I tried it, and the clippers I used were old used ones and did a great job, so a brand new quality pair would be ideal. I now seem to have worked out the razor way now so I use both. Also Mick's idea always a great way to hide that stuborn one.

Stubborn? Someone call my name??

That's what she said!!! OOPs, did I say that out loud??? LOL

Bill in WV

I'll second what Bill Stevens said about the cuticle nippers. I tried three different fingernail clippers, including the junk one Flexcoat sells, and not one of them worked worth a hoot. The cuticle nippers cut extremely close and never leave any fuzz behind.

Normal nail clippers work fine, provided they are new and used only for the thread. The curved blades also fit the blank curve fairly well on smaller diameter rods.

However, good quality cuticle nippers are superb!!! They are so sharp (I always end up brushing the wrap and nicking it slightly), and cut cleanly and very close. Try putting tension on the tag if it's long enough to hold, then clip close. As the thread retracts, it will pull the end in. Burnish and it's all good.

The longer placement/shorter clipping idea is also good.