Hey guys. Closer to the summer i purchased some cascade blanks from mudhole. I built 2 with no problems. I just got done wrapping the top section of the last blank and realized it had a "bow" or a curve in the blank. I am very frustrated because it was really hard and time comsuming to line up the guides. I thought the blank had a curve in it but i figured my eyes were playing tricks on me. What should i do?
Sincerely,
Dan Colville

ah HAH! a PERFECT opportunity to practice your wrapping! ;-) this last rod of mine had a few "problems" which i used to practice rewrapping, cutting out a patch of badly hardened cork and replacing it with a piece of good cork and then sanding back down, sanding a few bad sections of thread epoxy which had developed into craters and recoating, etc.

how bad is the curve? have you applied thread epoxy onto it yet? i would suggest cutting off the threads and guides, if not epoxied yet, and rewrapping. are you new to rod building? however frustrating, it might be good practice to rewrap. it gets faster the more you do it. then align the section so the curve is in line with the rest of the rod, either bowing up or down. i think i might prefer bowing it up if it's not too bad.

eric
fresno, ca.

Eric asked a great question. How bad is it bowed? A great many rod blanks are bowed...it's sort of an expected thing. I have older Loomis' that are mad crooked. If it bothers you, build on the natural curvature of the blank as suggested already.

Jay

The blank has a good curve. I am pretty new at rod building. I have been building for about 8 months but have built over 20 rods. No rods have this curve. What do i tell the customer when he sees this? Thanks for all the help.
Sincerely,
Dan Colville

I have just tried to turn the top section of the blank in several ways. this is a 13ft blank. When 2 pieces are put together, it is very noticable. I cant put it in any direction without a big differance.
Sincerely,
Dan Colville

Sounds like the best way out may be to rewrap the tip section with the curve going upward. This way the guides will help to level it. If not epoxyed try it.
Or if you can let the owner know what you found and let him make the decison