Greetings all; I am trying to wrap my newest blank in, for lack of a better term, an invisible thread design. I would like the guides to appear to be floating free. Therefore, I guess I need a wrapping thread that will appear clear and transparent when the finish is put on. I have run into a wall, and even had Gudebrod send a sample of something they felt may work (it didn't). Any help would be greatly appreciated as I'm running short on time, and may have to give up the idea and drive on in my usual fashion. Thanks for any input. Robert

Check some of the bamboo forums, you may have to use silk.

Mark

Fine white silk with finish applied directly is your best bet.

.............

You might try this (on a test blank first):

Use some sort of glue to position the guides correctly.

Then use some fiberglass mesh to "wrap" the guides - and you probably need to use some glue of some sort to hold it in place - maybe "Crazy Glue" (cryocyanatic what ever it is.) Then epoxy over that - fully soaking the "fiberglass" mesh. Maybe you can just fully soak the mesh and lay it around the blank and the guide foots - when the epoxy hardens - it will have the shear strength to hold the guides - I am guessing.

The newer (compared to 1970's) epoxies and glass mesh will go totally transparent when fully soaked and still have structural qualities.

I don't know about the fibergass mesh but the finish doesn't add strength, only protection for the thread which is what secures the guide

Mike

Me thinks Mike's right on the money there; you do need to wrap the guide in place under tension. You'll have problems if you don't.

Putter
Williston, ND

Hi Robert,
if you are looking for something like this [www.rodbuilding.org] you'll need white silk and some kind of finish.
Also you need to be carefull not to pollute the thread with grease from your fingers as this will interfere with you wishes for a clear wrap. Next time I'll be using gloves since I run the thread through my fingers.

Peter

Pete
I got to get some white silk!! I like it.
Do you dress up the feet any after preping them?

Use 7X tippet line from your favorite flyfishing store. See a pic of such on the cover of a recent RODMAKER magazine. I tried it and like it....


Good Wrappin !
David A. Fuller,
Great Basin Fishing Rods
Full-Time RV'r Traveling- n- Fishing
www.mytripjournal.com/FullersBigAdventure

Hi Bill,
I was lucky - I didnt have to do any foot preping - both the Mildrum stripper and the Snake Brand snakes were just fine right out of the bag.

Peter

I usually hit them with 220 sand paper just to give them some grip so the thread does not slip of the feet when starting onto them. It helps