Hello Everyone,

I have seen some very nice fly rods with no winding checks, just thread tapered to the blank. Do people use a small tapered arbor on the blank and apply thread over it? Or is it just a matter of building up the thread above the grip and then tapering it to the blank. What is the best way to achieve this look?

Thanks for all the great information put up on this board.

Russ Miller

Could be epoxy winding checks too. I use them on most of my rods.

I use rod bond and an old credit card cut to the proper size to achieve the taper. This is done while the rod is spinning on a dryer. A little sanding when it's dry and you are done

I do a lot of those on spinning rods also without a foregrip as well as fly rods and here is how I do it. I put the rod on my dryer and slightly raise the tip end. with the rod turning, i put gobs of 5 minute epoxy where the blank meets the foregrip. As the rod slowly turns, the epxy will flow smoothly creating a nice smooth ramp. You have to keep adding epoxy until you have enough to make the ramp that you want. The height of the tip end will pretty much determine the slope of the ramp. When it is dry, I just wrap up the ramp until I get to the foregrip and tape the thread end to the foregrip and apply finish, When dry, just trim off the excess thread end with a razor (you can also just add a drop of super glue to the end of the wrap).




Mike (Southgate, MI)
If I don't want to, I don't have to and nobody can make me (except my wife) cuz I'm RETIRED!!

I've done a number of rods with no winding check, no thread, and no epoxy in this area where blank and grip meet. If you get the reaming of the front grip opening just right--super snug--it gives a cool minimal look I think.

Josh Markvan
www.markvanheirloom.com

You can make something that looks like the Orvis Superfine by just tapering your cork down at a shallow angle to the blank. Put a coat of CP on the cork 'ramp' and then you can wrap right up it.

Or do as Joshua says and just get a nice even fit with no ragged hole in the grip and you can just make a trim wrap right up against the cork grip and let you finish just ever so slightly lap up onto the face of the cork. Looks good to me!

I usually use a thin slice of rubberized cork and shape it as part of the grip. Since the rubber stretches a little, it is easy to have it fit well with no gaps.

I do all my personal rods with no winding check and use epoxy to build up a nice "flow" from the reel seat onto the rod blank-no froegrip on anything of mine :)

DR