So, over the past few years I've moved from a 12RPM finishing motor to an 18, and now to a 36. I find the faster the motor turns, the cleaner my application is, especially on the overhang onto the blank (nice straight lines). I am considering moving up to a 100 or even 200 RPM unit, but have a few questions:

A.) Is 100RPM just TOO fast? Will there be problems with finish flinging all over the place?

B.) Does anyone sell just a 100RPM motor? I've got a little Angler's Workshop unit with the 36 that I like for application, would probably just replace the motor in that one. I use a quad PacBay dryer at 6RPM so no worries on that end.

C.) If no one sells just a motor, what's the best professional-grade unit for finishing? Flex Coat? Something else?

Thanks all for the great resource.

Edit: Rods in question are fly rods, 0-10 weight, often with ceramic guides.

Scott Kinney
The Longest Cast Fly Rods
[www.thelongestcast.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/21/2005 04:36PM by Scott Kinney.

You may find that your finish moves up the guide legs or forms larger "football" shapes over the wraps. I haven't tried a motor of that speed so I'm just taking a guess.

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

I use the FlexCoat 200 rpm motor and slip chuck they have and I love it. You can really get the epoxy on quickly and then wick off the extra afterwards. After applying the epoxy the rod is moved to a slow 4 rpm dryer. But for applying the epoxy, 200 rpms works great.

If you have access to inexpensive pulleys, or can make your own on drill press/lathe, you can gear up what you have and see if you like it before investing in something you may not use. A 3" drive to a 1" driven will get you right around 100 (3:1) and vice versa on your 32rpm motor.

I don't like putting finish on under power, but it's all in what you are used to.

Oooh, good idea Mick. I'm sure I could rig up a 3:1 pretty easily. Off I go to the hardware store (after fishing for the afternoon, of course!).

Scott Kinney
The Longest Cast Fly Rods
[www.thelongestcast.com]

I am now applying finish on the Pac Bay rod wrapping machine. I visually set the rpm between 150 and 200. I work over a large paper plate to protect the wrapper from any finish spills. The trick here is to learn how to apply a small amount of finish while it is turning and observe the little ring that pushes up in front of the brush. Simply run this little ring over the end of the thread slightly and you have a neat straight edge every time. After the edges are formed take the brush - hold it tangent to the wrap and while spinning remove all excess finish. A complete rod including a butt wrap can be done in less than four or five minutes. I watched the Allstar Factory guys use the Flexcoat machines in operation at 200 and do all that I can to simulate that technique. They do a 7 foot trout rod in less than 10 seconds. It really produces top knotch results. After the finish is applied I place the rod in its 6 prm dryer slot.

Gon Fishn

Having worked in the coating industry most of my carrer, I know the higher the rpm and the lower the viscosity of the liquid, the better leveling you will get. I have tried various rpms with different coatings. If you get the speed up too high you can easily sling epoxy all over the place. (Yes, I have accomished this too.) As suggested you need to remove as much excess finish as possible before you increase speed. I have a variable speed 220 rpm motor (max) I am in the process of determining what is the optimium rpm for epoxy to permagloss viscosity for leveling. I do know (the hard way) that if you get up about 500 rpm the stuff is going everywhere. (but it will be thin). To make a long story short however, I get best results with thin multiple coats. I generaly run at 40 rpm and everything from epoxy to Permagloss looks great. Just keep the coating thickness as thin as possible. One additional comment: If you are marbling the slower the rpm the better the results. I have use a 1 rpm motor for this. Yes, I am still an experimenter even though I retired.

Ed Smith