I am in the process of wrapping a stripper guide and have run into a problem. After wrapping (from left to right) from the blank and up onto the guidefoot the foot climbs "uphill" for approx. 3/8" . The foot then makes a steep "downhill" drop about 1/8" of an inch to the base of the guide.

When I get to the 1/8" dropoff I can not get the thread to stay packed to the left , as it slides downhill to the right. I pack them back to the left but the next turn they do the same thing.

Should I stop the wrap after the 3/8"? Or is there a way to fix this problem? If I stop the wrap before the last 1/8" dropoff will the guide work loose?

I tried wrapping from right to left but the same thing happens when I head "downhill" on the 3/8" side.

thanks in advance.

Always wrap from the blank up onto the guidefoot. If the foot is not flat on top, then grind/sand/file it until it is. There is no reason to wrap downhill on the guide foot. What type guide is this anyway?

......

Tom, thanks. I do not know what brand/type the guidefoot is. Dan Craft helped me select components recently when I purchased a 10' 7wt FT blank from him. I wanted a single foot guide set and he picked them out for me.

I do not think sanding or filing would help as this is the guide is obviously shaped this way purposely, perhaps for style??? I could email a picture if it would help.

I've never seen any such thing and I've wrapped a lot of guides! If it is shaped that way then it's a very bad design. What purpose could that possibly serve? All you can do is just use a lot of back angle when you get over the hump but I still think you could grind it flat. Put a photo up on the photo page and let's all see what it looks like. I'd like to know just so I can avoid buying any!!

I posted a picture of the guide under misc. it is titled "curved guidefoot". Not the best photo, but you can see what I am having trouble with. Look at the right side of the guidefoot how it dips down.

Remember, I'm new at this so it might just be me.

Never seen a hump like that. I would definately grind it down! Looking at the pic, it doesn't look like you did any guide prep. It looks like a pretty big step up at the beginning of the guide foot. The guide feet need to be ground down to a thin sharp edge with a gradual slope. That guide foot looks awful thick to me.

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 'm with Mike. A little grinding appears necessary. Check the photo page under "guides" category. Mick recently posted a very nice photo on a ground guidefoot.
Stan

Gary,

Like advised above, the guides needs some work BEFORE you start wrapping. That guide is also 'bent'. It shoud lay absolutely flat on the blank (you can see 'daylight' under the foot). You'll need to dismount the guide and use a pair of good pllers to gently bend it so it's flat first, then grind the leading edge so it tapers to a thin point.

Guide prep is one of the most important aspects of building a rod. It prevents blank damage due to improper pressure points (what will probably happen if you leave that bent guide in place), prevents scratching of the blank (another source of blank failure-a rough guide foot surface can scratch a blank badly enough so that it will fail under the guide), and it makes the wrapping process go much smoother.

I am much more concerend about guide foot preparation than I am about packing wraps or even precise guide alignments.

Good Luck!

Buddy

Gary, ignore my previous post re: where to find the photo Mick McComesky posted. It was listed in the "Miscellaneous" section. The photo topic is "guide prep" Stan



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/01/2006 07:44PM by Stan Gregory.

Thanks guys. I did a little guide prep on those but obviously not enough. I didnt realize how much they should be filed and sanded down. I straightened it out with pliers and then filed them down a good bit. All is well now, thanks for the link to the pictures, they really helped. Growing pains I guess.

Also, in my earlier post, I was in no way being derogatory to Dan Craft, as he was great to deal with, but I wanted to convey that I didnt know what type/brand the guides were.

Use another guide that does not have the same distorted shape. Looks like this guide has a manufacturing defect.

Or first ensure the bottom of the guide feet lay flat on the blank, then if the hump is still there grind it off.

Lou