I am trying to rebuild a factory rod and I noticed that when I took of the guides that there was scotch tape or some sort of tape over the guide feet under the wrapping. Just wondering if anyone out there do this or is it just for factory rod makers? Also is there any benefit from doing this?

I believe they do this to skip the guide foot prep for the thread to climb up on and or give a background for the thread. I have seen colored tape as well as clear. Saves them time therfore cost. I don't see any benifit other than that and may be a problem with the guide foot moving under the thread and harming the blank if not underwrapped. I myself would not try to repeat it I have seen it a couple of times from some low end rods.

Thad
Dutchman's Creek Tackle

I have seen this to, i think it is used to hold the guide in place and instead of taking the tape off they just bind over it. It's just a time thing with bulk manufacturing. I use 1" masking tape and cut it down the middle for smaller guides.

I agree with Keith. I always though they were doing this to hold the guide foot in place. Reason: The guide wraps looked *&^% - terrible, gapped, etc. So this is not being done to improve the appearance of the thread wrap IMHO.

Lou