I have practiced my guide wrapping before i start on my first rod. I am using a manual wrapper with V supports. I have a slight problem keeping the rod from moving forward and back when wrapping. Any suggestions how i can fix this before i begin the real deal. Thanks.

Roger; The best hold down straps I found was a Velcro tie wrap used for tying up extension cords. Found them at Wal Mart. Cut 2 pieces about 1" square of the "hook" part and glue them to opposite sides of your "V" block. Use the long "fuzzy" strap to go over the rod at an angle and stick to the little pieces you glued on. Works great. Don't get the sticky back kind. The straps are too stiff and tend to scratch the blank. Do a search in the photo section on" tools and equipment" and you can see quite a few of them with the Velcro straps. Hope I gave you an understandable description.
Also, Mike Barkley has a photo in the "tools and equipment" section of one he made using a little nylon strap and 2 rubber bands. You can put a couple wood screws in your blocks to hook the rubber bands on. You can make a couple of those instead of the Velcro straps.

Jay

i use the rubber band thing....i just slip a rubberband over the the V so the band is on the outside of the V and it comes down on the rod and that holds pretty well

now my only problem is how to keep the rod from moving back and forth while wrapping haha

Thats my problem. Back and forth, then i get gaps in my wrap, then i back up and start again. The rod moving up i got fixed. Its the back and forth movement i need help on.

ahhh ok man im with you haha i hope someone answers

your turning hand is moving the blank Left and right. are you using a thread carrige or a fixed thread position? I had that problem and started using a Bobbin to hold the spool in my hand.maybe hand -eye coordination helped?

Keeping the rod in place as you wrap is just a skill that you learn as you gain experience.

Roger, keep practicing - it will come with time.

I built a little setup that I take on the road. I used wood V blocks that are felt lined. I put 1/4" dowels in the uprights and use those cloth-covered pony tail bands to put a little tension on the blank. Rubber bands grab a little too much for me.

[www.rodbuilding.org]

Chuck

Thanks for the replies. I guess practice, practice, practice and more practice. In Tom's book, he said use light touch when wrapping. Maybe i am a little heavy handed. One again thanks for all the help.

Roger

I find that this works for me. I keep the thread supply at a slight angle to the wrap so that it is tight against the previous wrap BUT not so much of an angle that it rides up over the other wrap. This thread supply comes from a large book that I use for tension and it is easy to move the book slightly to get the right angle. I also push the warps tight against each other by using my finger/thumb nail as I rotate the rod. After a little practice, practice, practice this method seems easy to me now.

i do that also but when i get into it trying to wrap faster it goes back and forth...i noticed when im using the V blocks it moves back and forth but when im using on the roller stands i built it doesnt do that

Worse comes to worse, run a band of tape on the outside of your v blocks, it helps when you are just learning, doesn't take to long and stops all horizonal movement. Rich

Guess it depends what you mean by back and forth. I have a stop plate at the butt to keep the rod form slowly working that direction when turning in my roller setup. The blank taper causes it.

I agree with Chuck. The rubber band grabs too much. You need the nylon strap between the rubber bands and it wont grab.
You are moving the rod back and forth with your hand . A little practice will take care of that.

I have adapted my V-block building rigs in four areas that have greatly reduced movement problems and made wrapping easy, almost stress-free and a lot quicker. 1 ... using three V-blocks allows you to shorten the space on the blank being wrapped and therefore under pressure, reducing movement. 2 ....... I have cut lead weight plates that fit the base of my V-blocks. They are still quite portable but are also very stable and firm and don't move with the slightest slip or nudge. 3 ..... the Core Wrap Center of my outfit has my thread tensioner on it and main tools readily available. ( it is a wooden frame work built around a 25 lb block of lead a little bigger than a common brick ) .... again it is portable but very stable. 4 .... I have made small ' blank weight hangers' of varying weights to hang over a blank to put the right amount of pressure on it to stabalize it while I turn and wrap it. Thin nylon cord with some nuts or washers on both ends are slick and simple. The combination of these four adaptions makes for a very stable but easy to turn blank. Everything is in short reach, I can quickly adjust or move any problem area with one hand and the whole outfit is portable. I can take it to different rooms or outside or pack it easily for a demo somewhere. I'll try to post some photos on the Equipment Page since I'm sure my explanations could be a little vague.

I'm like Dave Hauser and have a stopper plate for the butt of the rod to rest against and the first support is situated right in front of the foregrip so it's "trapped" and can't move left or right. Works good for me.

Putter
Williston, ND

Once again thanks for all the advise. I will try sme of these tips. I like the back plate idea. Again thanks for helping a newbie. Hope to meet alot of the members at the expo. I am 1 of those 400 Tom mentioned in early post from North Carolina. (Greensboro)