i have been using a diamond wrap on all my bass rods.was taught after the first initial cross was made you go up on the left and go down on the left,go up on the right and go down on the right,so on and so on.i see some rod builders take 4up and 4 down.does it matter that these 4 do not interlock.please help clarify or direct me to some educational info.as always,am greatful for your proffesional advice.jim.
ps got my first copy of RODMAKER.read it cover to cover 4 times.wish it was 1000 pages long.

As long as all the threads are of the same color, you can lay more than 1 at a time. The end result is usually a much tighter, neater wrap.

If working with a combination of threads that are different colors, you can't put them all down at the same time or the crossings won't be straight.

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It all depends on the effect you want with the wrap. You do not have to do one thread at a time up and down on each side. There are some that will pull up to 8 threads at one time up and down on the pattern. The diamond and chevron are the basic patterns used to do most any other pattern out there. There is no need to have each individual thread cross over itself to lock it in place.

If using multiple threads, be careful not to let them twist around each other. Say 4 threads up - all four should lay parallel to each other and not cross/twist. It's very easy to do if your holding four seperate pieces of thread in one hand. VERY EASY.

That doesn't look so neat and tight. I learned that the hard way.

I'll leave the explanation of how to not let that happen for some of folks here with more expertise in wrapping. I think most have tools they use to wrap multiple threads.

I don't do but a few wraps here and there, so I'm very inexperienced with wraps.

Bill Stevens - I am not wrapping fancy wraps with CP on customer's bass rods (beat him to the punch on this one) - only occasionally to attract attention for a purpose.

Ok, I'll bite. Anyone care to elaborate further on how they manage more than one thread at a time. What tools are used to make the wrapping easier?

Mel you will be quite surprised how easy it is to pull multiple bands of thread with fingers only. Try it and you will see how you can easily speed up your work and actually get better results. Cut two pieces of thread and let them hang while cutting to get out the twist. Tape one end of both threads in the same spot at the start of the wrap - now let your hands slide to the far end of the pair of threads and pull slight amount of tension. You will see that the threads will be laying next to each other and really not twisted - just a pair of parrallel threads - continue to hold the constant tension in the pair and rotate the blank with your off hand and guide the pair of threads over the measured crossings. Do this for a few days and then you can easily move to four or six at a time. Then you decide you really want to get big time and make a thread box that can easily hold 12 or more threads and to a whole "fancy wrap ala Jesse Buky" in five minutes. One of the real advantages of pulling multiples is that there are fewer crossings and the packing of bands is a lot easier than packing singles.

AMan that is why I love "Big Bubba Bassers" - no fancy wraps - to them black stealth is the creme de la creme!

Double and cut, double and cut. Right there you have 4 threads ready to go. Stroke lightly a few times to remove twist and wrap away.

I've owned various tools designed to help you wrap multiple threads but nearly all had enough shortcomings that I just chose to forego them and use fingers only. I can generally wrap about 8 threads at the same time.

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Tom,i used the method of 4 threads at once with my hands and it worked.all threads going the same way inside the diamond.looks classy,even if i did it myself.the wraps are tighter,straighter and more uniform.just got through reading your book again.thanks again,jim.

Thanks all. I'll give it a try on the next rod.

two spools of thread on the wrapper use the thumb and forefinger to tension it and if you lay them at a backwards angle (that is the thread comes from the start of the wrap side not the end side then they nine out of ten times lay themselves flat.
doing crosswraps I still only use one thread at a time
practice is all it is

I've only done a few crosswraps but I've been able to pull eight at a time using my fingers; like Bill said, slide your hand out toward the ends of the threads and turn the blank with the free hand while guiding the threads with the other; with constant tension the threads will fall into place. I've posted a pic that demonstrates some mistakes mentioned above including an example of Tom's reference to combination of threads with different colors. I also wrapped in the same direction each pass so the increasing thread count being pulled created a zig zag pattern that made the wrap look like it was rotated counter-clockwise. [www.rodbuilding.org]

Another approach altogether involves using narrow ribbon, which is the equivalent of about 8 "A" threads. Just wrap as though it was a strip of multiple threads.

Uncle Russ
Calico Creek Rods