I am making a rod for a fireman friend. He wants flames. He saw the Holo tiger wrap in one of my rod make magazines with flames. I have no problem with the tiger wrap. I have never done flames before. Can any one help with some instructions or guidance?

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Captain Mike

The flames are done by marbling epoxy.

You can also do flames with BillMar decals ... [www.bill-mardecals.com].

A different approach, but you might find it more appealing.

I built a rod last year that was raffled off for my fire department. I used Billy V. flame crosswrap in his book and then wrapped all the guilds and and tie off wraps for the crosswraps with black thread. I then marbled flames on top of the black thread. Turned out perfect and everyone couldn't believe how real the marbled flames looked. The guides I got from Mudhole. They are the red ones with gold inserts. Trim wraps were all in gold. I used a PacBay CLS17-RY reel seat. I need to make another for myself!

Scott

SK Custom Rods
American Tackle Pro Staff

Fish now, cause you'll be dead for a long time.

The marbling technique makes a one of a kind. You'll never have two the same.

[www.rodbuilding.org]

Thanks a million everyone. I knew I could count on some great advice. I think I'm gonna try the marbling. I like the "you'll never have two the same"

You'll want to practice on something. Getting the marbeling detail is a matter of timing how much the epoxy has set and how much your colors will mix together. I like to wait until it's set up well enough to not blend very much at all...

Basic Red Flames:
[www.rodbuilding.org]

Yellow~RedOrange Flames:
[www.rodbuilding.org]

Flames in a Tiger Wrap:
[www.rodbuilding.org]

You could do flames for the grips- [www.rodbuilding.org] [www.rodbuilding.org]

Good luck. Stan

I went home and tried my hand last night at marbling. WOW! I learned a lot and need a lot more practice. I made a mess at first, lots of fun. I did notice that the set up of the epoxy is a key factor. I looked at the pictures (Real Nice Job) and hopefully I will be there with more practice and instruction. Do you put clear epoxy on first wait and then add your colors on top of the clear, wait again then use a sharp pointed tool/object to blend your flames into the clear or do you add your flames over clear epoxy that has set-up?

When I did the flames on the carbon grips I first put down a clear coat and let it set up for a few hours before putting on the first layer of flames. I mixed up a batch of epoxy with reddish-orange pigments and let it sit in the cup to thicken up enough that it would stick where I put it without running. I poured a few drops onto a plastic dish and added some white to it. I then painted the first layer of flames with the reddish-orange and used a toothpick to add small streaks of the whitened pigment as highlights. By the time I got the first layer done it was setting up pretty good and I could start on the second layer. I repeated the first layer process using yellowish-orange with some plain yellow for the very base.

If you start too quickly the epoxy will run and fade into the other colors. If you wait too long it'll be too thick to work with. You just have to keep poking the epoxy with your stirrer until it just starts to get thick and then paint some onto a test area to see if it's ready. Once you have it going you don't want to take too long in getting exact details or it'll be too thick by the time your halfway done. Just get a quick outline on the whole area, then work around adding some detail, then work around again until it's too thick to work any more. Go have a cigarette break and then start on the next layer.

I worked on flames this week-end between everything else. I call it my quest for fire. I am starting to relax and flames are actually starting to appear. I need to wait longer because the colors are fading into one another. Thanks again for the advice and when I get something I am proud of I will take a photo and post it.