I got a problem that maybe someone has a good solution to.

I recently built a 13ft surf rod (RS-su1569) and everything went as expected but when it came to epoxy my thread I had to come up with a solution for the ferrule wrap right at the end of the blank. I couldn't put it in the dryer because the jaws of the chuck would have been over the wrap. The butt of the rod built up with cork tape and butt cap didn't fit in the dryer chuck (diameter). Now I got lucky because I bought two of these blanks so I was able to use the non built butt and put the whole rod in the dryer.

When I build the next rod I now know not to fishing the butt section before I epoxy the thread.

The other problem I have is its very unwieldy for me to have a whole 13 foot rod turning in my rod building room. I had to take it out in my living room and set my dryer up on my pool table and dry the rod out there. This is a problem for me because I have two big dogs and live on the edge of a farm so there is always dust and other stuff floating around. I got lucky this time and nothing happened but I feel I am tempting fate if I keep drying the surf rods I plan on building out in my living room.

So my question is does anyone have any tricks to help solve this problem?

Stick a scrap piece of blank, wooden dowel, etc into the ferrule end and chuck it up on that. No problem!!

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 thought about doing that but I was afraid of failure. I think I will try it next time now that I heard someone else does it without any problems!

Thanks for the info!

You won't have any problem if you just snugly insert the scrap piece. There's no reason to forcefully jam it in there, just use enough pressure so that it won't slip while turning in the dryer. You'll be fine.

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i used to wonder about doing the ferrule portions and some times, the grip ends ... until i met a fellow builder and saw that he used old broken blanks of various diameters to stick into the female section and chuck it ... been doing it ever since and i love it.. it has helped me to shape the eva butt grips properly, do and finish ferrule wraps... if you dont really have the correct thickness, you could build up the thickness at various sections of the scrap piece in order to have a snug fit..

-
Give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day..
Teach a man to fish, he'll be broke!

Just be careful you don/t get the scrap stuck into the rod because of the finish. I build up a plug with tape that is turned against the female and acts like a cork to keep the finish out of the end

Bill - willierods.com

is it a nono to just turn the tip section of the blank around & stick the tip top of the blank in the chuck? that's what i've done in the past.

If you do that, make sure the cushion the blank tip with masking tape - it's quite easy to crush a tip with the pressure from the chuck jaws.

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