I am having fits trying to figure out how to do something that is bound to be as basic to rod building as knowing your alphabet is to spelling. The problem is that I have never had to learn it until now and it's driving me nuts. I have to change colors on a wrap.... it goes like this... 1/8 inch of black then 4 wraps of purple metallic, then 2 wraps of silver metallic, then 4 more wraps of purple metallic, followed by another 1/8 inch of black. My problem seems to be that I have large, clumsy fingers, only one tension device on my wrapper and did I mention....less than 8 hands.... Just spent a miserable 6 hours trying to figure it out with very limited success. A nice 4 hour crosswrap is much easier to me than this..... any help would be greatly appreciated. I have never felt so dumb....Thanks

Steve Buchanan
Steve's Custom Rods

Steve, there are many ways to do it. For a very easy method look in the library for Tom's pdf on adding trim bands and inlays.

printed it off and have been trying for 2 hours now.... Still need 3 or 4 more hands...and a brain.....

Steve, you got mail.

J.B.Hunt
Bowling Green, KY

Steve,
A very simple method is as follows:
I am assuming that all of the wraps are relatively close together. If so, cut off a foot or so of each color that you are going to wrap.
Group the ends of all of the different colors together and spread them on the rod and use the back or base wrap to capture all of the wraps by overwrapping all of the colors by a 1/4 inch or so.
All of the colors will wind up around the rod as you do this.

Undo the colors, and start with the first color - keeping tension on your base wrap - wrap the first color, overwrapping the base wrap.

Straighten out the colors, continue your base wrap as desired, unwrap all of the colors gathering down the rod, and do your next color.

Continue until all of the colors until you are finished. Essentially, you are leaving all of your trim colors to freeely flow around the blank as you wrap- always letting the base color hold the previous colors tight,
You make at least one wrap of the base color over the last trim color to hold the previous color just completed.

You only need one tensioning device, since the base tensioner holds everything else in place.

Take care
Roger

Thanks guys..... Jay, Your email saved my life.... Got er done..... Thanks a million

Steve Buchanan
Steve's Custom Rods