This came up on a string below - but it was buried near the end of the thread

Re: New homemade wrapper
Posted by: Rich Gorden (---.gnv.bellsouth.net)
Date: August 18, 2010 06:54PM

I do all my decorative wraps using my power wrapper. After 30 some odd years of doing them by hand, I got tired of hand turning. Not only easier on the fingers, but it frees up another hand. Especially helpful when wrapping bands of thread. It took some getting used to, but I'd never go back. I thought everyone with power wrappers used it for decorative wraps? It would be interesting to see how many of the pros used them for the decorative work........

Questions are:
Who / how many people do decorative wraps "under power".
How intricate are the designs/patterns?
Are there any "tricks" to share on this?

I use my wrapper only for support and to prevent roll-back.

Depends on the wrap. I use power for Tigers and tie off bands. Use it as a support for just about everything else. With most crosswraps I take the belt off and turn by hand.

Dont wrap under power . Wrap dec by hand. A little too intricate for speed.

Freddwhy (Rapt-Ryte)

I'm no pro but do use the power wrapper for all of my wrapping. Normally turn by hand or under power slowly. The tension provided by the motor (not under power) helps me a lot in keeping tension or from unwrapping.

Ditto. I use it for support only when doing dec wraps and turn it by hand, sometimes with the belt on to give a little tension, and sometimes with it off to make it spin easier. I don't step on the pedal unless it is on the tie-off wrap.

Matt Smith
Greensboro, NC

Hay Ken

This is going to be interesting

Bill - willierods.com

Are



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/20/2010 11:36PM by Michael Joyce.

....you kidding me ? Calling out a rodbuilder
thats been doing this for 30 years?.......maybe he does things differently.....maybe his wrapper has a slow speed ideal for wrapping bands.......pretty angry about your post

Michael -
I don' t understand why you are angry with my post I'm not "calling anyone out" - This is what he wrote "It would be interesting to see how many of the pros used them for the decorative work........ " HE asked & I too am interested.
I've been doing this since about 1974 - I've tried and can NOT use power for anything more than tie-offs and the very simplest of wraps even with the 8 spool Renzetti attachment. If there is a way to do this under power I'd like to know how it's done.

Ken

I once knew a guy that I considered a very good pro. He did Diamonds and Chevrons under power. He had what appeared to be a slow rotation motor, my guess between 6-12 rpms. and he had foot control. The work looked very good, he had it down.

I agree with Kevin.
No reason not to use power for decorative wraps with the right power wrapper.

The reason that most wrappers don't use power wrappers is that they don't own a wrapper that can consistently turn 1/4, 1/2, 1, 2 or other very low rpms on a consistent basis.

If you swap out your power wrapper drive system with a drive system that will be able to consistently turn the rod at these ultra slow speeds, with excellent on, off, and and reverese as well as variable speed, I expect that many more folks would use power wrapping.

But, if you own a wrapper that can only wrap at speeds of 3-5 rpm at the low end and with no reverse, it will be less useful.


Take care
Roger

Ken, no worries, no offense taken. I was glad to see it brought up. I'm really suprised how few folks use the foot pedal to turn the rod on decorative wraps. I guess the folks that build rods for a living are past the "hand cramping" stage of turning rods for hours at a time. I have a stock Pac Bay machine, I just set the speed rheostat low, and regulate the speed further with my right hand to keep the speed consistant. Suprisingly, I've never burned up a motor either. I do have to reverse by hand periodically. I wrap bands up to 4 threads, I can't manage many more than that consistantly. (someday I'd like to see information on how folks wrap bands of thread- I know there has to be a better way than the way I do it- future thread?) For that I use the left hand to apply the band and the right to regulate the speed (3-4 thread bands are strong enough to slow the motor down without breaking the threads) and keep the different threads separated and tangle free. I don't know if I'm faster or slower than others, but I don't get the "claw grip" as much. I'm glad I didn't read all these posts before I got the power wrapper, I would have given up on it after a few tries! I'd certainly encourage new builders to try it. Hope this helps..............

Rich

Rich -
Thanks! The second reason I resurfaced the question is pretty simple. I'm no spring chicken and I've developed carpal tunnel. I honestly have a difficult time feeling size A thread in my fingers and that alone makes doing wraps more difficult. I tried under power a long time ago and gave it up as "too difficult to manage". Perhaps a combination of "Billy's plastic box" and much slower speed . I've got to find another way to do simple diamonds & chevrons. Before I found it relatively easy to wrap 3-4 thread simultaneously through my fingers - now NOT. Luckily I can leave the trickier closed wrap patters to my wife. I've got an original American Tackle and a PacBay wrapper both with rheostats so I'll try on those. I'm also going to hook up a router speed controller (basically a rheostat) to my Renzetti & see if that might work better for me since I can back up threads 2-3 revolutions with it.

Sorry Ken...when I read the post I was angry at the time and it was a reactionary response from me, a self admitted prik. But it does come down to "everybody does things differently"....and in this case age or other strange cramping factors fall into play in which a power wrapper at slow burnout speed and a multi thread band wrap can pull off some serious wraps.

MJ

NERB that types with a bar of Ivory soap in his mouth.

Michael -
No problem ......... I'm familiar with "too late a night .... tired and grumpy ... too much coffee .... " BEEN THERE / DONE THAT. I suspect this is just me learning to do something new .