I had an interesting discussion this evening with a fellow rod builder discussing the merits of reversing the dryer drying direction from time to time during the initial setup of the finish to better smooth the finish.

Does anyone do this on a regular basis to achieve a better smoother more level finish. Or, is this something that would be counter productive.

I have to admit, that until this evening, I had never considered the thought of doing that.

Since I have a bidirectional dryer, it would be a non issue for me to try , but I have just never done so before.

Thanks for any thoughts.
Roger

I'm not a pro, but mine only turns one way and my finish is fine. I understand the idea though.
Bruce

I don't believe it would make any difference. The act of rotation isn't what smooths the finish to begin with - left alone the finish will level and smooth all by itself. Rotating it simple keeps it from moving to the bottom of the round item and pooling there.

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Tom,
Read and understood.
My guess is that the thoughts were, that when the finish is very thin, the reverse rotation from time to time, might help level while avoiding any excess pooling anywhere.

That is only a guess of course.

Roger

If you really want to achieve a perfectly level finish - dump the mechanical rotation altogether. While it will keep the finish from pooling or sagging to the bottom, it does nothing for leveling. A hand turned finish is almost always smoother and more level.

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