Does Thread for a freshwater rod have to be nylon or can I use a Polyester thread? Has anyone use Polyester or silk thread from a sewing store? Will the finish damage Polyester or silk threads?

I don't want to highjack this thread, but I have not rod building stores within a 3 hour drive so what about 100% cotton thread from quilting stores?
Is there an easy conversion for A-B-C-D thread size to something that sewing shops recognize?

have you or can you use a cotton thread?

polyester is good.
Cotton and rayon is not good.
40 wt is a little bigger than A.
I like Coats and Clark Trilobal. Also check out Mettler.
You may need to use color preserver. Some sewing machine threads have a lubricant that will contaminate your finish, but epoxy or a urethane (PermaGloss, Lumiseal) will not harm the thread, with or without CP.

George Forster
Fort Collins, CO



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/21/2012 09:04AM by George Forster.

You can use almost anything to bind the guides to the blank, but there will be some disadvantages in using certain materials.

Nylon thread is among the most resistant to rot and degradation. That's why the rod building industry chooses it as the standard for rod winding thread.

..............

A couple of thoughts:
I personally like a bit of stretch in the thread when i wrap rods. The stretch in the thread allows for nice tight easy to pack thread wraps.

Nylon thread has this ability to have a bit of stretch.

Polyester, on the other hand, has very little stretch and is a bit more difficult to get the nice uniform tight wraps that are trivial with the nylon thread.


Any thread can be used to wrap, but thread like nylon is certainly one of the nicest and most manageable compared to other threads on the market.

It is to your advantage to also use thread that will hold up to the UV rays of the sun and not to rot under these rays. Again, both Nylon and Poly have this ability to withstand the US rays of the sun.

Good luck
Roger

Thanks for the info!
Garry2R's

many, including me, use polyestor (Madiera, Trilobal, etc) Like George said, use CP due to silicone lubrication used for high speed machine use. Personally, I would STAY AWAY from cotton, rayon, etc. I have heard to many horror stories about swelling and loosening when finish is applied. 40 wt sewing thread is a LITTLE bit smaller tham A thread

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!!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/22/2012 02:14PM by Mike Barkley.

I tried Rayon once and when I put CP on it, it turned mushy. It reacted with the CP somehow and it was really a mess. Cotton thread has too many fuzzies and is not as strong as Poly or Nylon.

David Dosser
Coshocton, OH

Hello everybody. I am new here to the forums and looking to start my first custom rod. I have some thread questions... I understand cotton and rayon = no no. I have found some embroidery thread on E Bay in big lots = Tons of Colors. With that said is it ok to use the polyester embroidery threads? I plan on sticking with A/A, A/D wraps primarily. If it is ok to use, what would be the equivalent for "D" size in the poly embroidery thread weights?