How many of you use Drywall tape for reel and grip arbors? Also how does regular masking tape work if you have to build up the blank 1/8 of an inch or more? Or do i need graphite arbors??

Kevin Gross
Many men will spend their whole life wondering if they made a difference. Marines dont have that problem - Ronald Regan

I use polyurethane arbor when possible. Other than that, it is drywall tape for me.

I use drywall tape. Masking tape will also work fine just make sure you really goop on the epoxy so everything is waterproof. Sometimes I use arbors..... The choice is yours. They all work fine.

new at bulding rods , but they all work , I have used them all

masking tape for small spacers or Drywall tape for larger gaps

Hi Kevin,
Depends on the gap between the blank and the seat. For a small gap I favour tape, just make sure you do what George has said, ie make sure the tape is completely covered with epoxy. For larger gaps I've used both tape and arbors and theyt work fine. Arbors are a problem if you have got a small gap as it can break easily when thin or if the reaming isn't centred. Never tried drywall tape but it will also work ok and a lot use it. There are choices and you can use whatever suits the application best. There isn't a method that you have to use. Whatever you use make sure the epoxy fully covers everything and that the blank and the inside of the seat has a water break free surface.

ESFNEM Col
Port Kembla, NSW
Australia

Masking tape is paper. I would shy away from using it for even the smallest of gaps. Instead, I would (and have) use scotch tape. It does not deteriorate in any way, shape or form. Just be sure to totally encapsulate the tape with epoxy or whatever bonding agent you prefer to use. If the gap you need to take up is substantial, I would recommend an arbor consisting of either graphite, polyurethane, or even cork.

If the space to be taken up is slight, say less than 1/8th inch around, try using thread or cord, in tight spirals along the length of the seat to be mounted. Coat with epoxy and install seat.

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

By "drywall tape" do you mean adhesive fiberglass mesh, or do you mean paper drywall joint tape?

I would shy away from masking tape, even if you really use a lot of epoxy to make it totally waterproof, you really can never tell if it is, you can't see thru the reel seat. I also use thread for small gaps and if it is a large gap I will use a graphite or poly arbor.
I'll give you a couple of examples. If I have a 5wt fly rod blank with a butt diameter of .365 and my wood insert with the hardware has an inside diameter of .375, I'll use size A thread in the method Tom K describes to make up the space. Next case is an 8wt blank that might have a butt diameter of lets say .410. I may want to use an American Tackle AW12 the graphite insert, now I'm not totally sure what the inside diameter is, but it is a pretty good amount. I'll take a poly full length arbor, put it on my 1/4" mandrel in the lathe and sand it down so it slips into the reel seat, epoxy it in, then ream it to fit the butt section, then epoxy that onto the blank. Nice solid mount.
Now the neat thing about using thread or cord (fly line backing also works great) is that you may have several different sizes on hand that will work with relation to the amount of gap you need to take up.

Phil Ewanicki Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> By "drywall tape" do you mean adhesive fiberglass
> mesh, or do you mean paper drywall joint tape?

Adhesive glass tape.

Kevin,
Use the appropriate material that you want to use for an arbor. The material really makes no difference at all, as long as you use a method to keep the arbor the same shape and size after 10 years of use, as it was on the day that the rod was built.

You can use paper, cardboard, plastic, wood, cork, EVA, lead, steel, aluminum, tin, brass, masking tape, friction tape, adhesive tape, drywall tape, fiberglass, carbon fiber, poly arbors,

Just use the material that works for you, makes sense to you to use, and has the right weight and ability to center a blank long term and keep it there for years of use.

Good luck

I use foam arbors when ever possible,if I run out I use dry wall tape. It is a bit messy though you need to keep a lot of dna very close by. I certainly would keep away from most of the above post. I` m not saying they can`t work, I just would not try them.

Bill

Ohio Rod Builders

Canton, Ohio



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/06/2012 03:39AM by Bill Eshelman.

Small, tight gaps = thread or cord plus paste epoxy

Medium gaps (1/8") = fiberglass, self adhesive dry wall tape layered with epoxy. Although I also use poly spacers from time to time under reel seats if I want to shave off weight.

Large gaps (over 1/4") = buy a better fitting part.

I stopped using masking tape about 10 years ago because the fiberglass tape is simply better and just as easy to use. I also stopped using cardboard shims and tubes because I saw too many saltwater rods come in for "spinning reel seats" with cardboard under them. Turned down wood or plastic arbors will work - but they are heavier and involve another step (or two) to get a good fit.

Scotch / shipping (clear thick "scotch") / strapping (nylon stranded) / tapes. I've never used them but can see where they might work.

Roger is correct, you can use almost anything as long as it fits correctly and is installed correctly. Case in point, several years ago my wife bought me a 30lb game rod for christmas and it has sevred me well and caught a few really nice fish. A couple of months ago I was looking at it and deciding if I would rebuild it. Closer inspection showed the double roller was just starting to move and the end of the foregrip was spilt so it was rebuild time. When I removed the foregrip I found that it had no epoxy from about halfway, lucky it was a snug fit. When that was removed I checked the reelseat and found the top of it was moving also. When I got it off I found it had two different arbors. The top one was some sort of cardboard which had virtually no epoxy on it and it had started to rot. The bottom arbor was some sort of tape, not masking tape and it had very little epoxy on it. There wasn't a great deal of epoxy between the arbors and I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did. The rod came from a very reputable manufacturer who are still in business.
Last year I stripped a rod I built for my son about 15 years ago and had seen a fair bit of use in the salt. The reelseat was a @#$%& to get off despite being spiral cut, the epoxy had bonded very well to the seat and the blank. It had fairly large masking tape arbors and the tape was in as good a condition as the day it went on.
Weight and ease of use are prime considerations when selecting material for an arbor but the instalation method decides how it will last. Do it properly and it will last a very long time. Do it wrong and you mighten get your first fish with it. I've seen that happen where a reelseat came loose on the first use of a game rod, not pretty.

ESFNEM Col
Port Kembla, NSW
Australia

Regardless of diameter I have to build to, I ONLY use masking tape. I used to use drywall tape until I had a malfunction. When I dissected it, it didn't look good. I have never had a failure on shims made out of masking tape, and with some of my builds, the shims are ¼" or larger. If the tape is covered and sealed, water will never get to it.

Kevin Knox
ANGLER'S ENVY CUSTOM RODS
QUEEN ANNE, MD 21657
#_#_#_#_#
www.anglersenvy.com

I use 1/4' tape for small spaces If I have to go more then 8 turns of tape around the blank I glue in an arbor
Easy and cleaner then drywall
Prep the area where it will sit 220 - 320 sandpaper Then three arbors of tape pushing the glue up the sides of the tape prep the inside of the seat also for better grip

If you use the tape put the seat on and turn it in the direction of the tape was wrapped on or you will lift the tape edge and have a heck of a time getting it off

Bill - willierods.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/06/2012 09:02AM by bill boettcher.

Bill,
Sounds like the perfect receipe and is very simlar to what I acrtually do as well.

Roger

Quality mines think alike LOL

Bill - willierods.com

i still use masking tape on light wt rods but i leave space between the tape wraps to fill with epoxy.