So I am four rods down into this addiction and have a question that may seem weird and I kinda know the awnser.so I wrap left to right turning the rod clockwise. I then have to turn the rod around to do the other side of a double footed guide or bookkeeper etc.is there an easier way?that way just seems natural but turning my operation around doesnt.as always thank you everyone for the knowledge and enabling in my addiction

Hi Gaston,
No silly questions here if your not sure of the answer. I'm also a left to right wrapper but when it comes to hookeepers and double footers etc I wrap one side right to left as it seemed the natural way of doing it when I first started. A bit of practice and you'll be fine.

ESFNEM Col
Port Kembla, NSW
Australia

That seems straight forward enough I just gotta get my brain to work it out

G'Day Gaston I'm the same as Col start left to right & then right to left .It never occurred to me to move the wrapper as Col said it just seemed the natural way to go.Don't worry about asking questions you think are silly because if you don't ask you may never know.

Regards Baz

Bundeena
NSW Australia

It depends on my mood as to how I wrap double foot guides. Sometimes I'll work down the whole rod wrapping one foot on each guide left to right, then flip the rod and repeat and sometimes I complete each guide as I work down the rod, one wrap left ot right and one wrap right to left. I don't know if it's right, wrong or if I'm just quirky.

I envy folks that have the dexterity to do L to R and R to L with same quality / speed either direction. Right to Left and my motor skills are an ugly combination. Do what works best for you.

Good morning,

This is so interesting. Your replies are a complete surprise to me. I had no idea. So I will share my tiny story with you all.

For about 5 years I successfully used a Pac Bay RodSmith. But as the business grew I needed a lathe that could do more for me. So being a Clemens RodCrafter member it was natural to go with a Clemens lathe. This was a big move, $$$, but I felt the right move. I get the lathe installed, am happy as can be, so I try to do a wrap. For about the next month I was in misery. I felt I made a hugh mistake buying the new lathe. The Clemens rotated towards me and the thread came from the back and up high. The PacBay rotated away the the thread carriage was under neath. The agony of it, UGH! I kept at it and finally got the handle on the wrapping and have never looked back. Over the years I have owned 4 Clemens lathes. Still have two.

So you will get the handle on what you want to do and you will be just as good wrapping both sides of the double foot. Have fun!

Capt Neil Faulkner

capt.neil,that is the misery i to had when i swiched wrappers,i ended up installing an old non working motor(burn-out) and using a large thickness rubber band in a figure eight from the new motor to the old....ahh...back to normal and no more cussing!!!

www.southriverrodsllc.com

Silly question or not, I had the same problem when I firstgot a power wrapper.. I would wrap all of my two footed guides on one side and then flip the wrapper and rod on the other side to do the other foot of the guide.I even tried to reverse the turning direction of the wrapper motor. I posted my dilemma on the discussion board from a different website and got some advice and some deroggatory comments also.With a little practice I got it down.My advice is to try a wrap on one foot left to right and the other foot right to left by HAND .After you get it down you can use the power wrapper.

OK, so now after reading this reading this thread I'm thinking I just might be a dumb bunny...I wrap from right to left and on my last rod, a fly rod with snake guides, I just kept on wrapping, up the right foot, one quick turn, and down the left foot! So there is a single thread showing on the underneath (Relative to the eye) as it crosses from one foot to another. I kind of like the look, but I never thought I was doing anything wrong. I saw this first when I took a class from one of our sponsors (from whom, by the way I have received wonderful service, Mudhole). I was having trouble on a two foot hook keeper and one of the instructors took pity on my frustrations and finished it off for me. He crossed from one foot right to the other. I'm just starting a heavy 7 foot striper rod as a Christmas present, maybe I need to rethink how I do two foot guides.
Anybody else do it this way?

Hi John,

All it has to do is work for you. I have seen guide wraps like this on old rods. Usually the under wrap is foil and thread for the guide wrap.

I always do my wraps so that the thread goes up the guide foot ramp. Thread packs better going up against coming down, tighter versus looser.

Capt Neil Faulkner

When I teach rod building classes, I run into folks that are very dominant right or left and don't have as much dexterity with their off hand. I make them do at least one wrap going each direction to show them that it's the fastest way long term to get the job done, plus it gives you more time not having to reposition the wrapper or the blank all the time to go the other direction. I find guys and gals that tie flies have an easier time of learning to wrap both directions.

Keep at it. It's not a dumb question and I've seen others struggle with this. The suggestion of practicing both directions on the hand wrapper before going to the power wrapper is a really good one. Practice until you get it down on the hand wrapper, then move over. Be prepared that the next mistake you will make is to insert your tie-off loop in the wrong direction. We can show you how to fix that as well. :-)

Terry

This is a hobby for over 99% of the people that do it. It is one that should be enjoyed and you should relax. Do what comes naturally and is comfortable to you. If you are using a hand wrapper, there is no reason at all to be ambidexterous - of course, it is required when using a power wrapper. I have chosen to hand wrap everything, it is my preference. Since I am right hand dominant, I do flip rods over to wrap double-footed guides. I can wrap with either hand, but it is easier to use my right - so I do. Again, just enjoy and relax - there is no "right" or "wrong" way to do it. Only final results matter.

Gaston,
I think that the left to right preference deals with whether a person is right or left handed.
Most of my fellow rod wrappers who are right handed, have a preference for a left to right wrap.

However, I am left handed and certainly had a preference for a right to left wrap.

I think (at least for me) has to do with vision. It is just like writing. If a person is right handed and wraps from left to right, their right hand is always leading the wrap and the wrap is nicely exposed behind the hand as the wrap progresses.

However, if a right handed person wraps right to left, the wrap is effectively covered by their hand as the wraps progresses. Hence the natural desire to wrap left to right for a right handed person.

I think, that this is the exact same reason that for most right handed folks, they very much prefer to have the butt of the rod on their left when they wrap. This is the reason that most commercial power wrappers have the motors on their left as the wrapper turns the rod.

But, since I am left handed, it only took me one guide to quickly figure out that I very much preferred to have the butt of the rod on my right. I also have the turning motor on my right as well.

I suppose that this was one of the reasons, why early on; I became interested in developing a power wrapper that could easily reverse direction. i.e. so - depending on the builders preference, the motor could be at the builders left, or the builders right, and still have the motor turn in the direction that was comfortable for the wrapping style of the builder.

But, as others have mentioned; although you have a natural preference for wrapping in a particular direction, you can learn to wrap in the opposite direction with practice.

I really think that a couple of things help a great deal in accelerating this learning process.

1. The height of the rod with respect to the level of the builder. i.e. what is the ergonomic setup for the builder with respect to the rod.
2. Super light that can be adjusted exactly where a person needs it.
3. Magnification. i.e. whether you use light mounted magnification, or head mounted magnification - it really helps to simplify rod wrapping.

The reason that I suggested the three things above, is that when you are wrapping in the direction that is not your preference, you need to be able to have the rod, your hand positioned, and your light positioned, so that your hand does not block your wraps as you proceed. If you have the rod at the right height and angle with respect to your eyes, if the light is right, and the magnification is right, you will essentially have equal view of your wraps, whether you wrap left to right, or right to left. '

But, if you just plunk your self down at a dimly lit rod, with no magnification and just start wrapping, you and your hand and eyes, will be doing the manner that will be much like you write a letter. i.e. a nice open layout of your hand and wraps so that the wraps are comfortably exposed to your left to right style, but possibly nicely covering wraps for a right to left style with a right handed person.

Jim, by the way, is it NOT necessary to be ambidextrous with a power wrapper, if you can flip rod rotation at the flip of a switch.


Good luck and wrap safely.

Roger