Has anybody come up with a surefire and quick way to prep guide feet. I hate this job! Been using a file and can do it but find it time consuming and tear up my fingernails. There has got to be a better way.

Rodmaker Mag Volume 8 issue 1 has a nice article on guide prep.

The best method I came up with was not grinding them at all.

There have been several threads on this forum as well for guide prep.

Many builders like to use a vertical belt sander for this task, which works well. My preference has been to use an inexpensive 3 1/2" bench grinder from Harbor Freight, $40. Comes with an 80 grit wheel, a polishing fiber wheel, and also a hand grinder attachment that I don't use but works like a dremel. The polishing wheel is a nice add as you can take all the rough edges off your prep in one easy step. I like this tool as it's small, sits on the end of my bench and makes much quicker work of this task.

I've also found that when prepping guides that if you focus on the sides of the guide and less on the tip you get more of a rounded point on the end which ramps up the thread smoothly. Larger guides still need some work on the end to create a shallow angle and prevent the finish cracks at the end. If you check out the snake brand universal guides that need no prep, the ends are prepped this way and work really well.

An alternate method is to use a reinforced cut-off wheel on a dremel tool. This is what I used before moving to the bench grinder. All of the other hand methods work but take way too long for me.

Terry

I am with Billy on this one..... 95% of the time I just wrap them on. Every once in a while I have to take a piece of sandpaper to one.

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Super Tight Lines......Don

A stationary belt sander is about the best thing for shaping them that you'll find. Use 110/120 to 150 grit. Coarser for larger guides where you need to remove more material and finer for smaller ones. And the old "unified" wheel, if you can still get them, makes polishing a 3 second per guide process. When I run out of unified wheels, I'll stop building rods.

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Karen at Bingham still has them on their site. Which reminds me, I need to order a couple. I use this on the polishing side of the 3" grinder mentioned above.

Terry

[www.rodbuilding.org]

I use a harbor freight 1X30 inch vertical sander with 100-150 grit paper.

I have made a few different guide holders out of machine screws with the heads of the screws ground flat, and a piece of rod blank. I cut the rod blank and the machine screw to a lenght where I can slip a guide on the machine screw, the rod blank on the screw, and a wing nut on the end that gets tight in about one turn. That way, there is no wasted time to get the guide on and off the fixture.

The fixture is only needed on smaller guides where the guides are really too small to hold with your fingers.

You can go to as small as machine screw as needed to accomodate any size guide.

As Mr. Kirkman suggested, tyically less than 3 seconds per guide to prep.

Be safe

I use a Dremel tool and sanding disks. I used to use a belt sander, but I think it is too difficult to see exactly what you are doing. Whit the Dremel tool, I can sit to do the sanding and use light touches to make sure they are properly shaped.

Are power tools really necessary to remove .0003 grains of material? A diamond hook hone and three passes should do the job.

Some guides require a good bit of material removal. I'd hate to have to do those with a hook hone.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/28/2013 07:02PM by Tom Kirkman.

Phil, like anything else in rod building it is all a matter of personal preference and what works for you. I have tried them all and the Dremel works the best for me as well as being fast and precise.

Randy,
Personal preference.
Exactly why I use the vertical belt sander and guide holding fixture. Easy and quick.

Be safe

Dremel tool with smal sanding disc. Just prepped 11 casting guides yesterday, took about 5 minutes. Works great for me.

Randolph: I have tried the Dremel with a fine reddish grinding stone. It cut into the guide foot way too fast for me. I hate to think what it would have done to a micro guide. My diamond dust hook hone will grind the edge off a tool steel file - but slowly. It's a fine grit.

Phil, I don't use the stones, just the sanding disks. When one wears out they are easily replaced. The grinding stones are fine for coarse grinding of various objects. Personally I would not use them on guide feet. For some guide feet I might use a Cratex burr for doing the underside of some guides that will be wrapped at or near the tip of the rod. The red stones are not fine, by the way they are coarse. The green stones are much finer.

Little vertical belt sander makes very short work of it. I finish off with a quick polish on a uni wheel mounted in my drill press.

In my opinion if you use the Dremel you have to control two items, both the Dremel and the guide. I like the Harbor Freight 1x30 vertical sander because I only have to control the guide. I'm using a 180 or a 320 grit belt depending on the size of the guide being prepped. It's usually the 320. Quick and easy.

Steve Hartzell
Lake Conroe - Willis, Texas

Where do you guys find the 1 x 32" 320 grit belts?

Thanks

Chester

May your line be tight and your beverages be cold!

Do a search of the on line @#$%& houses.
There is one seller in Ohio that I use and he has excellent belts and paper.
Be safe