Posted by:
roger wilson
(---.hsd1.mn.comcast.net)
Jeff,
I have checked all of the stores around here and found a single inexpensive source:
Lowes.
Lowes is the only one in my neighborhood that carries the thin wall pvc drain pipe. I always buy 3 inch. That way, spinning rods that may have larger butt guides always fit into the tube.
If I am shipping only casting rods, then I can go with 2 inch. But it is just simpler to keep one size tube on hand and that is the 3 inch diameter. To keep bulk down on the tubes, I buy the pvc test caps that fit into the end of the tube. The sides of the test caps are a bit large, so I use my belt sander to sand down the outside edge of the test caps, so that the test caps are just flush on the ends of the tube. Then, use packaging tape to tape the caps in place.
[
www.lowes.com]
Note the description. PVC DWV pipe - this is the thinwall pipe and is not intended for pressure use. (works very well indeed)
These are the "test caps" that I use for the end of the tube.
[
www.lowes.com]
By the way, before shipping the rods that I build, I like to put them in plastic sleeves and use an impulse sealer to seal the sleeves.
I use an impulse sealer to seal the ends of the sleeves after placing the completed rods in the sleeves.
[
www.uline.com]
If you don't want to buy new, you can find used impulse sealers on some of the on line @#$%& sites.
Then, I buy a roll of poly sleeving. Again the 3 inch size works well for all of the different rods that I make:
[
www.uline.com]
If one only made rods with small guides, one could go to smaller sleeving.
It is nice that once a rod is finished, to slip it into a sleeve, and then, the rod stays free of dust and finger prints until it is received by the client.
I also generally put a small label in the shipping bag as well with the rod description, and name of the client.
When I ship many rods in the same box and I do for some clients, the labels make is much easier for the client to sort the rod for distribution, without having to spend extra time sorting the rods.
One can save a substantial amount of shipping costs if one ships multiple rods going to the same client in the same box. The cost is little different to ship 30 rods in one box, or to ship 1 rod in a tube. The oversize rate, is the general deciding factor in shipping costs.
Be safe
