Hi All - Long time reader, first time posting.

I have built a few rods over the years. All were strictly utilitarian, with the fanciest having trim bands on the guide wraps 8 ) .

I am gathering the components to build up a Coho trolling rod on a Rainshadow RDR86M blank using the Batson Blueprint as a starting point. I want to dress this one up just a bit so have been practicing some more eyecatching guide wraps. I thought I might go all in and do a butt wrap too. I am practicing a basic open diamond wrap as Tom shows on pgs 48-49 of the "Rod-Building Guide". I got to wondering if it would be possible to do just one side of the wrap and then do the other side. So the effect would be of two ribbons winding up the rod. One right to left and the other left to right. The cross over points would look like one ribbon crossing over the other, rather than the diamond weave pattern as shown in the book.

I am thinking it would be harder to keep the threads in place without the weave to lock them down at the cross overs. Maybe do one "ribbon" and then a coat of CP to hold it steady while I do the other side?

Does anybody see any other pit falls I might run into doing a wrap like that?

Alan

You can do that, but you won't end up with diamonds, just two bands, one over the top of the other at each intersection point. Many have done them this way.

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

Alan,

A lot of beginners to decorative wraps are intimidated by the concepts of winding threads up and down the blank and keeping track of left and right sides. Layout of centers, boxes, altering the sequence, number, and colors of threads in more complex patterns just adds to the complexity a beginner experiences when they try to create their first few decorative wraps.

What you propose is just about the simplest form of decorative wrap you can possibly do. You would be laying down, for example, twenty threads next to each other in one direction, and then you would lay down the same number of threads in the opposite direction. If you were to make one simple change in your plans you could make what is referred to as a chevron. A chevron is formed by alternating the threads one or two at a time from side to side or top to bottom instead of laying down all 20 threads in one direction then all 20 threads in the other direction - that's it! That's all there is to it!

You wrote that you've been experimenting with more advanced guide wraps. Most likely you're using more than one color to create these guide wraps. Use the same assortment of colors in your decorative wraps. Lets say you're creating a blue wrap with white trim color, carry that theme into your decorative wrap. Keeping things simple, and following the idea of twenty threads in your wrap, make all your threads blue except the 2nd and 3rd and 18th and 19th threads which will be your guide trim color, in my example those would be white. The sequence would be 1 thread of blue in each direction (this marks the starting cross and sets the spacing between patterns), then 2 threads of trim color white in each direction, 14 threads of blue in each direction, 2 more white in each direction and then the final 20th blue thread. Each band of 2 white threads will form a "V" shape, or chevron, bordered and separated from each other by the blue thread.

Here's an example of what the double trim color would look like (this is about the best I can show in the forum here) assuming you construct the chevron by adding threads on each side toward the tip end of the rod:

/\
/\

Instead of wrapping all twenty of the threads in one direction and then the other, which would result in something like these parallel bands:

\ \ or / / visible on top where the threads cross each other.


Now, a chevron can made to point in any direction. For example, here's a single left pointing chevron (you'll have to imagine the lines connect to each other):

/
\

a single right pointing chevron:

\
/

and a single down pointing chevron:

\/

It's really very easy to do, you just have to think about which two of the 4 possible sides of your cross you wrap your new threads next to.

Now, the next logical progression from a single chevron is a double chevron. Basically a double chevron are two opposing chevrons adjacent to each other that are created by making a single chevron in one direction and then making a second chevron in the opposite direction. For example, first construct a downward pointing chevron like this:

\/

then after you complete the first chevron start a second upward pointing chevron directly above the first chevron:

/\

Because the second chevron is placed on top of the first chevron, the second second will cover up some of the first chevron. You'll see all of this:

/\ and the lower portion of this \/. You can also do a left / right double chevron instead of a up / down chevron.

Keep in mind throughout this process you'll be using more than one color of thread. If you want to have them look symmetrical don't change the order and number of color threads from one chevron to the other. But at the same time keep in mind that there's nothing that says you can't change them to get an asymmetrical effect.

Now if I haven't lost you yet, and you think you could do a double chevron, there's one final point i want to explain here. The only difference between a double chevron and a diamond is that instead of wrapping all the threads one way and then the other like in the double chevron, you simply create both chevrons on both sides at the same time alternating back and forth. Thats it, that's the only difference - it's the exact same concept of upgrading from a band to a chevron except that you do it on all 4 sides instead of just 2 at a time.

If you've made it this far, take a look at this video:
[www.youtube.com]
This video is from one of the forum sponsors, Visual WRAP. It covers some more advanced terms I mentioned above, but if you look for time interval around 3:10 where they talk about "plus progression" the overall shape of what they are creating is a chevron (because they are wrapping on just two of the 4 sides). You can see the chevron pattern develop as thread colors are changed during the wrap.

I hope that helps give you a stronger sense of confidence that you can do a diamond wrap for your very first wrap.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/03/2014 01:05PM by John E Powell.

Thanks for your replies Gentlemen.

Tom - I thought my plan would be fairly easy to do. I looked through the photos page and didn't find anything like that so I just wanted to ask to make sure there weren't any unforseen stumbling points. Maybe just too simple for folks to post pictures?

John - You said "Use the same assortment of colors in your decorative wraps". That's exactly what I have in mind. The wraps would esentially be the same as the guide wraps. When envisioning this project it just looked better in my minds eye to have the bands cross rather than forming the diamonds at the cross over points.

I tend to be VERY slow and methodical in every thing I do. So this project may take a while. The next Coho run doesn't come to Puget Sound until Aug/Sep so I SHOULD be able to get it done by then. I'll probably be back with more questions as the build progresses.

Alan

Alan, thanks for confirming your desire for multi color thread use, it helps to frame my advice.

Since you confirmed you're planning to use more than one color, i might suggest you consider a single ribbon of multi colors for sort of a candy cane or barbershop pole effect. Spiral in one direction only instead of two. I've seen a few done this way over the years and they usually look decent and are certainly different from typical crossing thread patterns. To me, having two wide multicolor bands, one overlaying the other, has the potential to look odd unless performed very well. I'm not confident I would be happy with the results if I tried to do something like what you describe. I recall from my art classes that most people generally subconsciously feel simple asymmetrical patterns are awkwardly unbalanced and less pleasing to look at than more complicated asymmetrical patterns where the complexity of the pattern draws the viewers attention away from the asymmetry to other geometric aspects of a piece. From that standpoint, I don't think you're going to get enough complexity from what you propose to divert one's attention away from the fact the pattern is not symmetrical.

From an artistic standpoint, you might want to consider no interior color change in the bands at all. Just a single wide band of color that will somewhat hide the fact the threads are not woven back and forth. After doing so, use your trim color to place a simple box around where the two large ribbons cross, and then maybe a single thread of the original ribbon color around that. In this way you could create the illusion that you wove the threads as a normal diamond without having to actually lay all the threads in alternating bands in traditional diamond wrap manner. However, keep in mind that the threads will be loose since they're not interwoven. This can have both good and bad implications; it will make it easier to position the overlapping area, but also more prone to movement during the finishing stages. Extra care will be needed.

One final thought at this time, if you like this concept where the goal is to attempt to hide the overlapping band from notice, it might make sense to use NCP thread which looks flatter, more like paint than regular thread which shows highlights in the thread more readily. The brighter the main ribbon color, the more I would lean toward NCP.

John, your inputs are very much appreciated. I can certainly use the artist's point of view. My apptitude is much more that of a mechanic ... pretty good at finish carpentry, electronics, and other mechanical areas. Artist... not so much. I would think that's why my previous builds have been utterly basic. The old "form follows function" school.

I think the thing to do now is to break out the practice blanks and have at it. Once I get threads laid down I will be able to see if my ideas look as good in hand as they do in my mind.

Alan