I tried my first abalone wrap and I messed it up royally. thankfully it was on my personal rod. however i do have to do one for a friends rod. I tried the heatgun method and it didn't work for me. it cracked almost instantly. I suppose it wasn't warm enough. any tricks would be grateful. thanks

Greg

I just completed a medium light spin rod with "max flex" abalone applied to the butt wrap section. I used a heat gun on a medium low heat and used the wide nozzle to heat the abalone well as I applied it. The abalone did crack a little as I wrapped it around the blank, but just slightly. I think unless you are putting the abalone on a larger diameter section of blank you can expect some cracking. I also put 1 coat of cp on the abalone before applying my finish (to fill the tiny cracks and prevent fish-eyes). Just heat the abalone well (but don't destroy the blank) and go very slowly wrapping it around the blank. I have built 4 smaller diameter rods with abalone on them and every one had some cracking - even the "tacky mop" thin material, but the layers of finish seem to hide the cracks a little. I also have tried the "boiling" process on 2 of those rods with no better results than with the heat gun method.

Rog

I use Abalone quite a lot. Kevin Knox is the man with the knowledge. He will tell you how to. HEAT gun does not work well. Contact Kevin, he taught me his method

What method is that?

I boil it in a pan of water until the adhesive side of the abalone turns dark. I then apply it to the blank and wrap D thread over the entire abalone section to squeeze out any moisture and adhesive. Let if dry for about 3 to 4 hours. I've used this method on a lot of rods and haven't had any problems.

I use abalone a lot and the thin stuff is awesome. X2 what Bruno said works well for me. Heat gun is nonsense IMO