Well it is one of those days, that I have lots of time on my hands as I am "watching paint dry". Ok it's not paint but watching epoxy dry is about as exciting. I have been playing around with the idea of how much it takes to cover a rod so I've been experimenting today with amounts.

I have found that with 1/4cc (1/2cc total) I've been able to completely cover two 7 footers. One is a spinner with 9 guides and the other is a caster with 9 guides on it as well. I even have some left over. Neither of these rods have decals so that will have to be taken into account if you plan on trying this. I typically only mix up 1/2cc of each part and run with that but thought I would goof around today just to see what I could learn.

I understand at these small of volumes I am inviting LOTS of problems as my margin for error is Horrifically small. I know that Tom has recommended 3cc's for as long as I have been reading the board (over 10 years), I just thought I would mess around a bit.

They are my rods and if I mess these up, no harm, no foul!!

Tom

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/20/2016 04:56PM by John E Powell.

I mix up enough to cover the rod and have a bit extra. That is about 1/2 way up the syringe.

I did pick up a new pair of bottles of epoxy where each bottle was 4 ozs.
I built 50 rods and used 1/2 of each bottle for a total of 4 fluid ozs to cover the guide and butt wraps for each of the rods.

Be safe

That's one way to get your money's worth! No doubt going to be some light rods. I talk to more and more builders going super thin with their epoxy, even as light as just a couple coats of color preserver. Pretty kool, you can't go wrong when you go custom!

Tight Lines and Bull's-eyes,

Get Bit Outdoors
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Are you talking about just the wraps, or the exposed blank as well?

I have mixed up as little as 2 drops each for a very small job and it worked fine. Used tread master.

I always mix just 1/2 cc of each part. 1 cc total. Never had any problems with it drying tacky. It is just enough to cover guides on a rod in most cases. If i need to do larger rod on decal area i just mix another cup.

Randolph, I only covered the guides, so honestly there wasn't much to cover.

I did just get back to the house and found the epoxy set up like normal (like Threadmaster always does) and there are absolutely no issues.

Kevin, I did epoxy a few of the rods for the school today and I went with a normal amount on them as I am sure the High School kids will subject them to a little more than what I typically give my personal builds.

Sergiy, I too have been doing that since I first got my hands on Threadmaster after its release and have never had an issue. I will say that I stir the snot out of it, generally up to 200 revolutions in opposite directions in 25 revolution increments. A quick flame and ALL bubbles are gone.

Tom

Tom

Have always wondered how much waste was associated with mixing 3cc of epoxy, and now I have an idea, and, frankly, sort of now wish I did not know. The waste is somewhere between heart breaking and outrageous. Think I'll try a 2cc mix (4cc total) and see what happens. If it works it will reduce the cost by at least 30%. Certainly not as cost effective as your 1/4cc mix, but I'll take 30% for the first step.

The question is, how much does it cost you if your mix is off just enough that you have a problem and you have to not only re-coat, but rectify what you have already put on. What is your time and effort worth?

Epoxy finish is not at all expensive. Trying to save a quarter against the cost of your time and another application of the very epoxy you were trying to save, is being penny wise and pound foolish.

Now having said that, it certainly isn't impossible to measure minute quantities of epoxy and have it set and cure properly - Thomas's experience illustrates that. But for the mere pennies involved, why take the chance? Of course, that decision is up to the individual rod builder so have at it.

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

Yes, Thredmaster lite, no issues.

The kids at the school are going to love those rods, no doubt!! Great thing you are doing to help them out.

Tight Lines and Bull's-eyes,

Get Bit Outdoors
407-542-7840
www.GetBitOutdoors.com
www.facebook.com/GetBitOutdoors

Kevin,
I will get you some pictures of the kids with the rods when I finish them up all up. Thanks again!!!

Tom I agree with you and always mix larger portions when I am doing rods for others or repairs. Like you said, it is not worth the time and hassle of redoing it in the event of a problem.

Tom

Kevin,
I will get you some pictures of the kids with the rods when I finish them up all up. Thanks again!!!

Tom I agree with you and always mix larger portions when I am doing rods for others or repairs. Like you said, it is not worth the time and hassle of redoing it in the event of a problem.

Tom

Kevin,
I will get you some pictures of the kids with the rods when I finish them up all up. Thanks again!!!

Tom I agree with you and always mix larger portions when I am doing rods for others or repairs. Like you said, it is not worth the time and hassle of redoing it in the event of a problem.

Tom

Kevin,
I will get you some pictures of the kids with the rods when I finish them up all up. Thanks again!!!

Tom I agree with you and always mix larger portions when I am doing rods for others or repairs. Like you said, it is not worth the time and hassle of redoing it in the event of a problem.

Tom

You can say that again!!!

Freddwhy (Rapt-Ryte)

yikes, what in the heck did I do there. Sorry about that Tom

Nothing at all wrong with your post. No problem.

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

I've been measuring my mix by weight for several months. Before I retired, I took two brands of epoxy to the chem lab on campus and asked the professor to measure specific gravity of each part. Got the results and compared them to my calculations based on weight of new 4oz bottles. Came up with the same numbers. Here are the numbers when measured in grains.

Flex Coat lite takes 7 grains of hardner and 8 grains of resin.

Threadmaster lite takes 8 grains of hardner and 9 grains of resin.

Neither mix comes close to the 1cc mark on the mix cup.

Both mixes are very slightly off, but the difference is three places to the right of the decimal point. It's a heck of lot closer than you can get by eyeballing a mixing cup, or a syringe.

As verification I only need look at my oldest two bottles of Flex Coat lite. Both parts started out dead level, and, with only about a half an inch left in each, they are still dead level.

I do believe I'm getting a very accurate mix.