I am finalizing my rod lathe design. The last piece I need is the tension rod. That little item that applies tension to the thread so I can unwrap the rod without completely loosing the wrap tension. Most I have seen appear to be made out of some kind of steel wire.

So my question to the forum is, what do most builders make this rod from. I have been looking at High Carbon Steel 2B with a .020 thickness, but have no idea how it would work. And before I buy 900 feet of that stuff (smallest quantity I have found) I would like to have some suggestions.

Any help?

Thanks.

0 37 music wire from the craft store or hardware store.

The best day to be alive is always tomorrow !!
Think out side the box when all else fails !!!
Wi.

John
You also could use a short tip section of an old rod or rod blank with a tip-top installed.
Rog

300 lbs. single strand stainless steel leader wire. works great and also useful for making small tools . Seldom does a day go by that I don't use some of the tools Ive made out of leader wire either repairing reels or building and repairing rods.

also a good source is a hobby shop many sizes , welding supply [ smaller selection ] what ever is close to you , use an old TIP TOP on the top of your wire ,
I used an old hack saw blade with a tip top on it [ cheep ]

William Sidney
AK

But, millions of rods are built every year on a wrapper that does not use any sort of tension wire.

I have been building rods for many, many years and have never used a tension wire on my wrapper or at any time when wrapping.

If I make a mistake, I just grab the thread, back up the rod and pull the loose thread back through the tension device and go on.

But, it is of course - your choice.

I don't use a tension rod either. I do it a little differently than Roger, as I have the thread going straight from the spool, to the rod blank. If I make a mistake I just turn the rod and the thread spool backwards by hand. I've seen some of the wrappers that have the tension rod, and personally I'd rather not have extra clutter around the area that I am wrapping.

John,
One of the big reasons that I prefer to use no tension rod, is that with a tension rod, you lose control of your thread tension. The thread tension that you get with the use of a tension rod is essentially the tension that is in the rod. If you want more or less tension for a particular rod, thread or spot, it is difficult to change that tension with the rod in between the spool and the thread adjustable tension that you have in your system.

Best wishes

2X Roger and David

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

I started out thinking a tension rod was a good idea but after wrapping with it i scrapped it and went back to just using thread tension as i found it quicker and easier. Thread tension is controlled by a combination of the thread spool and the blanks rolling resistance while i'm wrapping , i can step away at anytime and not lose any tension whatsoever.