Which direction do you perform your thread wrapping; the thread coming from behind and above to down in front or the opposite, from down in front to above and behind? More importantly is why you choose the direction you employ? It is certainly personal preference and neither direction is wrong or right, but I am simply curious. Additionally, do you employ a flexible thread-tension rod/wire/buggy whip? I anticipate most of you wrap with the top of the blank turning toward you, another way of describing the first direction above.
I wrap from down in front to over the top and behind and do not use a thread tension rod. I find it much more natural, comfortable and easier when adding/dropping threads or performing things like vine leafs if allowed to guide/ manipulate the thread coming from low and in front rather than having to hold it up. But then, I have talked with a couple veterans who cannot imagine wrapping in that direction. Again, it is certainly personal preference and, in the grand scheme of things, makes no difference as long as the job gets done.

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

I wrap from behind and over the top. I do use a wire tension rod in addition to the tension on the thread spools. It is the way I started and I have stayed with it, After trying the in front and over method, didn't feel comfortable.

By the way I only build fly rods and hand wrap them all. Tried a power wrapper, but found it more trouble then it is worth for the short wraps on fly rods, especially single foot guides with Forhan locking wraps.

Loved seeing your new wrapper......well done!

For me, the rods turns AWAY from me and the thread comes from below. It makes it easier to do tie in's and leaves. Any other way is just a nightmare because I have fat fingers!

Tony Boschi
Banana River Rods
Merritt Island, Florida
321~525~1063

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True story. Long, long ago and far, far away during a management training period, I was given over to a teller supervisor who was to instruct me in all things about being a bank teller including the most efficient way to count currency. I did not notice she was left handed until it was way past too late. To this day I count currency left handed.

I learned to wrap with the thread traveling up in front of me and the top of the rod turning away from me. So maybe I wrap backwards too!

I do exactly as Phil does only just the opposite. lol Opposite being I only build spin or cast rods. Never liked the spools between myself and the blank. My wraps are pretty simple except for JTOB's and similar. Hobby for me, so speed not an issue.

I’m like Phil Erickson, I turn the rod toward me with the spool behind the blank and the thread coming over the top. I also wrap by hand, a power wrapper just slows me down and gets in the way. In addition, I sit in one place and move the blank, rather than the blanks staying in one place and me moving. I have no problems adding a different thread for inlays. To each their own, and this has worked for me for over 50 years.
Norm

I learned to wrap with the spool behind the rod and the rod top turning toward me for wrapping. It works and I have never felt the need to change.

I use a bi directional power wrapper.

I use the power wrapper to apply finish.

Now, when applying finish, I flip the reverse switch on the motor and have the top of the rod turning away from me. That way, when I apply finish I can have the brush on the top of the rod as I apply finish and the top of the rod turning away from me pulls the finish off the rod and gives me a wide view of what is going on. If I applied finish with the rod turning toward me, my hand would be in the way of seeing what is going on with the brush and finish. Just more comfortable with the rod turning away from me when applying finish.

I also have never used a tension rod and have never felt a need for it. If, I find that I have made a mistake and need to back up, I flip the reverse on the motor and grab the thread to keep the slack out of the thread and when the mistake has been cleared, just place the thread back in the sewing machine type tension device that I use and if I have had to spool back a lot of thread, will roll the excess thread back on the spool which rarely happens. Then, I flip the reverse switch and go back to wrapping.

If I am in the middle of a wrap and get called away, I take my foot off of the pedal, get up, turn off the lights and close the door. Everything will be the same when I get back to it. Just turn things back on, put my foot back on the pedal and finish the wrap that I was working on. The power wrapper holds everything stationary in the position that it was when I took my foot off of the pedal. No need to do anything extra to maintain my place on the job.

Take care

I and other members possibly as well, appreciate the replies from Phil, Tony, Donald, Lynn, Norman and Roger. Hopefully others will take the time to reply and express why they wrap in their certain, preferred direction. I suppose initially learning in one direction would take precedence and make trying to wrap in the opposite direction awkward and uncomfortable at best; I know that holds true for me and possibly, even probably, the same for all. None the less, there must be certain attributes and advantages in wrapping in one direction verses the other. I would like to hear more replies simply because I, and hopefully others, am/are here to learn.

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 using a power wrapper around 2008, just because I got a good deal on it. So I had to teach myself how to use it. Top spins away from me, so thread over the top with no tensioning whip, just the springs and washers on the thread carriage.

I like to have it setup so I wrap away from me. This gives me the ability to see the space between wraps before it gets completed on the rod. I also use a wire as my tension device. Its not much tension but enough for how I wrap. I also like to wrap from left to right. I tried to wrap from right to left going down the guidefoot, just seemed odd to me.

Ken,
Depending on the orientation of the rod: i.e. the butt of the rod on the right of the builder or the butt of the rod on the left of the builder normally dictates the direction of wrapping. When you wrap casting guides, you are given the opportunity to wrap in both directions.

I think that the bulk of rod builders and rod wrapper wrap from the rod up the guide foot and up to the bend in the guide foot for the part of the guide that holds the ring. The reason for this, is that the thread acts as an anti back slip dam to prevent the wrapped thread from slipping back down the sloping guide foot. One can wrap from the guide ring back down the guide to the rod, but it is generally much more difficult to get the same perfect wrap in the same amount of time that you can achieve by going the other direction.

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I think that wrapping direction, and lighting arrangement for the work station also depends on whether a wrapper is right handed or left handed.

For the bulk of power wrappers, the normal setup is for the head stock and chuck to be on the left side of the wrapper. It just simply seems to work better for right handed rod wrappers to have the setup this way.

But, I happen to be left handed. For myself, I will not set up the wrapper in any direction other than to have the head stock and the chuck on the right hand side of me.

Also, when setting up lighting. For a person who is right handed, it works great to have high intensity close detail lighting on the left side of the guide being wrapped. This keeps the shadow of the wrapping hand to never interfere with the vision of the guide being wrapped.
Conversely, for my left handed rod wrapping I always keep my high intensity detailed lighting on the right side of the wrap, to avoid the hand shadow from obscuring the wrapping being done by my left hand.

This also the reason why I have a reverse on my wrapper motor. I always want to have the thread behind the rod and I want the top of the rod to be rotating down toward me. I want this to happen, no matter if the wrapper headstock and motor is on the left side of me, or on the right side of me. With a reversing switch, I just flip the switch to have the rod rotate in the desired direction for the wrappers position.

Take care

Roger,
I also think the lighting aspect is very important, especially the older I get. I have two 3 diopter magnifier lamps mounted to my table on each end that can cover the length of any rod that I build. There is about of foot in the middle of the table that they can overlap. Works pretty good without having to wear some kind of lighted head piece magnifier. Most of the time our equipment that we use to wrap, is going to dictate how we do it. Direction is not much of an issue if there is no motor involved.
Cheers

Some additional information on my wrapping.

I am right handed and wrap from left to right, with the butt to my left, the exception is on the second foot of a double footed guide I wrap right to left. Thankfully 90% of my guide wraps are single foot !!

Lance,
On the same vein of eyesight, light and getting older.

Make sure to have a good vision check up every couple of years with a good check for cataracts. If a person has severe cataracts, their vision will be come more and more dim as the cataract grows.

I just chatted with my brother who had his first cataract surgery this afternoon. He indicated that it was about a 15 minute procedure with next to no pain and was home a couple of hours after he left.

Although it will be a few days before things get back to normal, he indicated how much brighter everything is, as seen through his new lens in his eye.

He will be going back in two weeks to have the other eye done. Then, he will get temporary glasses for 6 months and get his permanent prescription later

So, if you notice your vision getting DIMMER. Go to your eye doctor and get a good check up including eye disease as well as for cataracts, in addition to the standard vision check.

Take care