...over guide foot. Haven't had this problem so bad as it was today. I grind the foot to a knife edge using A thread can't get the thread to climb up, have to leave a 2 or 3 thread gap. The guides seem to have more paint than I noticed before could that be a problem?

I have had issues like this in the past. I used to be crazy about getting a perfect edge on the guide foot. I have found if I reduce the edge but leave it a little uneven an not perfectly polished the thread does not want to slip off the guide foot as easily. Possible the extra paint is giving you a slick surface the thread is siding off of. Just hit the foot randomly along the edge with a file. Scuff it up a bit give the thread something to grab onto. You don't want things to feel sharp but you want to see the file marks.

I still occasionally have problems. If I do I will jump the thread onto the guide foot and make a few wraps. I make enough wraps to fill the gap I left and have three or four wraps on the guide foot. I then gentle slide that band of wraps down off the guide foot.

I once had problems with small guides wanting to slide forward when I wrapped. I solved this problem by making a couple of wraps behind the guide with the thin strip of painter’s tape I use to hold the guide in place. This makes a small dam behind the guide and prevents the guide from sliding forward and allows for the thread to easily climb the foot. I don’t prep my guide feet and have no problem climbing the foot.
Norm

Alex - You say the guides have more paint , and that you grind the foot to a knife edge. I would think that the paint on the tip of the guide feet would have been removed when you grind them - are you grinding the bottom of the guide feet?

Alex,
There may be another, overlooked issue causing your thread (not) climbing woes. No matter how shallow and sharp you grind the taper on the foot, if the bottom is not flat there will be a gap between the tip of the foot and the blank. Also, during manufacture, the tip of the foot is deburred, on both the top and bottom, which inherently leaves a slight radius on the bottom of the tip. I have found it better to bend a tiny bit of an arch in the foot to insure the very tip is in contact with the blank which produces a seamless thread transition from the blank onto the guide foot.
As for grinding the ramp of a guide foot, there are many qualified, veteran builders such as Norman and Jim Ising who recommend NOT grinding the foot. Without detailing their reasons, I understand and even agree with their points. However, I am very picky about there not being even the slightest bump as the thread starts to climb the guide foot and, hence, “dress” the tip of the foot and make certain the tip is in contact with the blank. There is a difference between grinding and dressing.

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

All of the comments are right on and correct.

As I have posted before, I use my 30 inch belt sander with 240 sanding belt to sand on the top side of the guide foot - perpendicular to the guide foot. This leaves small scratches across the face of the foot, which easily and normally capture the thread as it climbs up the foot.

In addition, as soon as I have finished sanding the top side of the foot, I have a fine grit arkansas stone on which a slide the guide foot back and forth a couple of times to be sure that there are no hanging edges below the guide foot that could cause an issue with the thread and or the blank.

[www.rodbuilding.org]

Thank you for the help. As Norman says the guide is slipping and trying to get out from under the thread and the thread is also slipping down the foot. In the future I'll use a file perpendicular to the foot to give it some "teeth" and find a better way to hold it on the blank. I'm cutting a thin piece of masking tape to hold the guide. It's mostly on the tip end of the blank.

Small orthodontic rubber bands work great to hold guides un place. Mudhole sells them. Or small rings of small diameter latex tubing work as well

I've experienced this myself. I came to the conclusion, at least for my guides, the paint on the adjacent edges was indeed thicker and seemed to want to push the thread a bit. I ground the first few millimeters of the side of the foot, and round the top of the foot over to the edges/sides. This did the trick, wrapped nice without gaps or overlap. One thing I always do with painted or blackened guides after I grind them is polish them with a rubber abrasive tip in my dremel tool, maybe it's anal but I worry that as the thread stretches across the ground surface it night be abraded by the grind marks. The other thing I do is darken the metal for guides that were dark or black before I started, I had a few feet over the years that after applying NCP/finish reveled a shiny area where either my packing loosened or relaxed when wetted - or I just didn't get a good pack. Most often I use an industrial (not hobby store) black Sharpie. They say "Industrial" in red on the barrel.... they won't bleed or lift color when I apply finish. Good luck! I think you're on the right track!