Good morning all,

I received my Alps wrapper kit and installed it into my workspace last week. I finally found some time to work with it and in short, I am impressed. I have been hand wrapping using the equipment provided with the turnkey startup kit from Mudhole. That was eventually upgraded to include the 4-spool latest thread tensioner. I have done several rods since my first rod in 2017. I thought I was efficient until last night. On to the wrapper.

I received the kit and abruptly found out that Batson Ent is based out of Sequim. Of course I move all the way across the states to buy things from my neighbors! If anyone from Batson is present I grew up in Brinnon and Belfair. The packaging was sufficient and everything was there. Also a bonus catalogue and some large decals. Very nice catalogue.

Setup/final assembly was hassle free. Some people may complain about the difficulty to handle the hardware for jointing the aluminum sections but no problem for me. Only issue I had was that my kids helped me by tearing up all the styrofoam in my shop. The kit includes a qty of 2 4' aluminum base sections. This does not mean you have space to work 8' rods. Because the motors and chuck are mounted to one base you can easily work a rod up to 7'6" without the extra base.

The first thing I attempted was putting spare guides on a practice blank section. I settled on running at speed 3. At first I was struggling to get the thread started and keep the desired tension. I went back to the instructions provided for the thread tensioner. I very quickly went to the internet because that paper was lacking a bit. It had a text description of the setup but I just needed a little bit more and it was a bit convoluted. I put in about an hour of practice wraps and jumped straight to my build. A 7" section between the split grips wrapped in seconds vs. minutes on the old setup. I then went to my first guide, a KW, and decided that I would see how well it would climb the foot at speed. I was astonished! The Fuji guides generally don't require much prep but I touched them all up out of habit to deburr. With a properly prepped guide there is no worries in the transition from blank to foot. Full speed ahead! The double foot KW took me three minutes from start to walk away finished. The single foot guides were taking only one minute by the time I finished the wrapping on the last runner. The wraps were tight and very neat. I used my thread tools considerably less than I am used to.

One thing I had to do was put the pedal in my lap and work it with my elbow. It was sliding a bit on the wood floor and I could not get the sensitivity I needed as a beginner on this equipment with my foot. So I used left hand/arm to move the thread carriage and work the pedal. I used right hand for thread tools. I am curious what little nuances others experience.

The thread carriage will take some more getting used to but it is simple and works. Just different.

All in all I feel this is a game changer. I know a lot of people that use these here like to wrap with the belt off and still hand turning. I tried that and it was an improvement over the static felt stands but I thought, "I bought this thing for power." So with a little practice It was an undeniable improvement. Note I still had to use my other thread carriage for three wraps because I was working an 8' rod. I left the rod chucked in the wrapper and just slid the old carriage in there. Worked like a champ.

Sorry for the long winded post. I am just giddy and needed to share with folks who understand.

Have a great day,
Aaron

Congrats on your new wrapper and I wish you the best of luck with it!

You may want to try sticking a few of those rubber feet on the bottom of your foot pedal...that should solve the sliding problem.

I am surprised that you had such good luck using the power wrapper up and over guide feet. I have never been able to do it and always hand wrap the guides on. I only use my wrapper motor for underwraps and such. Maybe because I mostly do heavier saltwater rods and the guide feet are larger....

Good luck!

Aaron,
Looks like you handled the learning curve very well and have made a smooth transition to the power rod wrapper. Batson makes some great products and their service is excellent. Congratulations.
Lance

Thanks for the info. I was just contemplating the same purchase. Anything you suggest I change/add to the stock machine? I will order with the upgraded chuck. I had heard the spring loaded rests are a problem. I’m guessing that there were fine for you.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

Russell Brunt Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks for the info. I was just contemplating the
> same purchase. Anything you suggest I change/add
> to the stock machine? I will order with the
> upgraded chuck. I had heard the spring loaded
> rests are a problem. I’m guessing that there
> were fine for you.

Russell,

I bought the package with the upgraded chuck standard. It comes with the controls, motors, two 4' bases, hardware to join them, and some spare parts. I will definitely be ordering the extra 4' extension and would advise anyone to if they have room and plan on rods over 7'6". I will likely start saving for the cork lathe accessory.

The spring loaded rests were no issue at all. This build was a larger swimbait rod and I can see where something of a smaller diameter could possibly have issue with the arms being short when positioned down rod. However, in five minutes I could make a bar 1/8" longer and in another 5 have it mounted to accommodate if need be. Or the easier solution would be to raise the motor plate with a spacer so when you level the rod the lower adjustable portions raise higher. Probably just need 1/4" plate cut for that.

I do not plan on changing anything until something breaks. I have an electrician and engineering background so there are some electronics I would change but not until this motor or controls die. Then I would change to a brushless setup with ESC that had forward and reverse and put them on wireless throttle controls. Now that I said that maybe the idea will be used for a premium version of the unit.

Thanks Aaron. Longest one piece rod I envision would be eight feet so I think/hope I can mange the extra six inches without the extension.

Yup, I have heard the motors are on the weak side. I have a 1/6 HP, 115VDC, 1150 RPM, permanent magnet motor that I might look to incorporate later on. Not as elegant as your solution but it will have brute power! That said I'm not fixing it if it isn't broken:)

I think we have talked me into pulling the trigger. If you don't mind me asking, what did you pay? Get Bit is in my state and has the Alps with upgrade chuck for $395. Can I do better elsewhere?

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

As has earlier been posted - if the pedal is slipping and if you don't already have rubber feet on the pedal, choose one of these to keep the pedal from slipping.

If you do have feet on the pedal, but if they are hard plastic, remove them and replace them with a set of soft non slip rubber feet to keep from slipping:

[www.google.com]

Great review.

p.s.
You mention that in the future, you may consider a brushless setup with ESC and wireless throttle controls.
One thing that I have found is that many of the brushless motors on the market with ESC - do not have a low enough starting speed for excellent power wrapping without a significant speed reduction via pulles or gears. Also, a problem for many after market situation is a suitable pedal for excellent speed control. But all of that is in the future and things will likely have changed by the time you may consider such a transition.

Take care

Russell,

I got mine from there for just under that due to a sale being on at the time.

Roger,

I agree that starting torque without mechanical assistance is lacking in brushless in a similar size currently in public market. Especially in a scenario like this where a large converter isn't used. I think oversizing the motor may help but currently I do not know if an approriate sized brushless that is controllable without making my own controller with Arduino or a Danfoss MC0 even exists. It can be done though. Hobby motors are rivaling brushed in identical class now and the tech is still what I would consider young. But this setup I expect to last me long enough that the product would likely be readily available.

Russ, for the best prices on Batson stuff, always check in with Utmost Enterprises. It's usually worth the call or email for a quote. If their price isn't better than Get Bit, I doubt you'll find better.

I pulled the trigger Aaron. It just arrived. My initial thoughts:

I wish it spun the opposite direction, that the thread carriage was on the backside, and that it had a tension rod. Guess I can turn it around and have the motor on the right:) Or I'll just get used to it. Instead of an extra section I wonder if I could get some square stock that would fit inside the channels, drill and tap 8 holes, and make it two feet longer. I could live with no rod support over a distance of two feet and a 9 foot max rod length. The tapped holes would make it easier to break down too.

Now don't anyone take this wrong. I'm impressed with the overall package. It has enough fine control on the pedal to climb up guides and do inlays. It has enough speed to get things done in a hurry. The chuck is top notch and the overall layout and workmanship is very nice.

I can see how a slotted L bracket could convert the spring loaded rest to the slide ones. Wonder if they will sell me just that part? Couldn't cost more than a buck for those concerned about the spring loaded rod rests (and I can see why they would be on smaller diameter rods).

On the bonus side they included a neck gaiter, flat bill camo hat, and a pullover hoodie. In particular, the hoodie is really nice. Be advised sizes run a little small. At 5'10" 175# I'd normally buy a medium and I'm glad they sent a large. I'd call it (easily) an extra $100 in free apparel. A couple of decals, a sticker, and a huge catalog as well. Shipping was fast and packaging was good. Kudos and Thanks to the Batson family.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

Russ,

100% on the first paragraph. I too wanted it to spin the other way due to being familiar with the CRB/Mudhole thread carriage. I put the motor on the left hand and tried it as designed and actually am used to it after only two rods. I practiced about 20 wraps but once I was able to consistently get them started I was good. I do miss the visual indicator of tension that the CRB/Mudhole tensioner gave me. I had to adjust my tension over the first few practice wraps. But once it is set you can forget about it.

One thing I have thought about is a pin system that wont interfere with the thread carriage. Just cut a long bar and mount it to the motor plate via tapped 10-24 (x3) and have holes at varying 3-4" spacing sized for a pin. Pull pin. Slide out. Pin in. Viola.