After many years of scrambling to find someone to replace guides when I would break one I decided to just do it myself. I got a wrapping station and dryer as well as the materials I will need.

My first attempt will be to replace a guide on a Dobyns Extreme. The thread color is black with a gold accent. From the top the accent looks like two strands of thread, but when you turn the rod over you can see it was started and had two turns slightly apart and then cut off.

That doesn't seem too hard to do, but I am not sure how to keep the accent thread in place while finishing the job with epoxy. I thought of putting a drop of CA there to keep it in place but that doesn't leave any room for error. What's the best way to do it?

This is how I do it;

While wrapping the black thread, when you get to where you want the trim band, insert your gold thread under the black thread you are currently winding. I leave about two inches of thread sticking out and wind the black thread over the gold twice. Then take the gold thread and lay it right beside the black thread that is coming up to the rod. Hold this in place while turning the rod three times. Once you have turned it three times, (ending in the same position as you started), then place your thumb over the whole area. Allow the free end of the gold thread to become loose and slowly unwind one revolution of the gold thread. Make sure that the gold thread remains under the black thread when you have finished unwinding one round of thread.

This should leave you with two gold bands that are separated by one black thread. The gold should start and stop in the same place. Make a few more wraps of black to secure the gold thread, and then cut the gold thread off. After you have finished wrapping your black thread and burnishing it, you can then cut off the starting tail of the gold thread and burnish it into the black.

I always pull away from the razor blade at first before cutting. This pulls the gold thread up slightly higher so you can cut very close to the black thread. Lay your razor blade right next to the gold thread and pull the gold thread towards and over the razor blade. This will cut it and if all goes well, there will be no gold showing where you cut it. However, if there is, you can take a small pick and gently work it under the black threads.

Rick,
Trim bands, or “accents” as you call them are basically produced by simply “adding and / or dropping” threads. Search for such here or facebook videos which might prove easier to understand than lengthy text explanation attempts. If not, come back or email me directly.

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