Does anyone have tips for finishing wraps without an electric dryer? Do I really have to spend the money on one? Should I use high build or low build finish? I'm building a two piece blank, any tips for ferrules?

Thanks for all your guys' help
-Hunter

I personally would buy one. But I have heard of people just setting a timer and rotating the blank every few minutes at first, then rotating the blank every 15 minutes, etc. If you choose to go this route, I would go with high build as it's less likely to run and droop. You can test it out on a rod you already own. With that being said, I'd really suggest a dryer

Dryers are convenient to have.

You can turn the rod by hand. But don't get stuck thinking you have to do it on a certain time schedule. Turn the rod when it needs to be turned. With the guides pointed down, wait until the finish starts to just get heavy on the bottom and then turn it so that the guides are up (180 degree turn). Wait until the finish starts to heavy on the bottom again and turn it back so that the guides are point down. Keep doing this. At first you'll be turning it may every couple of minutes. Very shortly it'll be every few minutes. Then it'll be maybe every 5 to 10 minutes. Eventually it'll be every 10 or 15 and then you won't need to turn it anymore.

Always turn the rod 180 degrees and only turn it when the finish starts to get just a little heavy on the bottom. Don't get stuck on a certain time frame and don't turn the rod less than 180 degrees each turn.

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I've been building since about 1956, and I've never had to use an electric dryer, or any drying tents, or anything like that. If you can cure (it's not dry, epoxy does not dry, it is a chemical reaction, it cures) at about 70 F you don't need anything for heat.

Whether high or low build, relative to curing, makes no difference. It's what you prefer for coating the guides. I prefer lite. But even with high build, if you want a lite coat, just don't put so much on. Make it thin.

What specifically is the question about ferrules?

Just wondering if there's anything I specifically should do for ferrules. I saw somewhere to wrap wax paper around the male end of the ferrule when I coat the thread in case of epoxy spilling over.

When I first started building rods I turned all my rods by hand, and it worked very well. For about the first 30 minutes I would turn the rod 1/4 turn every 5 -10 minutes or so. For the next hour I would turn a 1/4 turn every 15 min, then a 1/2 turn every 30 min. After about 2.5 to 3 hr total you can stop turning. If you see any drips early on, remove them. The finish will level perfectly smooth with no football formation. It will give you a real appreciation for how much epoxy to use and how well epoxy will level itself. I always used a regular/high build epoxy because it cured faster than the low build finishes. Also at that time various types of epoxy weren’t available. I always wrap the ferrules as insurance against splitting, but that just me. Many of the modern two piece rods have reinforced ferrules and really don’t need to be wrapped. Your choice. Never worried about using wax paper to keep any epoxy out of the ferrule, I never glued the ferrule together when wrapping, just be careful and you’ll be fine.
Norm



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/07/2022 06:12PM by Norman Miller.

Do not get stuck on a time schedule for turning the rod. Turn it only when it needs to be turned. It will be obvious.

If you stick in this hobby for awhile I would go ahead and get rod dryer just for the ease of use. Most builders use them to make things easier and less time consuming.

In contrast to what others have said about not getting stuck on a time schedule, I think it’s important. When rotating by hand, If you don’t set a schedule for yourself it’s easy to get distracted and lose track of time, then you have problems. Believe me, I have found out the hard, it’s best to set a schedule; been there done that. It’s always better to rotate more often then not often enough. Setting a timer is a good thing, nothing is better as a reminder. I rotated rids for years before I bought an electric rod rotor, and the results were excellent. An electric rod rotator doesn’t give you a better finish, it is just far more convenient. If you are planning on making rods as a hobby, I would certainly invest in at least one. I now have about six or so set ups with a few backup motors. I like electric motors that rotate in the 4 to 9 rpm range. I believe they give a nice flat and smooth finish. I have a few 19 rpm motors but only used use them for applying finish rather than for curing finish.
Norm

Thank all of you for your advice, when time comes for finishing I think I'll stick around for the first hour or so and watch it then set 10-15 minute timers.

Thank all of you for your advice, when time comes for finishing I think I'll stick around for the first hour or so and watch it then set 10-15 minute timers.

Put a little plastic wrap around the end of the butt section before inserting into the tip prior to finishing the ferrule if you're worried about finish getting on the butt section. Way better than wax paper.

I agree with Norman. I turn my rods by hand and on a schedule. I set the timer on my phone. I usually turn it every 6 minutes for 2 or 3 turns, 180 degree . Then every 8 minutes for 2 or 3 turns and then every 10 minutes until I’ve turned it for about 1 1/2 hours. I usually use Flex Coat or Threadmaster finish they set up fairly quick. I’ve used Gen 4 and that cures a lot slower and needs to be turn 2 - 2 1/2 hours.

Turn it when it needs to be turned. No sooner and no later. How often will depend on the finish you use, where you are in the setting process and the temperature of your shop. Turn it when it needs to be turned. Do not turn it unless it needs to be turned.

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It is not as important how you turn it, but be aware if you plan on hand turning it, plan on spending around 2 hours doing it.

Hunter,
Power, rotisserie curers (Michael is correct = they are not actually dryers) are simply a matter of convenience, and they are certainly extremely convenient! That said, they are not required to cure thread wrap epoxy. Hand turning the rod while the epoxy cures may be old-school but it works, and in some cases better than power turning. The top of the guide foot ALWAYS retains less epoxy than the rest of the rotation, and by allowing the rod to rest longer with the guide feet down can counteract this. However, one must realize and commit to “babysitting” the rod until the epoxy takes a set = inconvenient. To me, there are few things that waste time more than watching epoxy go-off! I employ 9 RPM motors to cure my thread wrap epoxy but often pause the rotation with the guide feet down in the initial stage of cure. Obviously, this does not work as well with spiral wrapped rods. Given the option, I would choose timing the intervals over visually determining when to rotate the rod; visually determining when to rotate seems as though it would take “babysitting” the rod to “marrying” it!

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

Another option is to not use epoxy.
I had been redoing some bamboo rods lately using Spar Polyurethane. I just did a graphite rod using it and it came out nice. Spar Polyurethane meets the criteria, ie has UV inhibitors, and is somewhat flexible. I find it doesn't droop so long as you don't expect one heavy coat to do the job. I did three light/medium coats. It dries fast. I only waited an hour between coats.
And a second option is clear gorilla glue. It's also Urethane based. One flashes the outer skin with steam right after you are happy with how it has leveled out. There's a you-tube video of this method.
Neither option requires rotating the rod.
And....if you can make a decent solder joint, put together a speed controller/motor combo on the cheap. See my post in the "equipment" photos, Jim Pitman. I think the most expensive part of the project was the individual shipping charges. I bought a small gear motor form a hobbyist site, and the transistor, potentiometer, wall wart from Digikey. The total was Less than $25.00. I simply drilled a hole in the V just below an upright in my wrapping jig. The motor is a friction fit. I use flexible tubing to join the motor shaft to the rod blank. The speed is adjustable and well regulated by the transistor/pot.

I thought the original question was about electric heaters for curing, my mistake. I use a cobbled cheapie motor for turning the rods during curing and find it much more convenient than hand turning. When I used to do that I would often get distracted and forget to turn it.

Here's the lingk to the Gorilla Glue method.

[www.youtube.com]

Here's the lingk to the Gorilla Glue method.

[www.youtube.com]

Thanks Jim, I'll set a reminder to check it out after school.