I picked up rod building this summer and have about 15 rods under my belt. I started with a kit from mudhole and have made all of my rods with that. So I have the CRB core hand wrapper and the basic 8rpm rod dryer. I also purchased the Forecast dream reamers and I'm getting a 3 rod dryer for Christmas from a buddy of mine.

I build bass and light saltwater/inshore rods so far although offshore rods are on the horizon.

I have about $350 to spend to upgrade my equipment. I'm considering getting a Flex Coat Dual Control Wrapping / Finishing Variable Speed 36 Volt DC Motor. Admittedly, wrapping seems to be the easiest/least time consuming portion of the build so I'm not sure I would get a ton of value out of it. I've also considered the Variable Speed DC Gearmotor since I would likely use it for finishing. I don't currently have the space (or the money) for one of the complete systems.

Am I better off now getting a power wrapper motor and building the whole system as I get money/space or should I invest in smaller tools that will help my fit finish like reverse/regular pilot bits, epoxy mixer, and roller stands? Is there anything you use regularly that I should consider?

Thanks in advance for your advice!

Patrick,
I am a great believer in "building your own" equipment.

If you have the basic knowleges and the necessary tools for fabrication, building a power wrapper as well as a dryer and the rest of the equipment is pretty straightt forward.

Consider this:
A dryer consists of two things - A motor that is cabable of running the necessary speeds. A chuck that attaches to the motor and then allows the rod to be inserted into the holder or chuck for good long term use. A stand to hold the rod.

A wrapper consists of the following.
A foot, as well as a hand operated variable speed motor of either AC or DC design.
A head stock that enables a motor to be mounted onto the head stock as well as a shaft that contains bearings that one can have a pulley for the motor belt, as well as an excellent chuck, that seamlessly holds the rod - without leaving marks on the rod and does not loosen over time.
A foot pedal that controls the variable speed section of the wrapping motor.

A wrapper bed that allows rod stands to be mounted at any spacing required by the rod builder.
A thread holder or carriage. Some folks like to use multi spool carriages. While other rod builders use only a single spool thread holder or carriage. In the thread holder or carriage, there needs to be a tension derive to apply appropriate tension to the thread that is being used at the time.

I’ve built thousands of rods over the past 55 years and don’t use a power wrapper. Just don’t like using them. To me, they are awkward to use and slow me down. I wrap faster without one. The one I have is used only for turning grips. Similar to you, I find wrapping the easiest and quickest part of building a rod. I also find it very relaxing. If you don’t mind hand wrapping, then don’t waste your money on a power wrapper. Make the unnecessary unnecessary. Invest your money in blanks, components, supplies, and small tools like reamers, pilot bits, etc. I’m sure others will strongly disagree with me, but that’s the way I would spend my money.
Norm

You can hand wrap on a power wrapper. You can't power wrap on a hand wrapper. If you want to have the option of doing both - get the power wrapper.

I am a firm believer in having as many (and of good quality) tools as you can afford. Even used sparingly they make various tasks a pleasure instead of a chore. If you think you might build larger saltwater type rods a power wrapper is invaluable. If you want to turn your own handles and grips, likewise.

...............

The number one thing you could get to upgrade your setup, IMO are the rod stands. I HIGHLY recommend the RBS Pro Stands at Mudhole, or similar. They make wrapping WAY easier whether you’re hand wrapping or using a power wrapper.

Daryl Ferguson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The number one thing you could get to upgrade your
> setup, IMO are the rod stands. I HIGHLY recommend
> the RBS Pro Stands at Mudhole, or similar. They
> make wrapping WAY easier whether you’re hand
> wrapping or using a power wrapper.


Since I have no frame of reference for this, can you explain what they make better? I've seen this comment a couple of times and I'm curious what specific aspects they improve. Thanks!

I wrap and apply finish by hand turning. Having only one pilot bit makes me wish I had more. Lol (I'm a low volume builder.)

i like wrapping by hand on my power wrapper. then i put finish on and let it go to town. i never did get comfortable with the speed control using power wrapper. disconnect drive belt and you're good to go. it is a great piece of equipment.

Lathe

The first tools I got (after basic tools) was a lathe (a real one) and a drill press. The drill press was for coring out cork foregrips (overkill, but I got tired of premade foregrips being out of stock, and making my own allowed me to add personal touches to it). I, personally, don’t believe in adding anything unnecessary on the blank before the reel seat (fancy thread work, excessive guide wrapping, etc) so the only thing left for me to embellish was the cork handle.

I started with a box with V's cut in it, then being a woodworker I make a Mahogany hand wrapper with Dove tail extension for longer rod support. Had a dryer made from an old BBQ rotisserie motor. Then I invested in a Power wrapper. I am so glad I did. Buy a "GOOD" one, don't buy a cheap one then you later have to spend redundant money to throw away the cheap chuck when you buy the "UP-GRADED" chuck. Finally, don't buy a combo dryer turner wrapper. There are so many times I have the need to have much more space between the two. Now I have a second Dryer setup. Like Roger suggests, The ability to vary the speed of the dryer, allows the application of finish for me to be faster and as I pass thru my 8th decade makes my edges a little straighter. Get real friendly with your dentist. I have gotten a good assortment of small tools from mine that I use for weaving and other things. Make sure he Autoclaves them. These are good quality compared to most of the ones you buy!

I like the epoxy mixer because I can fill it and let it mix while doing other things. I let it go for 5 minutes which other will say is over kill but i know it is well mixed.

The recommendation about using particular rod stands make sense.
However, I wond't necessarily recommend any particular brand of stands.

For myself, I have made all of the equipment that I use for rod building. I enjoy making equipment perhaps even more than building rods.

But, for myself, I only have a couple of needs for a rod stand.
1. Excellent ball bearing supported wheels.
2. I prefer using silicone O rings to cushion the wheels.
3. One needs adjustablity of both the lower and the upper rod supports and a positive lock on the upper support to insure that the rod never comes off a rod stand at any point in the rod building process.

In this picture, the 3 ball bearing on the heavy duty stands does a great job as a rod rest when doing lathe work. But, I also have a full set of these stands that I hve used in the past to secure the rod when I was using a full length rod lathe to spin the full length rod at 3600 rpm for grip shaping on the rod.
At those speeds, one wants an absolute total secure lock of the rod in the rod rests to avoid destruction of the rod when spinning it at these speeds.

[www.rodbuilding.org]

These were the rod rests that I made years ago when I first started builoding and needed to completely secure the rod when doing high speed grip shaping.
[www.rodbuilding.org]

These are the rod rests that I currently use for my rod building. Quick and easy to use. Over the course of many rod builds it is not necessry to adjust the lower rod rest. i.e. the lower rod rest is set once and tends to stay that way, unless there is a very large difference in the diameter of a rod blank. The upper arm centers over the lower arm and has a locking bolt that supplies enough tension on the upper arm to hold it secure, but still allowing an appropriate amount of force to raise and lower the arm to load and to secure the rod in the rest. Simple, solid and robust.

[www.rodbuilding.org]

When making your own rod rests, the most significant cost are the wheels used for the rest. Shop carefully and now and then you will run across the perfect set of wheels for a reasonable price.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/30/2023 10:13AM by roger wilson.