Tom:tried shading technique from March/April issue using colors
337/11/52, in which direction did you work, up or down the
rod. I worked up the rod, but when finished felt it was upside
down. In your articles could you state up or down for first
pass. If I use color sealer, will it act as glue to hold the wrap
to the blank, so I can trim the ends without coming apart.
Then add tie off wrap! How do you get the tie off so small!
Mine end up about 1/2", because I start tie off, then stop
and trim threads and remove tape, then finnish wrap.

The wrap in the photo was wrapped UP the rod. In other words, with the rod in the lathe, or jig, with the tip to your right, the colors were wrapped to the right on each pass. The the chevron points to the right. I started with the lightest color and worked my way to the darker ones. Again, working to the right.

I would not add CP before making my tie-off. It makes the threads to rigid and will create a lump of sorts under the tie-off wrap. Start your tie-off wrap and wind perhaps 7 or 8 threads - enough to bind things down (I do use smart tension on the tie-off wrap of these butt wraps). Now cut a FEW threads on each revolution. Don't cut them all at once or you'll have a lump. You want them staggered, or tapered.

Normally I make all my tie-off wraps as double wraps - I wrap back to the foregrip and then return back to the start of the wrap where I tie-off. This smooths the wrap, hides any gaps or imperfections, and if carefully done no one will ever know that it is not a single wrap.

Hope this helps.

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Tom,
I also have a question. Between each transition to the next shade, did you use each color for a single wrap or two, or just go to the next shade? It seems both color for a wrap or two would cause the eye to see a smoother transition. Thanks,
Sanford Hochman

The colors are interchanged in a pattern like - 5to1, 4to2, 3to3, 2to4, 1to5, 5to1, etc., so there is no abrubt change. The effect when done with A thread and wide enough ratio to begin with, is one of gradual change or fade across the color spectrum.

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Thanks Tom,
I also liked what I saw and plan to try that pattern with my next rod.
Sanford Hochman