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Making your own thread tensioning device

4K views 8 replies 7 participants last post by  Tod D 
#1 ·
Well, I am about to start wrapping my first flyrod. It's a 1090-4 VPS Sage travel rod, suweet rod.

I had help filing the handle and glueing the fighting butt from sponsor www.Rodbuildersworkshop.com I then taped and glued the seat and handle onto the blank myself.

Now I want to wrap the guides according to the specs from Sage.

I will post a sketch for comments from those who have done this before...

Actually, I will post pics as I go along too.

All comments welcomed!
 
#2 ·
Rod wrapping

Juro, as a young kid (in the '40s) I used to make my own bamboo rods - even starting with gluing 6 "sticks" together to form each section (but that's another story).

Rod wrapping can be accomplished in a number of ways. I used to hold the spool by the ends, and used v-notches cut in a cardboard box to spin the rod with my other hand. (Today I would probably use the same technique, but use a fly-tying bobbin as a tensioning device!) Don't knock it - it works!

Many of my "originals" have been handed down in the family, and are still in use today! (I personally hate bamboo's "action".)

I got the raw mat'ls from relatives who worked in a fishing gear factory, and "read up" on how to build rods. It's amazing what you can perform if you are long on ambition, but short of cash!

BobK
 
#3 ·
Bob -

Thanks! Not only am I inspired to get going on this project, I am impressed to meet someone who has built split bamboo!

I've been an active angler all my life and have done more than my share coast to coast - but have never built a flyrod... until this winter.

I am planning on building a simple wooden frame out of boards with with a spool holder perpendicular to the alignment of the padded (felt) grooves.

It the distance between the spool and the blank important if the tension is correct?
 
#4 ·
I was pleased with the adjustable tensioner shown here. It's not a great picture but you should get the idea. It's only ~$6, both Smitty and the Bear's den have them. Another way to get tension is with a book, just run the thread through the book. Somthing that gives transition off the tensioner is required like a screw eye. I've seen some jigs that have a grove cut along the entire length that allows the screw eye to be moved along as thread work is layed onto the blank. I think those are more helpful if your building up a diamond wrap or other long pattern.
 

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#6 ·
JUro,

I've been building rods from blanks for 26 years, and I have never used anything other than a heavy book as a thread tensioner. I simply run the thread through the book at about `/2 the thickness of the book and place the thread spool into a coffee cup so that it doesn't move around the table. Before I get beat up over this method, it works very well and you can't beaqt the cost nor the convience of it. Yes, I very much desire to have one of the aluminum 8 foot rod lathes and wrapping tools that sell for around $300.00; but I only make a rod every year or so and find it hard to justify the cost.

For wraping stands, I use 3 that I made out of 1x4 that have notches cut into them and that then had the notches covered with felt I picked up at a craft store.

The proper amount of thread tension is just enough so that you can move a guide into final alignment with a bit of pressure from your thumbnail on the guide foot. You don't want to use so much tension that you cannot move the guides with this method after they are wrapped in place for two reasons: 1) you really do need to be able to move the guides for final alignment; and 2) if the guide is wrapped to tightly to the blank you can damage the blank by creating a dead spot when it is flexed under load of a fish.

For rotating the rod to keep the finish from sagging, I bought a battery powered rod finish turner that came with an extra rod stand to support the other end of the rod section. The one I have is powered by a "D" cell battery. It is no longer made but no matter since there are ones available now that use a latern battery. They cost around $20.00. Also, when applying finish, do only one rod section at a time and apply the finish as the rod is rotating on the rod turner. Use a pencil or small peice of dowling placed into the female ferrules of all butt the butt section.

I'm certain you will be very happy with the results of your rod building venture.
 
#7 ·
distance - rod to tensioning device

When wrapping rods by hand, I liked 'em fairly close together (about "fly tying distance") so I could make sure wraps were snug against each other. It saved pushing them snug both during and after wrapping.

Another "trick" I used was to use a thin strip of masking tape to hold them in position so I would not have to worry about "repositioning" them, removing it just prior to making the final wraps over that position. (I always lightly deburred the edges of the guides, too, beforehand with a little emery paper - I always felt that if there were any burrs or sharp corners on the edge of the guide it could cut into the thread during flexing.)

BobK
 
#8 ·
Juro, One of the bad things about being an engineer is that I rarely build anything without drawing it first. These are the sketches for the rod holder I built a couple of years ago. Warning the file is big and the drawing is missing a few dimensions.

Http://users.rcn.com/dsjrdns/rod winder.pdf

Your welcome to borrow the winder. I've used the dowel trick mentioned to finish rods and learned the hard way to place bees wax or parafin on the dowel to stick the blank to it. Dust just doesn't come out of rod finish if it falls on the floor. :mad:
 
#9 ·
BobK & Flytyer - you packed more info into your posts on this thread than I've read in some entire books! Thanks for sharing.

Juro - I built some pretty rudimentary stands & have a couple of extras if you want to borrow them. Drop me a line and let me know.
 
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