acid/spiral wrapped rods

[tacklejunkie]

Mounted my choke guide normal and my tip top guide inverted last night.
Just have to mount the guides in between.
Figure I'll do some test casting today.

[That Dang Guy]

I build my rods spiraled because i used microguides, generally a DF6 and then 4's all the way down. It would take quite a few guides to build the rods standard and keep the line from passing below the blank when it's loaded. I haven't noticed any adverse effects. The weight saving really isn't significant using an acidwrap when you're talking about microguides.

I use a modified revolver wrap. I don't generally measure the degrees, but follow the line path from the stripper guide to the first 180 guide. I want the guide to be in a position where the line lays directly in the center of the ring.

[tacklejunkie]

What guide do you chose as the first 180* guide?
I was thinking of using three guides between the first 180 and the choke.

That would leave the 6's near the tip (non micro) all 180*

ps do you run your first choke guide straight or off to the side?
I'm gonna go with straight but also heard people use the first guide off to the side too.
Sounds like it would wind line on wrong.

Unconventional is right.. it's pretty tricky to get the positioning of a spiral wrap as straight as you can.
If commercial you'd be better off building a jig and wrapping several of the same rod at once.

You have to align all the 180* guides exactly 180* to your spine and the guide(s) on top, which is tricky. lol

[vanillagurilla]

let me know how that goes TJ, im really thinking id like my rod acid wrapped. Not only for the benifits but because i never see ANYONE at nph or the beach/jettys with an acid wrapped rod and i want to be different lol. maybe people will think my rod is messed up and leave me alone and quit asking what im catching my fish on. If they do ask what im using ill say im using a TackleJunkie stolen rod and they'll be like "a what?" hahahaha.

[That Dang Guy]

Let me start by saying that everyone builds acid wraps differently from each other.

I usually complete my spiral within 12" as I do not want any of the line transitioning guides to be responsible for loading the rod. I originally wanted to a simple spiral with only 1 bumper, but since the micros sit so low to the blank, it was impossible to get a smooth transition without rubbing the blank. I ended up doing my rods with the stripper offset to the opposite direction of the spiral by about 10 degrees. Two bumper guides at approximately 60 and 120 and the next guide at 180.

I usually static test the guides before adding the bumpers into the equation, so the second true guide is always at 180. I've only been fishing acidwraps for a few weeks. Also, for the offset of the stripper, I generally move the levelwind to the center of the reel and use the stripper guide to bring the line back into alignment with the blank. I've only been fishing acidwraps for a few weeks and I've noticed a small bit of line build up opposite of the direction of the acidwrap, which probably means i went too far with the offset.

[tacklejunkie]

I'm going to add finish to my choke guide and my tip top guide and seal them up.
Then I'll play with taping all the guides in between and test casting. If I lay the finish by noon, I can start test casting about 6-8pm tonight.

Should be the ideal way to see what works best.
I'll try and completely my spiral bumpers in a 12" section or less. That sounds about right to me.. but I haven't done any static or loaded testing just yet.

...and just now it becomes clear to my why you place your choke a few degrees against the spiral. Too late for that now for me but I'll go with what I have. Should be fine.

[vanillagurilla]

you cant test it without apoxy? i mean just the bare wrap on the guide?

[That Dang Guy]

I do all my static and cast testing with tape or surgical tubing. By doing your wraps or epoxying, you're adding more work if you have to move things around. As long as you have line strung though it, you shouldn't lose any guides

[tacklejunkie]

I suppose I can try and nudge the guide a degree or two to the right. BTW this is the only guide I installed besides the tip top so far.
This is to keep line winding on the reel centrally, correct?
With wraps like this, moving the guide around isn't easy!

[That Dang Guy]

Unless your thread tension is really high, you should be able to move it quite a bit. Your trim bands might come loose if you're wrapping them separate from the rest of the wrap, i haven't had much luck doing 2-3wrap trims after the rest of the wrap has been completed.