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Under wraps

Posted: Wed Mar 13, 2019 5:57 pm
by timinmo
So out of all the rods that I have repaired, I'm sure some of you have done more, I ran into something today that I have never seen. The first rod building class I took, something like 20 years ago, we did an underwrap on the guides. At that time the instructor stated that unless you were doing a boat rod there was no need to do underwraps and I never have since. In all the rods that I have wrapped guides on I have never encountered one with underwraps until I was working on an older Daiwa Steez tonight. The rod had the first three guides from the reel broken and they all had underwraps.

How many of you have dealt with rods that have underwraps and in general do you feel they are necessary?

Re: Under wraps

Posted: Wed Mar 13, 2019 6:24 pm
by hoohoorjoo
I've always viewed them as merely decorative on a bass rod. I've understood them to be functional on a boat rod, due to the deep, slow tapers. This is supposed to prevent the guide foot from digging a hole into the blank, kind of a "friction pad" because of the feet actually moving back and forth slightly as the blank flexes under load.

Re: Under wraps

Posted: Wed Mar 13, 2019 6:46 pm
by timinmo
Yeah, I understand the why. Just never thought they were necessary or even desirable on a bass rod. It was a first for me.

Re: Under wraps

Posted: Wed Mar 13, 2019 7:22 pm
by hoohoorjoo
Unless the builder doesn't file the bottoms of the feet smooth, I cant think of a good reason to do it, especially on a rod that touts being very light like the Steez claims to be. That's adding unnecessary weight imho.

Re: Under wraps

Posted: Thu Mar 14, 2019 2:43 am
by Mattman
I've only worked on one rod with them. And it was a saltwater rod.

For freshwater rods, they are completely unnecessary. I don't even do them on Muskie sticks.

For a bass stick that you're trying to keep light, it certainly seems very counterproductive.

Re: Under wraps

Posted: Thu Mar 14, 2019 4:16 am
by timinmo
Was hoping you would chime in Matt as I have made a few Muskie rods and never did under wraps. Was wondering if I should have. I guess I will stop second guessing myself.

Re: Under wraps

Posted: Thu Mar 14, 2019 5:08 am
by mobass11652
The only freshwater rod I have seen hem on was a very early G Loomis, GLX.... Have never seen any others though

Re: Under wraps

Posted: Thu Mar 14, 2019 2:34 pm
by Mattman
mobass11652 wrote:The only freshwater rod I have seen hem on was a very early G Loomis, GLX.... Have never seen any others though
I seem to recall that some of the very first GLX's available to custom builders required an underwrap to maintain a warranty on the blank. Those early GLX's were fragile blanks.