I would like to play around with building some rods but I just can't make myself buy a rod dryer. The cheapest one I can find is $70 on mudhole.com. Is that what I'm going to have to wind up doing or is there a way to make one myself that won't cost that much? I can't see spending $70 on something that I'll use once or twice a year. Thanks for any help guys.
Scratch that I found them ebay cheap enough.but that adds another question.
What kind of RPM's do I want? there are some are 40 RPM's and some that 1 or 2 RPM's.
Mine is 4rpms and i also have one that turns 18rpms like them both they both have their applications that I use them for
no expert here - but i was told that the higher (30-60) rpm motors were for drying when using light or low build finish (multiple coats). whereas the slower motors were for hi-build (thicker) finish (single coat).
i'm using a 6rpm and using standard high-build flex coat.
I don't want to buy 2 really. Would a 12 RPM be the better all purpose one? And from what I read the Low build finish is better. True?
If you go to garage sales pickup a BBQ spit motor. I ground a piece of wood to fit the square hole in the motor and screwed a crutch tip on the other end. I add enough tape to my rod for a tight fit.
18rpm's would probably suit you best if you want just one. I tend to use 30-40rpm motors, but I build a lot of rods and like the faster turns. I do not like the 6 rpm motors. They just seem too slow to me.
i use a cordless screwdriver mounted in a vise, works great too.
For drying purposes slower would be better, faster ones would be suitable for when you are actually putting finish on the wraps.
I wound up buying a 40RPM and I'll make it adjustable once I get it. Thanks for all of the input guys.
if you just starting out you don't need a dryer, you can turn the rod by hand. i built lots of rods for 5 years without one. do a search on rodbuilding.org about hand turning. you can use your rod supports and turn the blank 180 degrees as the finish sags. you will have to turn more often at the begining (every minute or so) then it will become every 5 minutes ect until this finish sets up (about 2 hours).
hope that helps.
stan
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ipoppa33 »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">if you just starting out you don't need a dryer, you can turn the rod by hand. i built lots of rods for 5 years without one. do a search on rodbuilding.org about hand turning. you can use your rod supports and turn the blank 180 degrees as the finish sags. you will have to turn more often at the begining (every minute or so) then it will become every 5 minutes ect until this finish sets up (about 2 hours).
hope that helps.
stan</TD></TR></TABLE>
I've heard of people doing that. I bought a rod building kit with a motor from Cabelas ( think thats where). It had a little motor with it:
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas...age=0
My time is worth too much to turn a rod every five minutes for two hours! I pefer to set it and forget it.
Depending on your room temp the length between turning the rod will get longer. It's been a awhile since I did any this way but after about 20 minutes you could go every 5 minutes then after 30 minutes every 10 minutes then after 45 minutes you could go 20minutes, ect. so it isn't actually much more work. the fisnish comes out great.
I bought a 4 rod dryer and built a heated box for it, the only reason was to allow me to do other rodbuilding operations without having to worry about dust.
The best thing to do is find a way that works for you and keep on doing it.
I'm with Stan on this. I turned my rods by hand for the first year or so I built. I to finally got tired of doing it and bought a dryer. I do think I got slightly better results turning by hand than I do with the motor, but it is nice to set it and forget it. If it is your first rod why not turn by hand just to see if you like building.
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