I'm working with silk thread for the first time and see it's not as "stout" as the nylon thread I'm used to. 3/0 is all I could find. Is 3/0 silk thread heavy enough for a 3 wt graphite rod?

Sure, it'll work fine. The thread only holds the guide in place. It's the epoxy that holds the guide on. Silk doesn't stretch, so you'll have to adjust your tension accordingly. Do a couple of test wraps before you get serious. Wet them with water to see how they'll look when finished.

Phg,

I respectfully disagree on your assessment of what the wrapping thread and epoxy do as a unit. If the epoxy is what holds the guides on, the why don't we all just hot glue the feet to the blank and the apply gobs of epoxy...?

I personally feel the thread does the work of holding the guides on and the epoxy PROTECTS the thread. The epoxy has minimal tensile strength but has good impact resistance. The thread has good tensile strength but has minimal impact resistance. But as a TEAM, they both do their jobs very well. We as builders need to make sure we get them working in the correct order.


Charlie

Never tried it but some people do guides with nothing but finish and claim they hold up as well as with thread.

Mike

Thanks for the help.

I have heard about the whole no wrap required thing but.... What about rods where you see the epoxy has cracked? Without the thread your whole fishing trip is ruined.

I guess I am a seeing is believing sort of guy. I would need to fish one for a whole season before I would buy into it.

Pete

Well Pete, not saying I agree with it, just saying that it has been done and they ( you know, the infamous they) say it holds up fine. I believe it was done on casting rods. I like white silk myself.

Mike

Mike,

Bravo on the white silk . Best way to to get "the look".

The guides without thread is done with Permagloss.
They--yea those people--glue or just hold the guide till they coat it with PG--many times I might add.

If you worked with PG-it smells and evaporates quickly. It's water thin so it'll take several coats to make a smooth transition. Try to take it off will result in the paint coming off the blank.

Randy

...and like Pete, I always wrap mine.

But the question was, is gossamer silk strong enough? The answer is an unequivocal 'yes' because it's not the strength of the thread that holds the guides on, once the finish has dried. I am sure that the wraps add additional strength, but that's not the point. Once you have enough holding power, additional holding power does nothing.

In theory, we could take 6 or 8 turns around each guide foot, and call that good enough. I'm not sure I'd like the looks, though.