I am somewhat surprised that it is battery operated. I guess I understand that that could be convenient, but also quite inconvenient if one runs out of batteries. . .

It looks pretty slick, but I'm not sure that I'd trust it to hold up over time.

Batteries - don't think this is a good idea. How do I know how much time I have left on a set of batteries?
Foam chuck - sounds good at first, but I could see it wearing out over time and not holding tight anymore
Construction - tabs are great and all, but if I'm spending $75 on a dryer I'd want it to be a bit more solidly constructed. I can just see one of my kids knocking it off the table and it not going back together as nice again

Sorry to be a Debbie Downer, but for $40 I can get a metal construction rod dryer from Mudhole that I know will last. $75 for a foam and plastic construction dryer just isn't going to do it for me.

I'm not really interested in the product, but those who worry about the batteries giving out at an inconvenient time should just change or recharge their batteries if they have any doubt.

Cheers,
Graeme

I'm not a very good rod builder, but I got the best results with flex coat epoxy (the only rod finish I ever used) by wicking off excess epoxy and hand turning 180 degrees when necessary. I never got great results when I used a dryer, probably because I used too much finish.

When I was using Flex-Coat, I thinned it with a few drops of xylene and applied thin coats until I got the finish I wanted using the end of a paper match to apply and remove the excess. Didn't have to thin the Flex-Coat Lite. I now use Diamond II from Voodoo which Is already pretty thin, and the the last job I did with it on nylon thread only took two coats for a nice smooth finish. I just turn the rod by hand every 15 minutes for the first hour and leave it alone for 24 hours. With the thin coats I apply, I'm not convinced I need to turn it at all, but just to be sure.

I can't stand the appearance of wrap finish that looks like a football. Interesting note, the rod I did in rod-building class many years ago was so smooth and flat I was accused of using tape!

BB

I rigged and used the CF fly dryer to build my first rod. It worked well. Loud.

I do like how you can put a blank section on it. My mud hole dryer really only works with the handle on the butt section so I have to put the whole rod on it at once.

But, that's not worth the extra $$ I don't think.

I cut the bristles off old brushes and make them into arbors to fit rod sections. Two bands of tape spaced a couple inches apart for a snug fit in the rod, one large band of tape that fits into the chuck. Easy to install and remove and re-usable.