Hello,

I thought I might share a little trim wrap trick I have been using lately. It involves using a secondary tie off loop that is placed in the main wrap. One can use the loop to secure both ends of the trim wrap if you wrap towards the main wrap, but I find myself messing with the trim wrap too much when I do this. It’s just faster for me to cut over-wrapped side tag end with a razor.

Anyways, it goes something like this. To illustrate, I used the wrap above the winding check. I am using size A nylon. Here is the tie off loop for the trim wrap positioned in the main wrap.


Then I tape down one side of the thread to the rod to secure it, wrap open spirals down to the main wrap, and make the necessary wraps over the tie off loop. I am doing a 4 turn trim wrap here. It should look something like this (at this point in the picture I also already cut the thread).

Cut the thread, insert the cut side into the loop, and draw tight where you just see a wee bit of the loop hanging out.


Remove the tape on the upper end. Then begin to slide the trim wrap into position. But don’t cut the tag end yet.


Once the trim wrap is in place, you can pull on the ends to tighten the wrap up if needed. But, be careful pulling on the overwrapped thread end, because if you don’t pull it in the right direction it will cause it to unwrap a bit. Cut the excess thread at the tie off loop that is just peeking out. Pull on the tie off loop to position the cut end under the main wrap. It should look a little something like this.


Then use a razor blade or similar to cut the over wrapped tag end. In this example, I was using A nylon and made a 4 wrap trim band. When I use silk, I use Pearsall’s gossamer thread as it is finer for doing the trim wrap and take 6 turns. You can wet it to make it a little less slippery as well.

Happy building!

What is the advantage of this method vs. just doing a 4-turn trim wrap in the usual way? It seems like you've got an extra bump under the main wrap from the pull-through.

I agree that 4-turn wraps with Gossamer are the way to go, wetting the thread as you suggest.

--Rich

I have a rod with wraps done like this, and the trim's tag is highly visible beneath the main wrap. The combination of an understated main thread color with an eye-catching, colorful trim thread didn't turn out well because of this. Perhaps if you're doing color-preserved thread, this would work fine.