Hello winter builders and tackle tinkerers!

I have considered a dip tube for several months, and after deciding on my design the finer points of use are now on my mind. I've noted several references to the inches per minute of withdrawing the rod, sometimes to two decimal places! My question is this. Is the slower speed of leaving the varnish allowing the greater or lesser amount to stay on the rod?
Initially I figured the rod more quickly drawn out would produce a thinner finish, but if the cohesive properties of the varnish aid in "pulling" the varnish then the slower the withdrawal the less would remain.
Where is the advantage of a measured rate rather than "in and out" - hang to dry? I want minimal per application and repeat, low overall build.

How do you guys get your best results with a simple setup? Thanks, Charlie

You could go through the rod building posts on the classic fly rod forum and look for dipping advice. I think you will want to thin the spar varnish and then try multiple coats. How much to cut the spar with paint thinner? That I dont know. I have finished a bamboo blank with Tru oil by hand rubbing it a bunch of times and I remember cutting the oil by at least 1/2 paint thinner to get it thin enough to rub.

Ive dipped probably a hundred bamboo rods and a few glass. I ise an old BBQ motor with a pipe and some cord to a hook in the ceiling. Rube Goldburg would be proud. It pulls about 3” a min. The slower rate givs the thinned varnish time to flow off. That being said there were a few times I was in a hurry and had a wall hanger I was experimenting on. I tossed it in let it sit for a few seconds and pulled it out and let it drip. It came out fine but i worried about drips setting up as it drained.
There is also the hand rub method
Using permagloss
Or spray clear coat

Just to be clear, unless the blank finish is damaged, there isn't any reason to varnish the entire blank. Perhaps the old phenolic or polyester blanks need the extra protection. By the late 70s blank makers had moved to epoxy resins which are tougher, and more protective, than any varnish.

Some glass builders varnish the entire blank anyways. For a new blank this is a cosmetic choice, not a necessity. For a rebuild of an old classic it's optional, unless the rod blank was chemically stripped.

One of the earliest advocates of dip-tanks was Everett Garrison. His book, A Master's Guide to Building a Bamboo Fly Rod is worth reading with regards to building and using dip tanks.


Tom