Ive been reading up on this hobby and have yet to grab some courage to try it...

Everything I read says to have the blank rotating why the epoxy sets...

what if you have nothing to rotate the blank? Is there a trick you can do?

You can do it by hand, ya just have to baby sit it.

5 hr set time? constantly rotating...? oooo that's gonna be rough

Quarter turn every 10-15 minutes should be enough. You don't have to sit there and constantly turn it by hand for 5-6 hours.

Helps if you can do it while watching a decent game(s) on tv. I did my first 2 that way, I kept the room temp up to 70 and didnt need to worry about any turning after 3 hours. Make sure to mix equal parts of the epoxy. Its not much of an investment for a motor and chuck off the auction site if you think you might do more rods, I went that route this winter.

I was able to make on from a gril motor and some pvc fittings. Seems to work good. You can check out some pics
http://new.photos.yahoo.com/wfmdfm/album/576460762389929603

last year there was a guy selling home made dryers on flea bay for under 20 clams. 4 rpm for a nice even finish. hardly a steep investment for not having to baby sit the finish.

If you do decide to turn it by hand, I did this for my first 2 rods. The method I came up with was to mix and apply my finish immediately after I got home from work. I would then sit down to watch some TV programming for the evening. Turning the rod a 1/4 or 1/2 turn every commercial break on the TV was a perfect time interval. This was with Aftcote brand finish. Hand turning also works better if you do thin coats of finish rather than thick coats.

do you know if that guys still selling on ebay springer?

good idea about the tv commercial intervals.... but what if you have tivo? :)

found this guy... looks just like what i would need.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Fishing-Pole-Rod-Dryer-Motor-Stand-New-Parts-Complete_W0QQitemZ120093691334QQihZ002QQcategoryZ6 2148QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

While I can't say if that is the exact one I have, it looks exactly like the one I have and mine works just fine for a hobby builder like myself. If you do choose to purchase it ask the seller how much extra $ for an additional V block. IMO it is needed to support 9 and 10 foot one piece rods while drying.

Good luck

are you picking up another hobby?

If so, I want a pair of matching jigging rods for my 113's ;)

working on it
:)