removing old guides

[macojoe]

Well it is that time of year to start building a few new rods!
But the first rod I built 3 seasons ago is starting to good bad!! I used to thick of epoxy on it and it is cracking around the guide feet, and the guides are starting to rust a little bit.
So now that I no a little bit more (a little bit) I would like to do this rod over.
It is a St.Croix F70M-BK and I have it set up conventional.

What is the best way to clean the epoxy off with out damage to the blank??
I have a junk rod in the basement that got broken and I have tryed a dremel tool but I am not that steady of a had I guess, I nicked the blank on every guide

Thanks guys

[Bawana]

Are guides underwrapped?Was color presever used on thread?I usually cut into epoxy and thread over guide feet and you can just peel off.Once the guide is out of the way grab the ends of the thread wrap and pull it from under epoxy.It should break apart as you go.You then only have to worry about the epoxy directly on the blank. I gently scrape this with fingernail or VERY CAREFULLY with single edge razor blade.I have been told to heat Epoxy but I would be really carefull doing this and I have never tried to as I know it will melt the blank

[macojoe]

Thanks Bawana!

I have not done it yet, but will be doing soon.
Yes it is under wraped and has color persever.
Someone else just told me that they use a hair dryer to heat it little to help in the removel.

[Roger]

I do what bawana suggested regarding removing the guides and the thread. I don't use a razor or any sharp metal to finish the job though. Instead, I use alcohol to remove the color preserver without harming the blank. To remove the remaining epoxy I use a dremel with the black nylon brush. Use a high speed. It's worked great for me on a number of rods.

[Saltheart]

You didn't do anything wrong when you built it. eventually all the rods get cracks near the guide feet. Usually if its bad too soon , its because you wrapped too far up the foot.

I just cut the thread right near the guide foot. Just enough to start unwrapping. I don't try to cut all the thread off as there is a good chance of nicking the blank. After you unwrap the thread , solvents , sandpaper (fine) and sometimes scraping will get the rest off. If you are going to rewrap in exactly the same spot , you don't have to get every speck off.

[macojoe]

Thanks all!! I am going to start the rod in about two weeks from now.
I will try a conbo of all your stuff. And I am sure it will come out just fine
I am going to rebuild the same as before. It moght be that I went to high on the foot??
It is 3 seasons old and has been my main rod for Comm. Fluking so it has had a ton of use and caught a ton of fish (really) I am sure it has caught 2000 # of fish in the last 3 years!! So ithas taken a beaten! ButI love the rod. I just built the same rod again brand new. So I have 3 of them now. 1- 3 years, 1-1 year and 1 brand new.

Makes a great Fluke rod with a Penn 146!! Blank is a St.Croix F70M-BK Lure wt 3/4 to 3 Line wt 10 to 20

It is a spinning blank but I built as a conventional