# Rough snake guide, how do you make it smooth.



## freeflyfree (May 12, 2010)

Hello, I noticed that my second snake guide is rough from hitting concrete, only on the outside, It's nothing major, but enough to catch the rod sock fabric (that's how I found out), What would you do to smooth it out...with a file? what size, sanding paper? leather?, please if you could post some comments, will be much appreciated, thanks

Felipe.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

I've been building rods for some years now.... Once a snake guide is damaged you're going to need to replace it - nothing else will do. The good news is that any shop can do the work and it's a very simple job. They'll cut the thread that secures the guide to the blank, re-wrap a new guide (most snakes are less than a buck each at wholesale...), then apply finish to the wraps. I can do the job, start to finish in minutes, but the finish will need to set up over night... The only hard part will be finding a rodbuilder or shop that repairs fly rods in your area.


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## phwhite101 (Mar 3, 2010)

Capt. Bob's right, this guide will eventially give you problems, probably when you have a trophy fish on. You could also replace it your self if you are good with your hands but any decent tackle shop or custom rod maker can fix it for you. Check out rodbuilding.org for specific instructions if you want to do it yourself or to find a custom builder to repair it. good luck.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

I re-read the original post and thought about the answer I gave.... Then thought about the possiblilty that the guide was only a bit rough on the outside and maybe, just maybe, might give some service before needing replacement. If you have to go that route it's possible to smooth out any scratchs - but only on the outside of the guide. I'd start wiht a tiny piece of wet or dry sandpaper, no larger than 220 grit and only use a finger to work the rough spot with a wetted down piece of sanpaper until it begins to smooth out, then 400, then 600 grit paper - all the while trying to only work the abraded area. You're going to be removing the chrome plating (most snakes are chrome over stainless until you jump up to the expensive titanium stuff) and as a result the guide will always have a corrosion problem until you replace it. That just might work for a short term fix... Hope this helps.


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## paint it black (Nov 3, 2007)

I don't mean to derail this thread, and I'm sorry if I offend the thread starter.
But one of the guides on my TFO came loose.
It's still on there, but it turns from side to side with no effort and a finger.
My friend put some crazy glue on there and it's holding tight now, but for how long?

Can I have a rod builder remove it and rewrap it?
Should I send it back into TFO to repair it?
It'll cost me $50 to claim the warranty on the rod.
One of my friends builds rods, but spin rods.
Is it much harder to do this repair on a fly rod than it would be to wrap a guide onto a spin rod?

Also, I live two blocks away from Biscayne Rods.
Would it just be best to take it there?

Thanks,
Eric


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## aaronshore (Aug 24, 2007)

Eric. Snake guides are very easy to fix. Your buddy that does spin rods should be able to do it easily. If not take it to Biscayne. Prob. cost you $10 to have fixed. The superglue will not hold long. What really holds those guides is the tension of the thread. The epoxy just seals everything up.


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## paint it black (Nov 3, 2007)

> Eric. Snake guides are very easy to fix. Your buddy that does spin rods should be able to do it easily. If not take it to Biscayne. Prob. cost you $10 to have fixed. The superglue will not hold long. What really holds those guides is the tension of the thread. The epoxy just seals everything up.


Sounds good.
I'll probably pass by Biscayne one of these days and have them fix it up.
It'll probably be quicker than waiting for my friend to do it.
Might want to replace another one of the guides as well.
It was kind of bent differently than the rest.


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## Michael (Jul 22, 2009)

FWIW I just replaced a guide on a conventional rod and used flexible clear cure goo to seal it. Seems to work perfectly and it only takes minutes to (cure) set up. Like Capt Bob, I have built a few rods using traditional flex coat. I think the CCG is the answer to a quick long lasting finish. I'll know down the road if I am right.


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## freeflyfree (May 12, 2010)

Thanks for all the posts, I'm off to get some sand paper.

Felipe.


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