Some list members may remember the "Don't raise the rod, lower the varnish" dip tube arrangement I came up with. I was painting my house, and for parts of it I used an airless spray gun. One of the things you need to do is check the viscosity of the paint with a little cup - funnel arrangement. You time how long it takes the paint to run out.

Well, it occurred to me that I didn't need the valve on my dip tube arrangement, just a hole of the right size.  I tried it out on a scrap strip, and it seems to work fine. with the viscosity of the varnish I have - and it can vary a great deal, so experiment first - a three sixteenths inch hole runs out at about four inches a minute.

So, all you need to dip finish your rods is a length of PVC pipe, an end cap, a stand to hold the pipe, a cork, and varnish. Dip finish your rods for less than ten dollars (not including varnish).  (Darryl Hayashida)

I think I found a solution to the problem of seeing when the rod guides are at the point of exiting the varnish in a PVC drip tube.  Although I don't use the drain method, I think this would work.

Look in the lighting section of the hardware store.  There you can find clear polycarbonate tubes for protecting fluorescent light bulbs.  The 4 foot tubes cost $1.99 each at my hardware store.  I then went to the plumbing section and  found that these tubes fit 1-1/4" PVC fittings.  They glue up to PVC fittings using regular PVC cement.

These tubes are not as thick as PVC and care should be used if storing varnish in the tubes, but they work fine otherwise.

I use the more conventional dipping apparatus.  I cut about a 10" section of these tubes and used these on my existing 1-1/2" PVC dip tubes so that I could see when the guides reach the top of the varnish.  I  simply  cut  some  of my  existing  tube  off,  and  used 1-1/2" connectors and a 1-1/2"x1-1/4" bushing to insert the clear tube into.  A 1-1/4" cap and some plastic food wrap seals the whole deal up and an old dark sock over the top keeps the UV light out.

Give it a try.  I know the tube are easy to find in 4' lengths.  I assume they make them in 2' and 8' as well.  If you need a longer length, you can always use a 1-1/4" PVC connector to put a 2' and a 4' together or whatever.  (Rick Crenshaw)

I had the distinct pleasure for watching the 'master' Tony Spezio, varnish a rod this past Wednesday, in his shop. He doesn't drop sections down the tube or get varnish on his cork and his method is clean and simple. He uses a "drip tube" of clear plastic that allows him to see the section(s) being lowered into the bubble free varnish and observe the 'popping' of the film that develops in the guide eyes and the ends of the guide wraps. I think he has posted his method on the list and Power Fibers. Try it. You will thank him.  Thanks again Tony.  (Don Greife)

For the past four years I have been using Scotch Brand masking tape from the paint department at Wal M--. Have had absolutely no problems with the tape and varnish. Yesterday I ran out, I had some masking tape on the shelf that I purchased at a discount outlet. It is marked "Made In China".

I had the two tip sections ready for the drain tube and used the MIC tape to bind them together as I normally do. Used it to wrap the two ferrules with the spacer in between and a string loop for hanging the sections. I kind if overfilled the tube so when installing the tips the varnish got up on the tape. No problem I thought, this has happened before. This time it was different. The MIC tape started to unravel. It loosened up enough to release the string hanger, the tip sections went to the bottom of the tube, the MIC tape was soaked. Drained the tube down to the bottom of the tape and finished draining as I would normally do, stopping at the wraps and guides. I was able to remove the tip sections with mechanical fingers without hitting the sides. Thought , got it made, hung the sections up with clothes pins and left the room. I checked on them this morning and they looked pretty good. Took them down and noticed that  there was a sticky  area up near the ferrule. It looked like someone had thrown sand on about 4" of each tip section below the ferrule. That was the end that was taped with the MIC tape. It appears that the tape released the sticky part and it drained down with the varnish. The rest of the tip section is real smooth and a good finish. As of an hour ago the sticky area is still sticky. Andrew, now I know what you meant in your post last week. It is a mess. Just passing on info, I hate for this to happen to someone that is doing his first rod. Will just clean up the mess, get new varnish and start over. Lesson learned. Stay with what works.

Did not use this tape on the butt section, it came out fine.  (Tony Spezio)

Who out there is using a drip tube? 

What have your experiences (both good and bad) been with the drip tubes?  (Joe Byrd)

I have been using mine for almost four years. Did close to 50 rods before changing the tube. The big drawback is having to be careful in removing the wet stick from the tube. The stick can be left in the tube to dry, I find it takes longer to dry that way.

The big thing is, you don't need an elaborate set up.  (Tony Spezio)

I dry mine inside a 4" piece of PVC that has a coffee filter across the top, and the bottom raised an inch or two.  I got the advice from someone here to remind me that the solvents were heavier than air, and the flow would set up a convection to draw air in from the top; the coffee filter holds out the dust.  I had tried at first to dry in the tubes, but after a week they were still gummy, and I tried this approach.  Worked great, and no dust on the rod - probably due to the fact that the varnish was already mostly dry, but a good result regardless.  (Greg Kuntz)

I have been using a drain system for about 3 years now.  The main advantages is that you do not need a high clearance to accommodate the length of the blanks being pulled out of a dip tube.  Another advantage is that you can leave the blanks in to dry, thus controlling dust.  I have recently gone to a two drain tube setup so I can varnish the tips and the butt section at the same time, therefore I can fill the tubes once each time I varnish the rods. This leads to one disadvantage; having to fill the tubes up, and wait for air bubbles to clear every time you varnish.  Another advantage is that you drain into the original paint can and you can add some paint thinner or turpentine on top, close the can and not have to worry about your varnish skimming over in your drain tube.  Your varnish goes bad in your paint can you say, no problem, buy a new gallon.  You also get to filter your varnish every time you pour it into your tube, which I think is a good thing.  With a decent valve you can control the rate of draining quite easily.  I make my tubes from dust collection clear tubing (so I can see the flow rate), some PVC fittings and a ball valve.  (Robert Cristant)

I made my only varnish tube as a drip/drain type after joining the list around 5 years ago.  Made it from a see-thru fluorescent light tube protector.  Still use it, works well for me.  Got the idea from postings by Darryl H., Tony S. and Bob M.  Prior to that I applied varnish with a foam brush.  (Ed Riddle)

How do you control the speed of the drip?  (Mark Dyba)

Actually it is a drain tube. The varnish does not "drip" out , it runs out, the flow is controlled by a petcock or other type valve. I use a lever type petcock valve. I have a short length of graphite rod attached to the lever for easier handling. The lever is slowly turned to the open position till the varnish in the tube drops about 4" a minuet. Stops are made at each wrap and guide to let the varnish run off the guides. This keeps from getting runs. I drain back into the original can. Others might have a different way of doing it but this works very well for me.  (Tony Spezio)

I have a manual adjustable flow  drain cock on the bottom of the tube.  It's made of brass and works like a water spigot.  I capped the the bottom of the tube with a PVC cap using PVC glue and tapped the drain cock into the cap. I use a clear tubing (approx. 12") that tight fits over the drain cock exit nozzle to feed the varnish into a container for collection.   Seems like the drain cock cost about $3 (US) at Lowes.  I remove (unscrew) it from the cap and disassemble after use and clean up with mineral spirits.  The manual adjustment works great for stopping flow at the guides and wraps if you're coating a blank after guides are attached.  Stop the flow while it takes a few seconds for bubble to pop in guides.  Then allow varnish on the blank to catch up to overall level before opening again. Let me know if I need to go into more detail.  (Ed Riddle)

For those of you contemplating the use of a drain tube for the first time, I picked up a great tip from Tony Spezio when I started out and that is the use of masking tape (topped by cellophane tape) on the ferrules and sticking 3 or 4 straight pins through the tape to act as buffers to keep the blank away from the tube.  I also tape up the grip when doing refinishes/restorations to avoid any tackiness there.  I extract blanks and have them dry in separate tubes. Robert Cristant's point regarding straining the varnish each time filling the tube is good advice.  Details in the archives or will explain further if asked.  (Ed Riddle)

A couple of minor changes that works better than the pins. Took a short length of graphite rod tube about 1" long. Drilled through the bottom end and inserted two pieces of 1/8" dowel to form an "X". The length of the dowels are just long enough to fit in the tube. The setup is taped to the lower end of the rod section instead of the pins. Lot easier to use and works better than the pins. For the tip sections, I do them both at the same time. The graphite tube is taped between the two sections and the center hole in the graphite tube acts as a drain between the two tip sections. This assures me that both tip sections has the same amount of varnish applied. For the grips, they are wrapped with cling wrap. Any brand works, I buy the least expensive brand I can find A little tip when using the tube to keep varnish from getting on the grip. Lower the rod into the tube about a half inch short of the varnish from the winding check or grip end. Squeeze the bottom of the tube till the varnish rises to the check or the end of the grip. Slowly release the pressure on the tube to have the varnish flow down over the wraps It is real easy to control the height of the varnish.

As I mentioned in the other post about the number of rods you can do with a tube, I actually did 51 rods in the first one. I changed it when it developed a crack where I would squeeze the tube.

I started draining the varnish through a filter when it is draining back in the catch can. Then run it back through the filter when filling the drain tube. Have not had any problems with trash on the rods.  (Tony Spezio)

And there are some really good filters out there now to use for filtering paint.  Don't have the info in front of me at the moment, but I found some really fine filters that are lint free, made by Gerson (sp?), and they're available at your local auto body repair supply store.  They will filter out very tiny particles from the finish.  (Mark Wendt)

I use a water line valve, the same kind you use inline to your faucets or to your toilet.  Works very well.  (Mark Wendt)

Go here to look at the pic's of my drip tube. If you click on one of the pic's, there's a narrative I wrote when I submitted the shots. The only thing I've changed is that I've gone to a 1" clear PVC tube because I can fill it with 1 quart of finish Vs. the 3 quarts it took before with a 1 1/2" tube.  (Brian Smith)