Had a couple request on how I made my own rod socks so I thought I would throw a quick thread together about how I make them. I know that if you purchased all the stuff needed to make these it might not be worth it to you, however I had everything needed in the garage already and only had to invest in the wire loom itself.
Things you will need:
3/4 to 1" copper pipe reducer
Torch
A chisel at least double the width of the braid you are cutting (you can use a putty knife, however I like the chisel because the point cuts a bit better)
A pair of pliers to hold the copper reducer
Heatgun
Foam (I used a couple of 'bullets' from my son's nerf guns. Cutting the tip off and then in half makes an almost perfect float/tip)
Heat shrink tubing.
Here is the stuff I used, which I got off eBay for about $30. They have a few basic colors for pretty cheap, however I noticed the more custom multi-color stuff the price goes up quick. I liked the look of the blue and it is 100' of 3/4" which really should be good for 10-12+ rods depending on how long they are. Doing them this way you can fit each one to the rod so there is no waist.
When you first start you want to create the opening (bell) first so that you always have the bell ready to slide on the next rod and then you will be cutting it to length. I fold a small portion of the sleeve into itself and then slide it onto the copper reducer. I like to have the end of the seam in the middle of the reducer, so when you hit it with the heat gun it will sort of mold into itself. Holding the copper reducer I take the heat gun and adjust the temp there it just barely wants to soften the sleeve, for me it was about 450*. From here I just sort of wave the heat gun over the reducer part of the sleeve sort of welding/melting it. This took me one time to get a feel for it, and you will notice the plastic on the braid get a little glossy when you heat it. Once you worked you way all around the end, you can slide of off the reducer and the bell shape will stay. This is what you want to do at the end of each one, so you are always 'ready' to start a new one.
After you have the bell, slide this over the rod you want to cover and then I make with a sharpie about 6" longer. This is where I want to make the cut.
Making this cut is where I used the chisel and torch method; you don't want to use scissors for this stuff as it will only cut the braids and they will come loose fairly quickly so you have to cut/melt/weld them. Several people on youtube have said you need a hot wire cuter for this, but this method has work great for me and I am definitely not investing in one of those.
you want to tape down the sleeve so you have access to where you marked it with the sharpie. You want to do this on a metal or wood workbench. I have a big slab of aluminum that I use for random stuff in the garage that I used. Heat up the end of the chisel where it is nice and hot; I didn't get it all smoking and miscolored only heating it for about 30 seconds.
When you have it nice and hot I put the corner of it down and kind of use a hinge method of getting the cut. It will pretty much slice right through it. Important, as soon as you make the cut, you want to flex each end to ensure that you don't melt it closed and it still will have an opening.
Here are they nerf foam that I use. After you have the end you want to stuff a small section of this into the end, it works both as a small bumper for your rod end as well as a little bit of floatation should if blow into the water.
I like to leave about 2" past the foam to the end of sleeve. Then take the end and fold it in half lengthwise and then fold that portion in half. After this you want to cover this end with heat shrink and heat that up to seal the end.
Hope this helps some people who like to do stuff on their own. Once you do, you can make them pretty quick.
