Flaring out PVC rod holders

Do some of you folks with the PVC rocket launcher rod holder contraptions like to have the PVC flaring out at the top to make it a little wider?
A lot of the DIY videos on YouTube show this technique being done with a heat gun and a wine bottle, but when I tried (on a test piece), it didn't really work. Perhaps it wasn't hot enough?

Thoughts?

Do some of you folks with the PVC rocket launcher rod holder contraptions like to have the PVC flaring out at the top to make it a little wider?
A lot of the DIY videos on YouTube show this technique being done with a heat gun and a wine bottle, but when I tried (on a test piece), it didn't really work. Perhaps it wasn't hot enough?

Thoughts?

i have done the wine bottle method with success.  USe steady heat for a while versus high heat burst.  You can easily burn the plastic, but it becomes almost like taffy around glass transition temperature

I have been using 1-1/4" thin wall PVC instead Schedule 40.
This makes easier to flare and more room for rods.  You can purchase from Lowe's.

Paul

Do some of you folks with the PVC rocket launcher rod holder contraptions like to have the PVC flaring out at the top to make it a little wider?
A lot of the DIY videos on YouTube show this technique being done with a heat gun and a wine bottle, but when I tried (on a test piece), it didn't really work. Perhaps it wasn't hot enough?

Thoughts?

i have done the wine bottle method with success.  USe steady heat for a while versus high heat burst.  You can easily burn the plastic, but it becomes almost like taffy around glass transition temperature

Thanks. Yeah I may have been impatient.
Another question: Is the flared-out look mostly aesthetic or does it make placing and removing the rod easier?

I've never flared PVC, but for bending and shaping, I much prefer hot water to a heat gun. There are no fumes and no chance of burning it with hot water, and it becomes very flexible.

Try dumping some boiling water in a homer bucket, then soak the end that you want to flare for a minute or so. I bet it'll then be easy to do the wine bottle flare trick.

I've never flared PVC, but for bending and shaping, I much prefer hot water to a heat gun. There are no fumes and no chance of burning it with hot water, and it becomes very flexible.

Try dumping some boiling water in a homer bucket, then soak the end that you want to flare for a minute or so. I bet it'll then be easy to do the wine bottle flare trick.

That might be tricky as the whole contraption is quite bulky. Thanks for the tip though. I'll consider it.

In my head the flare helps with loading into the tube, but I’m not sure it actually does anything. +1 to the boiling water.

Also, the flare looks way cooler, which helps me catch more fish.

Aloha,

Isao

P.s.

Lmk if you need a wine bottle for shaping, you can stop by my place and help me empty one for you.

Malibu_two, if you want for free I have a few DIY rod holders I made several years ago that I don't use anymore...flared out and with a notch. Back then, I didn't know any better and ended up using schedule 40 and had a hellava time molding them 

Malibu_two, if you want for free I have a few DIY rod holders I made several years ago that I don't use anymore...flared out and with a notch. Back then, I didn't know any better and ended up using schedule 40 and had a hellava time molding them 

That'd be awesome! Just sent you a PM. Thanks!

Malibu_two, if you want for free I have a few DIY rod holders I made several years ago that I don't use anymore...flared out and with a notch. Back then, I didn't know any better and ended up using schedule 40 and had a hellava time molding them 

That'd be awesome! Just sent you a PM. Thanks!

Cool, they're yours!

Instead of flaring, I cut my PVC tubs at an angle, which makes the reel face whatever direction the cut is made and makes it easy to slip the handle in.

it's nice to flare them out so you don't have to futz with it as much.

the heat gun works really well you just have to keep going till it looks like it's getting lose. it will be pretty obvious, it does take a couple minutes.