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Rod Impregnation - The Nunley Way

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I'll throw this as a little learning experience for those of you that ever think you want to try impregnating a rod.

Some time ago, I had my first experience with trying to impregnate a rod. I was not a member of the listserv back then, had never heard of the Planing Form, and had no idea that anyone had dabbled and figured a few things out about a "proper" process.  My first thought was that if I pressurized a vessel with poly in it, that surely the poly would impregnate the rod very well and that I'd get a decent result... So I was off to the races.  I bought a 4" diameter piece of PVC, put a cap on one end,  a threaded adapter on the other end in which I screwed a sewer type screw cap (the kind they use for the caps on the clean outs on Sewer systems), drilled the sides close to the top and put a valve there with a female air chuck on the valve.  I glued up all the joints and let her dry overnight and then filled it with varnish.  Being one of those people who thinks that if one aspirin can cure a headache, then 10 must cure cancer, I decided to just set the pressure regulator on my compressor to 120 PSI and let 'er rip... Well, let me tell you, after standing there and admiring it, hearing no leaks for about 10 seconds, that's exactly what happened. She "let it rip". That PVC may be rated at 200 PSI, but those damn thin plastic screw on sewer caps are definitely NOT!  It sounded like a cannon going off. You'd be shocked how long it takes you to realize that the Varnish Version of Old Faithful isn't going to quit erupting until you turn the air valve off...  I didn't know what to worry more about, the ringing in my ears, the varnish dripping from the ceiling of the garage or the near 2 gallons of varnish that was in my hair and beard and all over my clothes.  I looked like I'd been dipped in honey.   Then, my hair was about 18" long and that night it was not in it's traditional pony tail and I donned a long red beard (no, it hasn't always been white!), so I stood there looking like a drowned rat, beard and hair stuck together and dripping with about $120 worth of Varmor R-10!   I wasn't so worried about the ceiling, but very worried about the rest of me!  I gotta say, you can NEVER done anything to yourself more miserable than stand naked in the middle of a garage on a piece of plastic drop cloth pouring mineral spirits through your hair trying to get the varnish out... Oh, and when you think you have it all out, then you get in the shower and find that you were NOT even close!  Water just makes it worse!!!  They don't make enough shampoo to get all of it out.  So back out to the drop cloth, butt naked again, while my wife (now ex wife...wonder why?) goes to Walmart to get a couple of more gallons of mineral spirits while I yell at her from the garage "Hurry the hell up before this s#!t dries!!!"

Well, she did get back in time, and me... I smelled like a paint factory for a couple of days (Mineral Spirits is almost as hard to get out of your beard and hair as the varnish is).

I guess, of all the screw ups I've pulled off, that was probably the one I've told the least people about... so now you all know my deepest, darkest rodmaking screwup!  (Bob Nunley)