i've never built a rod with a spiral wrap should the guides spiral spiral to the right or to the left? i've seen the first guide at 45 deg & some at 90 deg which is correct? where should the spine be placed on a rod like this? should single foot or double foot guides be used on the bottom? the blank i'm going to use is a st croix s glass 6'6" med act 10 - 17 lb test rating

thanks much r flynn

I'd suggest getting some articles on the wrap for more background. Also, do a search on this board on the "spiral wrap" as most of the questions you ask have been discussed in depth within the past two weeks.

Most people spiral the guides to the same side as the reel handle is on so that when they lie the rod on a boat deck the transition guides are up. This has nothing to do with performance and everything to do with convenience.

There are differences of opinion on the butt guide. Some position it off-center to get the transition started. Others position it offset to the opposite side of the transition guides to keep the line centered on the retrieve. And some just put it on the 0 axis. All work well depending upon which spiral wrap system you choose.

You can locate the spine in whatever position you need to do what you want the rod to do. The rod will be 100% stable no matter where you put it, as the guides are on the bottom of the rod. One builder suggested putting the spine in line with your casting plane, which in his case was 90 degrees to the guides.

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Tom:
What exactly is the casting plane, you are refering to? I've read the article in Rodmaker, but I'm not fully understanding this concept.