Confessions from a stupid rod maker.
Posted by:
Tim Collins
(---.sanarb01.mi.comcast.net)
With all of the problems associated with aging, I never expected stupidity would be number one - as was evident from my recent perceived spine problem.
To determine the spine, I used to bow the fly rod blank into a relaxed state, and it was easiest for me to first mark the inside curse and then transfer a mark 180 degrees to the outside curve - the effective spine. And at the time I theorized that the little bit of overlap in the graphite layers resided on that outside surface of the blank.
When I found my 4 pc Sage blank had two spines I made a spine finder from bearings and a tube so I could do a better job with the shorter sections. But for some idiotic reason when I put the blank into a relaxed state, I thought it was necessary to rotate the blank about 90 degrees to force that resistant section of the blank to the outside of the curve. And with two spines I had double the problem. Tom and the others were giving me great advice but it wasn't sinking in. After reading Tom's last comment for the tenth time, it finally dawned on me what I had done wrong. Thinking that two spines was a curse, I now see why Tom said two spines is an ideal situation.
The good news - I learn the most from my mistakes and know I will not make a spine error again. The bad news - I look around the room here and wonder how did I build my last couple of rods . . . ?
Anyway, thank you for all of your help, I really enjoy this website.
Tim Collins
