I have a few blanks to build and I'm stumped.... Normally I would go to my local shop or call a place to order the guides, and they already know the diameters I need.
In an attempt to learn, How do you determine the guide diameters from tiptop to the bottom most guide?? What other factors arethere to consider besides the obvious (baitcast or spin cast)

Thanks

Rich

Go to say St Croix's web site just to get an idea of sizes. The blank and reel will tell you of placement for the Concept System Check the liberary page for placement articals

Rich,

One consideration when selecting a tip ring size is whether you will be passing knots or slip bobber stops through the tip. Small rings like number 6 keep the tip light and sensitive while larger rings like 7's or 8's pass the knots better. As for the rest of the guides, I think it is more of an issue on spinning rods than on casting rods.

On a spinning rod, the butt guide has to get the big loops that come off of the reel under control so they pass through the rest of the guides easily. The butt guide needs to be big enough to capture those loops while being small enough (and properly positioned) to knock the loops down all the while keeping the loops from slapping the rod blank between the reel and the butt guide. The ring size AND the height of the guide need to be considered in this application.

Without knowing what kind of blanks you are building, and consequently, what size (spinning?) reels you will be using, it's tough to nail down the butt guide size. I generally tape a set of guides on a new blank (with the reel seat already installed), and test cast it, watching carefully how the butt guide handles the line. Once the butt guide size and position is set, I simply step down one size per giude to create an aesthetically pleasing look. For most of my walleye rods, with medium sized reels, I find that Fuji Concept guides in the 25 size do the job well.

Note that I pretty much build only freshwater spinning rods so don't know much about casting rods and NOTHING about fly rods.

Skip

Skip

here is the only info I have on the blank: Transparent maroon gloss finish. 6' 9 1/2" long, one piece. 20# class. Medium/fast action. Tip size 6. Butt diameter 1/2".

I'm leaning towards a spinning setup (i'm not good at baitcasting yet). The general rule I've been following is 1 guide per foot + 1 + tiptop, so in this case I'm looking at 8 guides + tiptop. Please correct me if my thought are wrong.

I also have a Forecast 5wt (3pc) flyrod, and a Matrix steelhead blank. I'm trying to figure out how to do this without having to consult charts all the time :)