I have tried to use the Morton Guide Placement Chart and can not get it to come out right. I have read everything I can find on it and I still do not understand how it works. How big is the chart supposed to be? If someone could explain it to me that would be great.

Thanks,
Brett

Did you actually purchase one of these? If so I would think that it should have had instructions with it. If you don't actually have one, go to the "Library" above and get the article on Static Distribution. It's cheap to do and very accurate since guide placement is unique to each rod you build. Even if you have two identical blanks from the same manufacturer, the necessary guide placement may not be the same.

If you want a guide placement chart I always use St Croix's. But only as a starting point, then what Gerry said

Brett, the chart, in most cases, can be drawn on a piece of poster paper. If you are working with long spay or surf rods the chart will need to be larger. First you will need to draw concentric 1/4 circles,1 inch apart with a center as far down the chart as it is wide. Using a piece of cord/line from the tip to the butt of the rod, flex the rod to 90 degrees and tie it. The rod should be bent 90 degrees. Now place the rod on the chart and find the place where it fits between two of the concentric circles. You can use a number of ways to space the guides, equal angle, progressive angle, tangent to the curve or mathematical. Each method will give you very similar spacing.

A quick and easy method with the rod on the chart, is to look to see how closely the rod follows the curve. In most cases the rod will move toward the upper curve some where along the arc. The place where the rod moves away from the inner arc and then back toward it is called the hinge in the rod. This will be the section where the rod has the greatest flex. Identify the center of the bulge. Using a straight edge( ruler), place it against the rod at the center of the bulge and put a guide between the rod and ruler on each side. The ruler/line should be touching the bottom of the guide. In other words, this will be the same position the line would have when the rod is flexed in a casting position. True, the rod will not be flexed 90 degrees or the line will not be pulling down during the cast but this is the most that the rod should ever be flexed. Within this concept, the guides should be spaced where the line will not come in contact with the rod when it is fully loaded in a casting position. This can be accomplished by using the measurement between the guides where the rod is bending most and reducing the distance toward the tip and extending the distance toward the butt. This can be done by drawing an angle from the center to the two guides, measuring the angle between the two lines, and then reducing the angle by one or two degrees toward the tip and increasing the angle one or two degrees toward the butt. Another method is to measure the distance between the two guides and divide the length by 1.1 to get the next guide toward the tip and then take that distance and divide it by 1.1 and so forth on to the tip. Multiply the distance by 1.1 to get the distance to the guide toward the butt. Then take that distance and multiply it by 1.1 to get the distance to the next guide and so forth.

This is probably more than you wanted to know but it will space the guides where the line will never touch the rod and will place a guide where the rod is most likely to break giving it more support.

Wow, all that to space guides? If I ever had to use the word "tangent" when I built a rod, I'd never build another one.

No disrespect mind you. I really am glad there are people that are smart enough to figure stuff like that out.

Jay