I like to test cast my rods before wrapping them.Some suggest finding the spine and casting then rotating the guides 60 degrees casting again and finally at 180. Is this an overkill?

Once you find the spine depending on whether you want it up or down. I don't see why you would want to rotate it different directions and try again. If you rotate to the side it will tend to cast right or left depending on which side it is rotated to.

This may help [www.rodbuilding.org]

Steve, Im not quite sure that placing the guides off the plane of the spine would make the rod cast off line. From what I understand , the spine is a starting point and by trying different guide positions ,you can find the most suiteable position for you in regard to casting and "playing a fish". Im just a beginner trying to learn.

The spine has little if anything to with casting accuracy. A badly curved or naturally warped blank, with the warp or curve placed off at 90 degrees to the casting plane is a different story, however. But the warp or curve is almost never in line with the effective spine.

I think you'd be better off spending your time adjusting the guides fore and aft, switching sizes, etc., during your test casting phase. You want to make sure you're using the smallest guides that will give you the best results. If you can drop the size of your running guides without affecting casting distance, then you'll be reducing weight on the tip area of the rod which is going to translate into a more efficient rod, and ultimately, perhaps even more casting distance.

When I was doing a lot of test casting, I would start with a "middle of the road" guide set up and then space for best distance. Then I'd cast using one up and one down size butt guide. I'd find the one that gave me the best distance there and then cast again wtih one up and one down running guide sizes. By a process of staying with anything that gave an increase in distance, or that which didn't seem to cause any decrease, you eventually wind up with the best possible guide set and placement for your purposes.

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Tom ,after you find the ultimate guide placement do you rotate the rod guides to find where the rod responds the best ? hope I read your relpy correctly,

No, it's going to "respond" about the same in any position. Granted, depending on the amount of weight you're casting, you may find one position allows the rod to load more fully than another. But, the difference between the stiffest and softest axis on most freshwater rods is only about .2 on the CCS scale so we're not talking about a huge difference.

But if you want to rotate the rod and try the guides on different axis, go right ahead. You may find something that you like about one axis more than another. With a custom rod, it's all about getting the thing to work and feel the way you want it to.


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THANK YOU !

You do your static distribution before or after your test casting? Before you test cast may be using the wrong size guides. After you test cast may have to change the position of the guides to correct the distribution. Will this affect the rods preformance?

Yes, yes and yes. Over time you'll come up with the sequence you prefer. I tend to do my guide set up and placement first, then test casting and then adjust placement as needed due to any new guide sizing. Generally, if you're close on your initial set-up, and as you gain experience you'll get pretty good at this, you won't find much in the way of further adjustments needed.

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OK- total noobie here to the rod building thing. But I build a lot of other stuff with spines, and "we" have over-complicated it, and no one can seem to agree on proper spine orientation- nor has it really proven a benefit in the end. All for the purpose of marketing! Go figure!

I'm also not a noobie to fishing, and I see more benefit to spine orientation in some types of rods than I do the golf clubs. I don't have first hand experience, or data though, so I'll keep my opinions to myself at this point. But, I'd kinda like to find out more about peoples thoughts on the subject.

Tom- you mentioned "CCS scale." What is it briefly, and where do I find it? And, is there anywhere the "rod geeks" hang out that flog this subject to death? Seems to me the best info I've found is right here on this site.