dumb question I guess. when spacing guides on a "casting" rod, do you do it with the guides up, when you flex the blank, as they would be when finished, or turn the blank and guides over as if it were a spinning rod to get the guides in place?

Here's a good article out of the library. Guides up.

[www.rodbuilding.org]

Guides up. Even if your spiral wrapping then you'd just rotate them later. The guides won't go anywhere if you load the rod from the tip top as in the article.

Exactly. Try to keep the line off the blank by spacing with enough guides. Under very full load you may not be able to keep the line entirely off the blank but that's okay. Just position them so that the line follows the natural curve of the blank and only touches it under a full load. In no case do you want the line to fall underneath the rod blank! I've seen that happen on some rods and that means you've got way too few guides.