ok, found the spline. but which side is which?
i put rod in my hand, bent the tip on table, the rod wobbled when to the spline, i marked the upside of the rod. now for a casting rod, which side do i put the guides on? outside of curve or inside? and is spinning rod just the opposite?

It does'nt really matter acording to those in the know. But to make things easy casting rods on the outside of the curve, spinning & fly on the inside.

Regards
Dave

Fishing is Life the rest is just Details

Personally, I would put the guides along thr straightest axis, with any curve in the belly down and don't sweat the spine.

Mike (Southgate, MI)
If I don't want to, I don't have to and nobody can make me (except my wife) cuz I'm RETIRED!!

For casting I use the top side of the curve, for sinning I use the bottom side of the curve. In the any case I do not believe it realiy matters.
Good Wraps Bob

I have read several posts in here concerning splines and it seems it dose'nt matter or it really just provides peace of mind to those who do spline thier blanks. I personally like the peace of mind. I am splining 14' ulua poles rated for 30-50#/80# test and am having a difficult time trying to figure out which is the spine. I roll the blank and have a spine finder and am finding two places where the blank like to naturally bend. (two spines?)??? One seems stiffer than the other. Do I place the guides on the back (opposite the belley) of the stiffer spine or the softer spine.

Mahalo

-hope I did'nt jack this thread from ya DB.

On 2 peace blanks make sure the spine are alined. If you place your guiges on the top side the blank , the rod well be a little softer, if you go no the underside the rod well be a little stiffer. this is for a casting rod. This is reversed on a spinning rod.
Good Wraps Bob

Flexing the rod by hand does not approximate, in any way, what happens when the rod is loaded by a fish pulling on a line running through guides which are attached to the rod. So that hand flexing exercise really doesn't amount to anything under actual fishing use.

Try to not worry about it too much. There are some general tips on finding the spine and orienting it on the FAQs page here, but you'll have to decide for yourself what you want to do with it. There is no right nor wrong way to orient it.


..........

Hi Allen,

"hope I did'nt jack this thread from ya DB"

If you are refering to me, I'm glad to see you participating on the board. More is better ;)
Besides, how is it possible to "jack" an open forum?

"I have read several posts in here concerning splines and it seems it dose'nt matter or it really just provides peace of mind to those who do spline thier blanks."

It does matter for Ulua rods and there are a couple of reasons. Have you ever seen an Ulua pole (not tied down) turn and have the reel move around toward the ocean? This can happen when the guides are located inside the curve. When the guides are outside the curve the pole will tend to stay in place. (notice that I did not say WILL stay). If the rod is to be primarily used for bait casting you may want to consider having the guides on the inside of the curve. On a hard cast the guides should fall in line behind the blank. I had a brand X blank wrapped by Mr. Y and instructed him to wrap the rod for casting with the guides inside the curve. He did not follow my instructions. After the third cast on a field I looked up saw that the guides had shifted over about 30 degrees, There were 3 reasons for the failure. 1. A poor quality ferrule 2. Guides placed improperly 3. Less than a perfect cast with the guides not following directly behind the blank.

Also, most experienced fishermen in Hawaii and some not so experienced fishermen will check for the spine. If you do not build in accordance for the spine, I am afraid you will get a bad reputation. On a similar note, the CTS Makoi 605 & 607 will have a 4" ferrule. What is needed structually is 3". The blank will have the 4" ferrule required by opinion.

Regarding the spine locations. The predominant spine is the one you will use. The desire is to have the two spines displaced by 180 degrees which is not often the case. As indicated by Mike, you should tape the guides in place. Join the handle and tip. Sight down the rod and note any blank curvature that is not in line with the guides. If the rod bends other than in line with the guides you will need to make some compromises. To put your mind at rest, the spine and bend "usually" tend to coincide. Some ferrules are not the best possible. When you are sighting down the rod check the handle and tip for any angular displacement. If there is any, rotate the handle until it disappears. I do spine the handles on my surf rods and match the handle and tips spines.

I trust the blanks you are using have single modulus tips and we can call it a day. ;)

For Daniel,

You probably do not have to worry much if the rod is 9' or shorter.


Best wishes,
Don

Don,

I can assure you that on any rod where the guides are on top of the rod, the rod will try to twist and where you orient the spine will have little to no effect. On rods where the guides are under the rod, you won't experience that same twist.

Rod twist is a matter of guide location, not spine orientation.


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I agree with Tom. You might consider using a revolver guide wrap (Roberts or Acid) guide wrap. If you are using a casting reel set up. this wrap would eliminate some of your concerns. I call this wrap a drunk wrap myself.
Good Wraps Bob

Sorry to change the subject but how does these acid/bump/dump wraps do for casting? I will be casting a conventional with 40-80# test, will the line be able to travel through the guides effeciently for a far cast (80-100 yards with a 6-10oz grabber lead weight)?
I can see how the acid wraps and its variations can help when reeling in a fish but again, How does work/help in casting?

Mahalo

Actually, they have little or no effect on casting at all. Some have said they cast better but I doubt it.

Mike (Southgate, MI)
If I don't want to, I don't have to and nobody can make me (except my wife) cuz I'm RETIRED!!

Don,
You make a good point about some people expecting the guides to be oriented one way or another relative to the spine but in fact the spine has almost nothing to do with the rod rotating in a rod holder or the tip of the rod twisting during a cast. In both cases it is the torque that causes it and the amount of torque created by the spine in extremely small. Virtually all of the torque comes from the line through the guides. Torque is force times moment arm. The distance from the center of the blank to the point that the line contacts the guide is the moment arm. The amount of force on each guide times the distance from the center of the blank to the point where the line is contacting each guide is the torque on each guide. The sum of the torques on each each guide is the total torque.
You are also right about the two stiff planes and the two soft planes rarely APPEARING to be 180 degrees apart when you look for the spine in a blank. But actually the S1 to S2 (stiff) and the N1 to N2 (soft) planes are 180 degrees apart and the S and N planes are 90 degrees apart. What makes them appear to not be 180 degrees apart is that they are offset. In other words where the N1 to N2 plane crosses the S1 to S2 plane is not in the center of the blank but offset to one side or the other which makes it appear that they are not 180 degrees apart.

They aren't going to cast better, but properly set up they will cast nearly as well. But, the spiral wraps are not marketed (or at least they shouldn't be) as something to improve casting.

A more straightforward type spiral wrap, such as the Simple Spiral/Bumper wrap, which maintains a very straight line path, would likely be the route you'd want to take.

.............

Good Piont Emory
Good Wraps Bob

We should be watching the play offs to relax
Good Wraps Bob

Why are we talking spines when we should be watching the play offs
Good Wraps Bob

Bob,
I think that you must have just set a record. There are two of your posts in a row and not a single misspelled word.
Are you attempting to take all of the fun out of your posts?

I think it was becouse I was watching the SeaHawks win 21 to 20. My wife was wainting the Cowgirls ro win.. She never watches foot ball. She was born in Texas
Good Wraps Bob

wow! thanks all for the great info. it really helped. and oh BTW, i did get off here and watch the playoffs lol. Too bad the Cowboys came up a lil bit short! Was a great game!