my understanding is that the standard spiral wrap usually follows the 0-60-120-180 pattern. buy why not 0-45-90-135-180? has this been done? seems to me like it would produce softer "turns". i want to experiment with this after i get my first wrapper in (which i'm ordering this week.). any thoughts?

Well, the 45 degree guide will bring the line off the side of the blank to where it will feed the 135 w/o rubbing the blank, so the 90 isn't really needed IMO. Your extra guide (90) is getting close to an "O'Quinn" spiral. Do a search here on the O'Quinn spiral and you'll find more reading.

We've got a handy Degree Wheel on our site that's a free download to use for setting your guides up. Yo can find it and instructions for use by clicking this link --> []

Mark Griffin
[]
C&M Custom Tackle
San Dimas, California

Why have any turns at all? Just let the line go where it wants to go, a guide at 0 and another at 180. If you need to keep the line off the side of the blank put on inbetween those two at 90, but do not respace the 0 and 180.

Do search on the "Simple Spiral" for something you may really like.

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

Lance;
There are several different versions, with guides at different locations.
What Mr. Kirkman suggests is an excellent method even though I do mine differently.
You might try experimenting with each to find out what works best for you.

Put the transition guides on and tighten the line. The line will pull the guides into the correct position.

Don't get hooked into fixed transition angles. C2

Simple spiral is quick, easy and works great!!!

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!!

thanks for the input guys. mark, great tool!

tom, what you said makes sense to me. i guess being a newbie i'm full of newbie questions. my initial thought was that softer turns would help castability.

The simple spiral is very effective! Works great, however, plan on using smaller guides than you originally thought. Or, at least plan on putting the transition guide ring as close as possible to the blank. At some point in the not to distant future I suspect some clever manufacturer is going to offer a "transition specific" guide for spiral wraps that puts the ring almost on the blank itself.
Tight lines,
Hunter

From ghoulies and ghosties,
and long leggedy beasties,
and things that go bump in the night,
Good Lord deliver us!

Hunter Armstrong Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
At some point in the not to distant
future I suspect some clever manufacturer is going
to offer a "transition specific" guide for spiral
wraps that puts the ring almost on the blank
itself.

Or they could just rename the BLAG-6.

The "simple spiral" if done correctly has NO transition guide(s)

Raymond Adams
Eventually, all things merge, and a river runs through it..

If you want to keep the line off the rod, use a ceramic ring where the line on a Simple Spiral crosses the rod, sized to fit the rod and provide a "bumper".

Uncle Russ
Calico Creek Rods

The only problem I've found with the ring is depending on the flex of the rod the location of the ring changes. At least in my playing with it. Maybe two rings would work, but a guide placed between the butt guide and the first 180 works without a flaw.

Regards......Doug@
TCRds

What do you guys think of a this brass or aluminum sleeve at this point? It could be fit over an underwrap to cushion it and have the ends finsihed with thread for asthetics.

I think you will find those metals too soft and that they will start to grove after a while causing problems with your line

Since the Bumper guide works so well, many of these other attempts to keep the line from rubbing the blank really confound me. We're not having any problem with the bumper as a guide, so what is it we're trying to "fix?"

I ran the gamut of all sorts of ideas when trying to keep the line off the blank. I tried steel, rings over the blank, thick coats of PermaGloss on the blank and finally arrived at just putting a low frame guide there to do the job. Bingo, that did it just fine. At that point, my search was over.

I have seen many rods from builders who tell me they're using the Simple Spiral and yet when I see their guide placement it becomes obvious that what they actually have is the old single 90 degree transition guide. Not at all the same thing, although it does tend to work okay.

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

The simple spiral method turns out to be the most straightforward and easiest method of spiral wrapping. No taking the line around the blank, you just let it go to the bottom of the blank like it would do naturally if you didn't force it to stay up on top. And it just plains works!