a good customer of mine came into the shop today and wanted me to build him a 12' surf rod.he fishes the Arkansas River for big catfish,is very rough on his equipment and does not know how to use it.as i have only built bass rods and fly rods,i do not know where to start.it is going to be a 2 piece spinning rod.i know how to build a bass spin but i need to ask a few ?'s on this one.since it is spin,do i set it up just like a bass rod using the ngc or do i graduate the guides down to the tip?he will be using very heavy weights on this rig to get long casts and using 50-60# mono.taking into consideration how he treats his equipment,does this rod need to graphite or something like e glass?your help is always appreciated.thanks,jim.

If he's very rough on his equipment, then a glass rod might be the ticket. It'll be heavier but much more durable.

A surf spinning rod is just like a bass spinning rod, only larger. Set it up the same way but make sure your guides will pass whatever line and leader knots he may use.

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Instead of builing him a surf spin set up why not just go for a full on 12ft beach caster rated 5-6 ozs. Basically what we in the UK would use for our standard shore fishing. Might just stand up to his heavy handedness a bit better.
Don't know what blanks you can get your hands on in the US but Century, Zziplex, Conoflex will have something to suit.

Start off with 40mm drop down to a 16mm with a 16 or 20 mm top, with heavy mono knots will be a problem if he uses a shock leader if using mono he can use stainless ring guides for cost savings