This post came to mind because of the repair cost post below. In doing quite a bit of rod repair on factory rods, I am amazed at the terrible or lack of guide prep on factory rods.

I did some guide replacement on some quality made in USA rods, and the guides wrapped on from the factory had huge, sharp burrs from the guide foot being ground but not smoothed out after.

How do rods like this not fail from the guide cutting in to the blank?

Just a guess here, but I'll bet that the vast majority of the factory rod buyers only use them a few times a year. They just don't put the stress on the rod. Just my opinion.
Bill

Bill,
I don't know why you would say that - how about fishing guides that buy their gear at discounts form sponsors. They use the stuff every day. Before I built I used factory rod extensively and exclusively. All my fishing friends and family use or used factory rods.
I only build fly rods - not my casting rods; they are factory - I just don't enjoy building a casting rod - and I use them a lot..
Ever see a pick-up with a few spinning rods thrown in the back? I am sure that they get used a lot.

Most pics on fishing web sites and magazines show rods with angler and fish - I don't think I have EVER seen a pic of a custom rod there.
There is life after custom rods.
When I am out fishing and I see a fellow angler - I have never seen one carrying a custom rod..
Respectfully
Herb

Marc,
Have you considered the possibility, that it isn't that necessary to clean up the guides?
If millions of rods are built like this every year without significant failure, perhaps the blanks are stronger and less sensitive to this sort of issue than we might give them credit?

Take care
Roger

You could very well be right Roger. It just goes against my grain to put a guide on a rod that does not have all the edges smoothed out.

I'll admit I don't always do a perfect taper of the foot, but I am a stickler about sharp edges.

I have repaired plenty of factory rods, very few have dressed feet ... they are factory fresh from Fuji or whomever. IMO, it isn't "necessary" to dress the feet as we do - rather it is preferable, for a number of reasons.

Two cents deposited.

I have never had a rod fail. But - I did rebuild one rod that I built that had blank damage (a gouge) under a guide that probably was the result of the guide not sitting perfectly flat on the blank. I agree with you that buffing the guide feet with 400-600 grit paper is one of the most important things you can do. I also like "knife edges on the feet - but - they must be burr free.
If the damage on the rod I described had not been in a compresson mode (fly/spinning) under stress - but had been in a tension mode (conventional) I bet it would have failed.

The production companies have instruction from the manufacturers not to break the coating layer applied to the metal substrate - increased failure rate will void warranty of the part. - the barbs on the bottom of certain guides are isolated to certain sizes and are normally replaced for production builders - they do not spend the time or trouble to work - and known they will not be used and returned for replacement - it is really a simple matter for a custom builder to fix.

Maybe that helps explain the guides we get, the factories cull out the ones they don’t want to use and they get sold on to the custom market………

Guide manufacturers and distributors generally offer to "pre-grind" their guides for about a penny or two extra per guide. Rod Manufacturers often prefer the pre-ground variety because for them it's a time saver.

Unfortunately, the grinding is rather crude - a harsh few seconds against a coarse grit wheel that heats and changes the temper of the metal and often leaves a burr or burrs on the foot underside.

When custom builders find barbs at the tip of the guide foot, most often that was created as they pried the very thin edged guide from the wrap/finish. It pulls the end of the foot down into barb but was not necessarily there prior to being removed.

Custom builders get the same quality guides the rod manufacturers do. Most often, however, they are not pre-ground and I've found few custom builders that wanted to deal with having to fix the damage done when such guides are pre-ground.

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