So Ive done a few rods with all on top micros using size 4 fujis. Now I want to try my hand at a micro spiral. When using the micros all on top Ive been pushing out the butt guide to between 22-24 inches from the reel spool center. is this common to do using the micro spiral as well? I was going through some old notes i had on the forhan spiral and I think its the way to go with micros. But after looking at some spacing notes I had It seems the the butt guide works out to be around 15" from the spool center using Rich's spacing. Would it be better to push the butt guide out and adjust the number of guides to fit the spacing Rich reccomends or stick to the formula and spacing that his method is developed on? I was planning on using SF6-SF5-SF5-4 runners for the guide sizes.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Try this, it should answer a lot : [rodbuilding.org]

Bill - willierods.com

Just finished one myself. My butt guide is 24 in from reel. Started with size 5 then 4.5, 4 , 3.5 then all 3's to tip. Total number of guides was 12 plus tip top. I used 3 guides for transition not counting the top and bottom guide. Went out and cast the rod and slung all the line off of the reel. Very impressed with how this one preforms.

Mitch;
give us some specs on the blank

Its a Mudhole MHX 843. Split rear grip is 8.5" long plus the reel seat. It will be mostly used for plastics and small jigs.

Mitch,
One easy and simple way to do it is to take a dozen or so micros and place them on the rod using elastic bands.
Mount the reel of choice on the blank, run the line through the micros as well as the tip, and simply move and or rotate the guides until you get the line - line that you want.

i.e. a nice smooth transition of the line from the reel to the tip. You want to check this line with the line spool guide first on one side of the reel, and then on the other side of the guide.
You also want to check the line flow of the line when the rod is straight - as it would be for casting, and then under reasonable stress as it would be while fighting a fish.

Often moving a particular guide 1 inches or several inches is needed. Mayby an added guide is needed at a particular location, or fewer guide/guides are needed.
Often, the rotation of a particular guide by 1 to many degress is required to get the desired effect.

I don't think that you should use any rule of thumb, or recommendations by manufacturers or others - other than to get you started.

Your fishing style, your particular reel, blank and sets of guides all change these settings to some degree.

With the use of the elastic bands, one can easily move guides very quickly and within minutes obtain the optimum number of guides needed, placement, and orientation required to get the best overall rod.

Folks get hung up on whether a guide should be at 8 inches or 28 inches for the first, middle or last guide.

Put a guide where a guide is needed to direct line flow. If a guide is not needed to direct line flow - don't put a guide on the rod.


Some blanks need 3 guides, and some blanks need 23 guides.

Aim to get your best overall rod with the fewest guides and the best overall line flow for both smooth casting as well as proper blank loading during times of heavy blank stress.

Certainly the use of a rod holder to be able to safely stress a rod is a good idea and an area to be able to do some test casting is also a good idea.

If you are using a casting reel, pay attention to how line is piled on a reel duing retreive. If you find that line piles on one side of the reel or the other duing retreive, change the alignment of the guide in front of the reel.
If you find that with a spinning reel, you find that the line is not flowing smoothly off a reel during a cast, and or a retreive, change the size of the first guide or the placement on the blank.

That is why, when doing initial guide placement for an unfamiliar blank and or reel, have an assortment of guides - with respect to both size and height. Sometimes you may find that a very small change in either the size of the guide or the height of the guide can make a huge difference in overall rod usage satisfaction.

Listen to recommendations an certainly use them for a good starting point for your custom build. But don't just blindly place guides with respect to both size, type and placement without doing a bit of testing and experimenting to be sure that you have the opimum configuration for your style, reel, and blank.

Take care
Roger

One thing to cosider is how high is the level wind putting the line.
On older reels, you may need a higher butt guide to transition down.
Also, 22" to 26" is where we put most butt guides on casting rods.

Best wishes,
Ron Schneider
Schneider's Rod Shop
Mountain Home, Arkansas
[www.schneidersrods.com]
mtnron40@yahoo.com
870-424-3381