How do you determine the guide spacing on a spiral wrapred rod when using casting guides.

[rodbuilding.org]

Depends on what style of sprial wrap you are going to use. If you look at the simple spiral, you basically layout your guides as normal and add a bumper guide between the first and second guide. For where you are using more of a transition style using a total of 4 guides to go from 0 degrees down to 180 degrees I space them about 4" apart so I use a total spacing around 12" for the 4 guides. I lay out most of my other guides as I normally would and work out the location of the transition guides that gives me the best line flow.

I lay my guides out on top and then rotate them around until I get them on the bottom. Then tweak the transition guides to get the smoothest move I can. It's worked pretty good so far.

Simple spiral to get the butt & 1st 180 guide. Add the bumper and then move away from the simple spiral in order to use static distribution for the running guides...use as few guides as needed (so long as the guide spacing is still progressive toward the tip.

Thanks guys alot of good information

John,
Use the idential spacing as if the rod were conventionally wrapped with the exception that you may end up using fewer and more widely spaced guides near the tip, since you don't need as many due to any line on the guide or line slapping factor, since the line is under the rod at that point.

If I am building a fast tipped casting rod, I will end up with 2 or 3 fewer guides with a spiral wrap compared to a conventional wrap using smaller and shorter guides.

Take care
Roger

I set up the butt guide based upon the reel to be used (height of line coming off the reel and the line angle). I then static test for the running guides as if I would for a spinner. When the first 180 guide is between 10 and 12 inches from the butt guide, I place a bumper guide where the line crosses the blank under load (90 deg. bend). I then tweak the butt guide and the first 180 guide so the line doesn't touch the blank. If moving these a few degrees doesn't clear he blank, I'll add a second intermediate guide and the bumper guide becomes a pair of transition guides equidistand between the butt and 180 guide. I don't follow any specific theory (simple, O'quinn, etc.). I prefer to let the blank tell me what it needs as every blank is different.