i have a guy who wants me to replace his guides on his surf rod. there is only 4 guides on the rod. I was going to use the 27 theory but then again i would have to refinish the whole thing . Do you think i can put smaller guides and not change the spacing .Just want to just upgrade the rod for the gent

Simply downsizing the present guides in their current location isn't really "upgrading" the rod. I'd present him with two options - upgrade the rod with a more modern approach, which would include refinishing it, or simply replacing what he has now with more of the same. Let him decide.

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hi chip,having redone a few of these i can tell you that sizing down will cause problems unless more guides are added to minimize line slap in the cast and blank contact in retrieve,there are some real nice higher frame guides that would do well in the asthetics of a re-build,tho they can be pricey.the fuji mnag line is nice and resonablely priced for exampleor you could go "k" series for a bit more.you didn't mention if the rod is cast or spin,so i asumed cast(probably wrong)but you get the idea,good luck

www.southriverrodsllc.com

Tell him

You have to strip the guides off -- Refinish the blank And put the correct size guides on and correct amount of them

Get paid if he don;t like the price let him walk Or you will start a connection of Cheap Rebuilds

Do it right

Bill - willierods.com

Hi Chip,
Would't be the first time a factory rod didn't have enough guides, although they have improved greatly. Tom's recommendation is best ie refinish, update with modern guides and techniques or more of the same at his discretion. Charge accordingly.

ESFNEM Col
Port Kembla, NSW
Australia

Maybe you can get him into a complete build

Bill - willierods.com