With a 4 piece 14' spey blank the butt ends of the blank would be hard to spine I think. I am aware of the opinions that the spine doesn't matter. I believe the larger the load is the more the spine cold be a consideration.

So...could one effectively spine each section of the 4 piece blank and then line them all up....and have a pretty good true spine effect axis?

One could either put turned dowels with a cup hook in each piece of dowel, support each end of the section and slowly add weight to the center till it flipped. Would this work?

Or one might support the center of a section and add weights to each end of the section till it flipped. Would this work?

The butt section....though very big and heavy, and short....is built I would think to have "some" flex in it....even if not much. So it wouldn't harm the section to do these things to it?

If one added gorilla glue to the male end of a section....because it has no plug.....and then set it on end and let the glue harden over time....would this be an effective plug....would it expand upward
as it hardened....or would it expand outward during curing time that it breaks the blank?

Sorry folks. I don't post very often so hopefully the membership is not annoyed by the many questions.....

Jim

Spine doesn't control twist nor affect casting accuracy, so I'm not sure why increased load would make any difference. If anything, that makes the lever arm effect of the guides even stronger, even further negating the spine.

If you do want to find the spine for whatever reason, you will indeed have to do so for each section, then assemble and retest - the overlap at the ferrules will change the cumulative effect a bit. When it comes to very short, stiff butt sections, you will have to do the best you can or simply align for the straightest axis. The FAQs page covers this, I think.

Rod Bond is considered excellent for internal end plugs for male ferrules. Gorilla Glue expands as it cures so I think it might leave you with a bit of a mess.

................

don't know about some of the questions but the glue will go up an down to expand it don;t have suffent force to break the shaft on rods you build
splin on heavy sections of all rods it is tuff to find I use two pegs with the section suported on each end with weight in the center an turn by hand , messure the drop with a good messureing stick most drop is splin on top [ I use a steel ruller in 1/32 inch markings ] an it is tuff with that

Jim,

The easiest method I have found is to place two soft bound books flat on the floor with the distance apart being about the length of the section you are testing. The books will support the ends of the blank while you press down on the center of the blank. This process works well the handles of heavy Ulua blanks.

After you have found and marked the individual pieces, assemble them one at a time while testing the spine as you add on sections. All ferrules are not exactly straight and this may impact the alignment. You may need to make compromises between the marked spines and straightness of the sections.

Don

Don Becker

Thank you for the help. Good suggestions. Funny how when one hears something it makes perfect sense.....but one didn't think of it themself.....

I am happy to hear how to make the plugs. I have plenty of rod bond. And the re-checking of the spine as you put a section onto the rod.....as you go along so to speak.....good stuff. I was thinking find the spine of each section and then just line them all up and put it together. NOT. Yes, check the spine after each section goes on.....

Thank you all for the help.

Jim

1. Forget about spinning a rod. Rather, just lay each section of blank on a flat surface and roll the blank. See if there is any bend in the blank. If so, get all of the bends lined up on the same axis and move on.

2. To fill the end of any blank, I just use a piece of solid glass blank. I cut off a few inches of the solid blank. Then, I chuck it into a drill and place it next to the spinning belt sander. I reduce the size of the solid blank by sanding the piece until it is a nice fit into the end of the blank. Then, I take the plug out of the drill and use the large portion as a handle and use 5 minute epoxy to glue the plug into the end of the blank. After the glue has dried, I simply use my abrasive cut off wheel to trim the plug off flush with the finished end of the blank.

3. For a multiple section rod, I repeat the procedure for each of the other hollow male sections that I might encounter.

If you don't happen to have any solid piece of rod section around, you can go to your nearby hardware store and pick up solid fiberglass driveway markers for about $1 each for a 4 foot section of solid glass rod material.

Good luck
REW

To fill the ends I just mix some rod bond and pus it into the ends Wipe off with a paper towel put a piece of tape on the end and stand it on that end let dry pull off the tape and clean up Check for fit

Bill - willierods.com