Hello all, I had found some foul proof wire guides and was wanting to see a photo of what they look on a rod. Would anyone have a photo they could please share? And any idea of what a set from number 60 down would cost?

Thanks in advance

Try American Tackle and Janns Netcraft Unless some one here has some

Bill - willierods.com

Fenwick used them quite a bit on some of their light power rods in the 60's and 70's. I don't know that I have a photo of the rods, but probably do have one of the guides. Let me know if you just need to know what the guides look like. I have a set here and could photograph them for you.

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Keith

get a piece of scrap and wrap a couple on to see

Bill - willierods.com

I have a number of the Aetna Foul Proof guides in sets and loose. What type of rod are you planning to use them on. A 60 would be for a large/long rod with a large spinning reel. How small do they graduate to? I also have some of the double foot wrap on tiptops.

Don't know if this will work but try this picture.

[i1365.photobucket.com]

Randy, I have one of the UL fenwicks that Tom mentioned. I would say the smallest double foot foul proff guide on it was a six. Not sure if that was what you were asking or trying to find out what Keith wants/needs.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

Russ, a # 60 is a very large guide and I was trying to find out what the rest of the guides graduated down to in size and what type of rod he was planning on using them on.

Keith

Have you read the articals about how to set up spinning guides on the Library page

Check it out May help and you may not need that large a butt guide

Bill - willierods.com

I just dug out my supply of Aetna Foul Proof guides and only then did I remember that they were distributed if not made for or by Gudebrod. None of them were measured in millimeters, but in inches of the ID. The smallest tip/top that I have is 1/4" ID, the smallest guide is 3/8" ID and the largest saltwater guide I have is 1 & 3/4"" ID. All of the Aetna tip/tops were a double foot design that needed to be wrapped on to the tip. One foot down either side of the blank. Very secure, and I have never had to replace one. They made different thicknesses of wire for these guides. The thinnest being for freshwater use and the thickest for Salt. Still a great guide and I think that is why at least one company is still making a similar one. same principal involved. Flex!! The way that I always set the guides up on the blank was with the long curving foot towards the reel for spinning reels. It didn't make much difference when using a conventional reel since the line didn't come off in spirals.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/23/2014 07:50PM by Randolph Ruwe.

Aetna originated them and eventually they were distributed by Gudebrod. I'm not sure if Gudebrod bought the company or simply entered into an exclusive distribution agreement with them. Vic Cutter would likely know more about this.

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The Aetna Products & Manufacturing Co. of Burbank, Calif. manufactured the Foulproof guides for many years starting back in the 1940's. The company held at least two U.S. patents on fishing rod guides from 1949 and 1956. I believe that Gudebrod distributed the Foulproof for Aetna from the mid 1960's until the Aetna Company ceased operations sometime in the late 1970's.
Fenwick stopped using Aetna Foulproofs in the late 1970's on production rods but continued to buy them for use in refurbishing older rods until 1985. During the years between 1956 and 1978 Fenwick built hundreds of thousands of rods using Aetna Foulproof guides. During that same period Fenwick was also using Mildrum and Perfection guides on casting and spinning rods. In the late 1970's most spinning and casting rods were switched over to Fuji guides and then PacBay guides in the early 1980s.

It is important to note that most of the Aetna Foulproof guides were made out of Monel wire not Stainless Steel. In some years the Monel was not plated with chrome or hard chrome. That lead to problems with line grooving the guide rings and or tip top. That is the reason that so many rods with Foulproofs had to be rewrapped at the Fenwick factory. I took a look at my original 1965 FS55 Feralite 5-1/2 foot ultralight last night and it has grooves on every one of it's foulproof guides. In later years I believe that Aetna was chrome plating the guides to help avoid this problem but by then we'd all fallen in love with ceramic insert guides.

Vic in Sequim, WA

I really liked these guides. They looked good, they flexed well, and they were lightweight. That's all I used back in the day. I really wish REC would make this style in their titanium wire. I think they would be great for braided lines.