I finished my first rod and casts great. so know I'm on to the 9ft 8wt and ordered the guides from anglers workshop. They show 2 listings for a 9ft rod so considering that the rod is an 8wt I ordered the F10XX which shows a 20,16,6,5,4,4,4,4,4,4 guide set. the 20mm stripper looks totally out of proportion to the rod so I plan to order PBXBSG in size 16 and a 14 stripper and keep the larger snake brand guides and continue the build or the boat guides AWBCG (16 & 14) . I'm hoping these guides will do the job. Any observations and criticisms would be welcomed.

Get rid of the size 6 and size 5 and use 4's in their place. No need to use all the different sizes - you actually get a straighter line path and at less weight by cutting out all the different sizes. Using all the available sizes is only for the human eye - not the line.

If you have decided to use a size 16 stripping guide, I'd use a higher frame spinning style and go with a 16 and 12 or 10.

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Smaller stripping guides on 7wt. + fly rods improve appearance and ease of transportation. Larger stripping guides improve distance and reduce tangles. We seldom get something for nothing.

Thanks Tom for the suggestion. I'm learning everything I can about flyrod building. Thanks for the insight .

Tom you mentioned a high stripping guide. Can you expand your reply as to high part., Thanks

It can help reduce line slap against the rod blank on the cast. Your casting style also has something to do with this, but there is little penalty for using the higher frame guide.

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Robert

As Phil E advises, life and fly rods are full of trade offs.

Your initial thought for guides sizes are large, and maybe too large. Think about it this way - is the line diameter or line to backing connection so large as to require a 20 mm or even a 16 mm strip guide to pass? What other advantage might oversized guides (other than the tip top guide) provide? The answer might be little to nothing and add weight in the bargain.

Try this. Securely tape the guides in place and make a couple casts. Then tape on smaller smaller guides and make a few casts. Can you detect any difference? Try moving the stripping guide an inch or so forward. Any difference? Don't be surprised if the 16mm stripping guide moved and inch or so forward with one or two smaller size guides is the test cast winner. And if not you will have proven what in fact does work well for you and the blank.

I am beginning to understand tradeoffs. none of my connections require a 20mm guide. they pass through the guides on my other rods just fine. My style of casting is I like to keep my arm in close to my body and 10 and 2 the rod allowing the rod tip to load. i don't need to cast a long ways. I don,t want to re-invent everything with each rod I try to make. are there some rules of thumb that get good results or guide lines to follow to get good results most of the time. tweaking here and there I understand. The 20mm guide just looks oversized for the rod. I can,t say I ever saw a flyrod with a stripper that size. In the magazines or on the rack. I do appreciate all the information I am reading though. thanks

As to the stripping guide size, I would suggest that the issue is not so much the connections. The ability to pass connections is more a concern at the distal end of the rod - the smaller sized guides towards the tip.
I build a lot of larger fly rods, 7 wt + sizes. The issue is more in how the line goes from reel to the stripping guide. I use high(ish) framed guides in size 16 or 20 (16 with Minimas, sometimes a 20 on larger inserted guides) for 8, 9 wts to reduce the wear on the line when retrieving, especially when fighting a fish. With the super-large arbor reels out now, it's more of an issue than you might think. The added benefit, as was made earlier, is less line slap and better clearing of tangles.
I would definitely agree with Tom in his recommended train, with the exception of the size 4's; for an 8wt I'd personally use 3's, but you should not lose much with the 4's. Reduce the guide size fast from the second stripper, and keep that size to the end.
Good luck with your build!

The running guides don't need to be any larger than necessary to easily pass your line and any connections, so if size 3's will do that, I'd opt for those as Bryan suggests.

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Bryan, the minimas guides(highish) would have a part # and where you get them. I have mudhole and anglers workshop catalogues , sometimes they describe the profile( hi, low) . Also, I was in the yard casting my fly rod and was watching for line slap and didn't observe any. I have the line in my left hand andkeep it awayfrom the rod. Maybe for me rod slap may occur further up the rod. Again thanks for the suggestions on the build.

Mudhole: BT3XG is the black/stainless; XT4XG is chrome. For Ti guides with inserts (for rods used primarily in saltwater), there are several, but from Mudhole I've had great luck with the NIRLC from American Tackle, I've yet to lose or loosen an insert even after some rough use. For an 8wt, size 16 should be good, followed by a 12 or 10. I've been seeing some factory rods the past few years with 3 stripping guides, but I don't see the point. Reduce down quickly to your 3's or 4's, and don't stress about it......they will work great. Let us know how it turns out, and best of luck.

I just applied epoxy to some thread windings and before application the epoxy the colors were electric green and copper and now the green is green but 2 shades darker and the copper wrap is almost black. I know a color fast application can be applied but won,t allow the epoxy to penetrate the threads and possibly make the wraps weaker. The colors I selected are bright and was a bit disappointed when they got as dark as they did. I used 2 threads and I liked what I saw before epoxy

What is a good length and weight fly rod for bass fishing with poppers. Also the action too. What part does tip flex play.