I am about to build a cane rod and note that it has a prominent spine effect (infact more than one).
Just curious whether the experienced builders out there take "spine" into account when building cane.
Thanks in advance.
Ed

The only ones I ever did I used the straightest axis to build on, believing that any future warp or bend would go in the direction that it already had shown a tendency to. This may have been incorrect, but I still have one and the warp has increased slightly over the years, but since it's an "up" direction, it's not something you really notice. The spine is on a different plane entirely.

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Tom,
I have been told that any prominent warp can be easily removed by carefully steaming the offending part (over a kettle for the thicker butt section and with a steam iron for thinner tip sections).
Apparently this loosens the glue holding the sections together and with gentle corrective pressure allows the rod to be set straight again.
Ed

That's correct, but if the set ever comes back, you can just about figure that it will come back in the same plane.

The spine effect on cane rods is caused by similar anomolies to that on a graphite rod, with the added one of being constructed from a natural material. You just can't ever be 100% certain that each of the individual "splines" are exactly verbatim in strength. This contributes for sure and while I really don't know, I suspect it has something to do with any warp that may creep in over time. I'm well aware that improper use and storage can warp a cane rod, but even many of those that are well cared for will develop some warp over time. I'd like it to be either up or down rather than to either side, so that's the way I did my few.

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Thanks Tom. I will install the guides on this rod with any warp up.
Ed

I am not a cane rod builder and do not know a darn thing about it but I have a question. Why would you not put the bend down so that it tended to allign the guides rather than up which will tend to misallign the guides, or do I misunderstand what you mean?

Looks to me like the guides would be aligned whether any bend is up or down. I know nothing about cane either, but I'd put the bend up so any normal load against the rod would tend to pull it straight. That's the way we all did our old boat rods made from calcutta and even split bamboo. When we'd rewrap them we'd always put any bend so it was pointing up when in the fishing position.

Larry, Tom, Ed
As I think about this more I realize that you are correct and I am wrong. The bend wants to go up with the guides down. Forget I said anything. I said I didn't know diddelly about cane rods.

Emory,
I forgot to mention that the cane blank in question is a fly rod.
I suppose it would not matter too much whether the guides are "up" or "down" as long as they are in the same plane as casting.
But as Tom said, I am choosing to place the guides so that they will even out any natural warpage - hopefully!
Regards
Ed

I spine all my rods that I build. I put my guides on the high side of the bend, if there is a bend. You spine bamboo just like a graphite rod. People complain about bamboo not being perfectly straight, well Im not putting graphite down but you will not find a perfectly straight graphite blank. When you put the guides on the high side of blank it will straighten out usually. The good thing about bamboo you can straighten them with heat, your pretty much screwed when you have a crooked graphite blank. Thanks Dave's Custom Rods
www.davesrods.com