I bought a blank, spined it and have the handle on it. I happened to look down the blank from the handle side and noticed it is crooked starting about 20” from the tip. Should I be concerned about this? Not sure how to get the guides lined up? And, the first this a customer usually does is look down the blank to see how the guides look.
Not sure how to post a picture on here to show it but it’s off probably a good 1/8”

Line up the guides on the straightest axis, ignore the spine!

Are you talking about a sudden crook, or simply a curvature?

The first thing you might do is disregard the spine (it has no effect on durability or casting accuracy, nor rod twist for that matter). Build on the straightest axis with the curve "up." This will give you the most power, quickest response and highest deadlift capacity and the customer will also be sighting down the straightest axis.

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". . . have the handle on it" This means the guide orientation is already set. Just wrap it. It will fish as well as if it were perfectly straight, but it's not. And nothing can be done. Present it to the buyer and make a deal. or keep it and make the buyer another.

This topic comes up about every 2 weeks.

Sorry, I did do a search with key word crooked and found nothing.

For all others that replied quickly, thank you. I want to make it right so I will let the customer decide.

David,didn't mean to be harsh, when looking for info just go back a few pages and scan the topics. Sometimes you can find an answer faster than posting the question. The search function can be annoying at times.

If you are going to build your rods on or opposite the spine, you will find it almost impossible to provide the customer with what appears to be a straight rod blank if he sights down the guide set. Just something to consider in the future.

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If you have - only the handle on the rod and not the reel seat, place the reel seat on the rod so that if a person sights down the blank any curve is curved up, or curved down.

As Mr. Kirkman suggested, if you build with the curve up, the rod will have a touch more power than if the curve is down.
However, I prefer to build with the curve down, and even though I may lose a touch of power, I just prefer the look - if there is a slight crook in the blank.

If you happen to have a double hook, then, the best option is to return the blank for a different blank, or just build the rod - so that when one sights down the rod, any appearance of a bend is minimized - what ever that rotation might happen to be.

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Without a doubt - one of the first things that most rod buyers do - is to sight down the rod. It is just instinctive I suppose. As a result if there are any anomalies in the blank - build with the blank rotated in such a way, that any such sighting down the rod lets the rod appear to be on its best behavior.

Best wishes

Given the same input every rod will cast to the same point, as long as the ferrules and tip-tops don't twist and the wind doesn't change. A competent caster will quickly compensate for where the rod throws. A mediocre caster with the world's best, most accurate rod will remain a mediocre caster unless he - not his equipment - improves.

Dave, I got 557 posts with "crooked tip", did you set the search dates to "all dates" in bottom right of search function?

Thanks Spencer. Now I know why I can't ever find anything with the search function.

Spencer Phipps Wrote:
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> Dave, I got 557 posts with "crooked tip", did you
> set the search dates to "all dates" in bottom
> right of search function?


That would be the reason I got no results. Thanks everyone!