Up to now I have only wrapped one piece 7-8 foot off shore rods and know you need to find the spine for placing the reel seat and guides. I just purchased a couple of lamiglas downrigger blanks and I am wondering if you need to find the spine for these rods? I placed the butt half of the blank with the end wrapped in masking tape to make it fatter so it fit better in my spine finder and put a bend in the rod but there seemed to be two spots where the spine might be. How do you find the spine in a two piece rod and is it necessary for a salmon downrigger rod?

Thank you,
Tom

Finding the spine isn't necessary, but ok to do if you want, usually one is stronger than the other in your situation, if not just pick one. I myself just build the rod to be as straight as it's going to be as I look down the rod, rarely is this the same as the spine, I just like my rods to look good, and I've seen no advantage to spining. Building the rod straight is called building on the straightest axis, I roll the blank on a flat surface and watch the tip, the straightest axis is when the tip rolls off the surface upright and when rolled either direction it doesn't appear to flop right or left. Tip up and straight is how you build it.

I just completed a Sage fly rod for a friend. This particular blank was marked by the factory along the straightest axis by placed "dots" adjacent to where the blank's sections join. I decided to find the spine on the sections that had enough flex to identify. As Spencer mentioned, the spine did not match the factory's "straightest axis" determination. Aligning the guides based upon the spine may be beneficial for a casting rod but I don't think it's going to have much affect (if any) on a downrigger rod's performance.