I received today the replacement section for my 8 weight, 9 foot CTS rod blank. I'm using a #16 Fuji KR stripping guide, #5 make brand eco guides, and a Snake brand #5 tip top. Anyone have guide spacing on the CTS blank? Of course I'll be doing a static test. A starting point would good though. The reel will be a Lamson Guru II.

Oh, and thanks Herb, for all of your help.

Tight Lies and frisky fish

RJF

Robert,
Why can’t you just temporarily mount the guides with dental bands or tape in a nice, progressive spacing and then 2-line static load test for the precise locations? Oftentimes, if the progressive spacing LOOKS good, it will coincide pretty dang close with the static load test.

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

CTS has generic guide spacing charts for their fly rods.
[ctsfishing.zendesk.com]
Norm

Start with the stripper at 20 inches and go up or down from there.

Place the guides as far from each other as possible to still insure that the line follows the loaded blank without touching the blank and you will be good to go.

That also means using as few guides as possible and still meet the above criteria.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/01/2021 11:30PM by roger wilson.

A stripper guide @ 20" on a fly rod? I think not

20" from the top of the grip seems about right to me. I'm assuming that's what Roger was indicating.

32 inches from the butt of the rod. You can play with things all you want, but if you put the stripping guide 32 inches from the butt, you'll be right.

If you assume a 5 inch reel seat, a 7 inch grip and then another 20 inches from the front of the grip, you'll be at 32.

...........

I put the stripper just in front of my reached out hand were I am going to grab the line to strip it in. It is a custom rod, so make it custom to your reach. I will always mount the reel seat, butt piece and grip first then after it is ready to accept the reel, mount it, put the blank pieces together; then see where to mount the stripper according to your reach. If it is for a customer, do it to his reach. Start with a arbitrary position (20" from reel / 32" from butt end) then adjust it.

I tape on the guides according to the CTS guide spacing specs for starters. I then did the two line static test. The guide spacing was near perfect, with the stripper just at the end of the female ferrule on the 2nd section from the butt. It's about perfect for grabbing the line and stripling it in. My transparent wraps are coming out really nice. My only issue is that with my eyesight, it takes long enough that my upper back muscles feel it. At least it did for the first guide foot. The 2nd one went much faster. Just out of practice. I want this rod to be as perfect.as I can get it, my masterpiece, not a lot of bling, just a super well made fly rod.

Tight Lies and frisky fish

RJF

Robert,
And I am certain it will be!!!

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

I changed my Alps Power Wrapper thread sled setup, winding the thread around the other spool holders to create a little more tension. It worked perfectly, not so tight that I can't pull the thread trough after 15 turns over the pull loop, but tight enough not to jump backward. oot three, two foot snake guides wrapped perfectly in an hour. Five guides, plus hook keeper are completed. Just 5 more to go. Son will check alignment, the epoxy time.

Tight Lies and frisky fish

RJF

Let me add my opinion as to why 20 inches is not correct. It is too close to the reel to allow a reasonable reach to the guide to start an efficient and effective line pickup from the water, especially if one plans on doing a double haul. While some may argue with the 32 as an absolute, it's a lot closer to right for everyone than 20 is..

Just 2 more guides to go, four feet. Then, the son needs to eyeball them for perfect straightness. Now that the tension is just right, the power wrapper makes thing quick. The hardest part is getting the wrap started. And that's not difficult.

Tight Lies and frisky fish

RJF

all guides are wrapped. When my son gets home, I'll ask him to verify the guide alignment, then, epoxy time. I'm excited. I will show pictures.

Tight Lies and frisky fish

RJF

Got the 2nd coat of Gen 4 on half of the guides after removing thread nubs with a razor blade; Will complete the other half tomorrow. By Wednesday morning, except for setting up the reel, and associated Ines, this rod will be done. I'm excited.

Tight Lies and frisky fish

RJF

The rThogh I have the button to load pictures, I can't seem to get the hang of it. Besides, getting things in tight focus is a problem with my cell phone. Here's a link to another site showing the pictures, not a rod building site, so no competition with Rodbuilding.org. - od is complete. [www.discusscooking.com]

Tight Lies and frisky fish

RJF

Ok, I'm gpoing to try and put my latest build pictures in the picture area. I hope this works.

Tight Lies and frisky fish

RJF

Don't rememcer my password. I tried resetting it without sucess. Sorry, no pictures.

Tight Lies and frisky fish

RJF