Hey guys,

I’m having a small dilemma on something I can’t find an existing thread on. I build all my rods on the straightest axis and haven’t had any problems until now. The current rod I’m building, a 9ft 7wt fly rod, i oriented in a way that the bend in the top section was belly down tip up.

After wrapping all the sections and lining up all the guides, my rod is slightly curving towards the right. I’m mainly curious as to why this would be? Did I just make an error or is it possible to have a bend towards the right still?

We are talking about a slight curve to the right and I can only see it when sitting down the assembled rod.

That’s what you get for not building on the spine! Just kidding! Lol

I’ll be following this thread. I realize this isn’t necessarily your issue, but I tell ya, guide alignment is the hardest part of rod building for me. It’ll look straight siting from the butt end (stripper for you fly guys) and it’ll look different when I look down the rod from the tip. I finally got an alignment sight from MudHole and that helps me greatly.

When you found the straightest axis, did you find it on each section prior to assembling it? Or did you just find the straightest axis on the top section? If the latter is the case then the bottom section/s may not be on the straightest axis which would obviously put the top section on an axis that also isn't straight.

........

I usually glue my tip top first and Ive had that happen when I find the axis then disassemble the sections before placing my guides. Sometimes slight curves in the second or third sections that I didn't notice then reassemble differently
Tom and I must have been typing at the same time!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/20/2023 02:41PM by Al Jones.

Yes, you could have made an error and yes, you could have 2 bends. The good part is it will make zero difference how the rod fishes; the line goes where you point it to go every time.

Even though each section was built on the straightest axis, when assembled slight imperfections of the concentricity in the internal ferrules can sometimes create a "curve". If it hasn't been finished yet, some tweaking may straighten the appearance.

Tom Kirkman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> When you found the straightest axis, did you find
> it on each section prior to assembling it? Or did
> you just find the straightest axis on the top
> section? If the latter is the case then the bottom
> section/s may not be on the straightest axis which
> would obviously put the top section on an axis
> that also isn't straight.
>
> ........

Tom,

I normally try to find it on the top 3 sections. With this rod however, I only did the top two sections because I really couldn’t find a bend in the bottom two. Also, just to double check I’m doing this correctly: say I find a bend in the top section. I want to build it in my case with the tip up and belly down and then move to the second from the tip section, would I orient that section tip up belly down into the tip section as well?

Ross Pearson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Even though each section was built on the
> straightest axis, when assembled slight
> imperfections of the concentricity in the internal
> ferrules can sometimes create a "curve". If it
> hasn't been finished yet, some tweaking may
> straighten the appearance.


Yeah I should have waited to put color preserver on all my wraps before assuming I was good to go haha

Al,
Remember that you are building on the straightest axis which is only that, the straightEST axis , not necessarily straight.
“After wrapping all the sections and lining up all the guides, my rod is slightly curving towards the right.” Are you referring to the line-of-sight through the guides veering off to the right or the actual blank veering to the right? This subject was mentioned a few months ago and there were varying opinions; some saying to wrap the guides at 0* / 180* where the alignment through the guides would follow any deviation in the blank, while others said to align the guides by rotating them slightly off-axis to the blank. Personally, I see no problem with aligning the guides for a perfect line-of-sight, even if slightly off-axis which certainly masks any visual deviation / curve in the blank.
If you care to do so, read the topic “Aligning Guides; Straight or to the Blank?” [www.rodbuilding.org]
While it may not be as visually appealing for the guides to be slightly misaligned, unless grossly misaligned, casting distance will be virtually identical compared to a perfect line-of-sight arrangement. I conducted a test and posted the results, “Precisely Measuring the Difference of Misaligned Guides” [www.rodbuilding.org].

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

One thing you might try is to mark both the top 2 sections then rotate the top section 10-15 degrees and assemble, repeat for 360 degrees and pick the best spot for assembly to make it the most visually correct. I've never found a visible bend in the lower sections. The idea of the ferrules causing the misalignment might be true.

I think you can still move the guides with the CP.

Al purvis Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Tom Kirkman Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > When you found the straightest axis, did you
> find
> > it on each section prior to assembling it? Or
> did
> > you just find the straightest axis on the top
> > section? If the latter is the case then the
> bottom
> > section/s may not be on the straightest axis
> which
> > would obviously put the top section on an axis
> > that also isn't straight.
> >
> > ........
>
> Tom,
>
> I normally try to find it on the top 3 sections.
> With this rod however, I only did the top two
> sections because I really couldn’t find a bend
> in the bottom two. Also, just to double check
> I’m doing this correctly: say I find a bend in
> the top section. I want to build it in my case
> with the tip up and belly down and then move to
> the second from the tip section, would I orient
> that section tip up belly down into the tip
> section as well?

Yes. That will give you a combined straight axis, tip up, belly down.

.........

There is no such thing as a perfectly straight fly rod blank. Some are very close. And when you hold it up horizontally to look down the wrapped rod, the weight of the wraps and guides will cause it to bend slightly, as will gravity pull the tip down a tad. In addition to the downward effects of gravity it may bend a bit right or left. It will make no difference and no one will ever notice it but you. And most four piece rods, even if you erred and did not align each section on the straightest axis, will have minimal bends or curves and will perform just fine.

Hey everyone,

I would just like to update for everyone who gave answers and anyone in the future reading this that may have the same issue as I did.

I got home tonight from work and looked at the tip and granted I have guides wrapped on it, could see that i oriented them on the belly of the curve so I assembled all the pieces of the rod and started slightly changing the orientation of various pieces and found that the mid top section (2nd from the top) was the culprit. Less than 1/4 of a turn and the rod appears perfectly straight when sighting down. This worked in my favor also because that section is going to be the easiest to rewrap lol.

As others have already said, no one would ever notice this and it would not affect performance but it is a rod for me and as I am learning this craft I want to try my hardest to make very clean and as close to perfect rods as I can.

Thanks everyone and I will be triple checking all my sections in the future when finding the straightest axis!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/21/2023 01:42AM by Al purvis.

Al,
You have actually answered your own question.
You indicated that when you have the rod built the rod is curving slightly to the right.

Simply rotate the section or section that is causing the rod to bend slightly to the rod and reorient the guides and tip top so that everything is still in line.

Best wishes.

Off 1/4 of a turn, or 90 degrees, you may want to see if you could very carefully and slowly rotate a few of the guides within the wraps and avoid re-wrapping. Not likely, but remotely possible. As to re-wrapping, that section is always easier to wrap than the tip, as fewer guides and a larger diameter make things a bit easier. And you will sleep better.