Hey,

I'm a part time hobby builder right now.

I have built several rods on different manufacturers blanks. After a few years of use I arrived at the conclusion that using the current and accepted guide spacing formulas is a bit too complex.

Instead, depending on the length and line rating of the specific rod, pick an arbitrary distance between the guides. And use the metric system. I also have found that using 2-3 guides over the usual accepted number of about 1 per foot of length works very well for line control as it leaves the rod.

For Example

A 10' #3 Rod Project Guide Spacing (cm)
Guide dx X Size
1 10 10 1
2 10 20 1
3 10 30 1
4 10 40 1
5 10 50 1
6 10 60 1
7 10 70 1
8 15 85 2
9 15 100 2
10 20 120 3
11 25 145 3
12 30 175 #10 Stripping Guide
13 45 220 #12 Stripping Guide

This may not be anything new, but just wanted to share it.

Long ago, I used to have a dog eared copy of Skip Morris' book: The Custom Graphite Fly Rod, and of course, Dale Clemens' book: The New Advanced Custom Rod Building.

Read them cover to cover, so of course, if this is kind of a new concept, then those two deserve a good portion of the credit!

All the Best,
Michael Fridley
St Paul . MN . USA

PS
Don't try to do it by hand on a calculator, use a spreadsheet for goodness sakes.

The more guides you're willing to use, the easier guide spacing is. Of course, the more guides you use the heavier (and slower) the rod becomes. Modern lightweight guides have alleviated the weight issue to some extent.

Guide placement formulas are a good place to start, but they cannot take into account the particular action of a rod blank. This is why the best placement for guides is best achieved by a static stress distribution test which allows the builder to fine tune the guides so that the line path closely mimics how the rod flexes under any amount of load.

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Yah, Tom: It's not a formula that was used, just FYI

I have a tendency to over simplify things, but I don’t pay particular attention to the spacing. I just approximate and then do a static line test to dial in the spacing. I do spend a bit more time with the butt guide (Stripper for you fly guys?) on a spinning rod. I place great importance on getting the right height AND distance from the reel. Once I have that guide to my liking, the step downs and runners are pretty straight forward.

I know. I was pointing out why formulas don't always provide optimum spacing.

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