When you do your stress distribution test to determine the placement of your guides on a blank, how much weight should you use? For example, I have an Ugly Stik White Tiger (USWT66) rated for 20-50 lbs. Should I use a 30 lb weight or something else? What do you do with blanks that do not give line ratings? Thanks.

Dear Ed: You need to add enough weight to sufficiently load the rod, whether ultra light or 20-50. That is the only way your gonnaknow if the stress is distributed evenly among the guides. So a 6oz. pyramid sinker is not going to cut it. Suggest you use an eyebolt in the floor to generate enough stress. Good Luck Linc

Securely support the rod horizontally,
Attach a plastic bucket to the tip,
Slowly add enough water to the bucket to load the rod,
(30 to 50 % of the intended line weight is a good goal since that is where the reel drag should be set)

One gallon of water weighs 8.345 pounds

crussell

Isn't it OK just to bend the rod tip to about a 90 degree angle (with your finger or tied to an immovable object) and just have enough weight (1 oz or so) to keep the line straight? Doesn't this give you the coorect line flow under flex?

The old bucket trick works fine but a more upscale system might be to use a spring scale attached to an immovable object, adjust the tension to exactly what you want, easy to use and quite precise.
John

Tie a string/rope to the top, run it to an eye bolt, door hinge or some other immovable object. Tighten down on it to the bend you want and tie it off.