What is your preferred method to align guides on the blank. Do you just eye ball them, Laser them? Thanks
Forum: rodboard

I am new to this site but I love it. Thank you all in advance for your help. I am starting my third fly rod. The first two were two piece blanks, Rainshadow 7'6" 3 wt. and G Loomis F1088 8wt. that I built last winter w/out the benifit of this site. I have learned so much already just searching this site for information. When I made the the first two rods I had read somwhere that the g
Forum: rodboard

I'm building my first spinning rod with a GLoomis GL3 blank. The model is SJ722 6' spinning. On the Lomis website the SJ722 is only listed as a casting rod blank, no guide spacing for the spinning rod. Can someone clue me in on what to do. Keep in mind this is my first and I want to get it right but also simple, if thats possible.
Forum: rodboard

I 'm in the process of building a rainshadow rod, RX7 graphite (CB66MH 10-20). The problem is that when I go to mark the spine I end up with two didtinct spine. I take a break and try again with the same results. What should I do? TIA Lou
Forum: rodboard

The unorganized group of M&M (Micro Maniacs) submits Volume 1 of Friday ____ for your evaluation and participation. Steve Gardner started this with an article published in Rodmaker Magazine on Micro Guides. Bobby Feazel succuessfully marketed the custom Micro Rods to tournament bass fishermen. Several custom rodbuilders participated in submitting a follow up article in the last issu
Forum: rodboard

I wanted to make a quick comment about this months issue. It may just be the best issue that has ever been produced. Everything is really well done from Abalone and Axis to Microguides. The contributing writers and editors have really put together a nice one. Well done, Jim
Forum: rodboard

Hello All, I'm new to this site and a first timer in building my own rod. I've modified dozens before and now just taking it up to the next level. I recently came into possesion of a Lamiglas IM700 IMC845 Blank. I've heard of many ways to find the "spine on a blank, but from trying it out, it seems that there are TWO spots where the rod tend to have a relaxed curve. I've also tried to
Forum: rodboard

Hello Guys, I'm going to build a Sage Xi2 which arrived today. It's got these white dot's on the blank. Is this the pre determined spine of the blank? Is it to be trusted or would youadvice me to determine it myself and go with that. I find it hard to determine the spine because this blank is so stiff. How can I get rid of the dots? Are they water or alcohol soluble? Thanks for your help
Forum: rodboard

when spining a multi piece fly rod, do you assemble the rod before finding the spine or do you spine each piece and then assemble?
Forum: rodboard

I am mostly a newbie to rod building. I have read so many rod building books this year. Only one says the spine is not really important. All the others say that it is. Some say to use large ID guides some say to use small. There is differing opinions on all this. a year back I had the priveledge to talk to a Mr. Steve Rajef of GLoomis who is an interational casting champion. We talked about ro
Forum: rodboard

Hi all Sometimes, when I`m in a rush to build a fly rod think if I can really trust actual Sage guides alignment dots at all. If you have some comments about this subject I will appreciate it. Thanks in advance
Forum: rodboard

I am reading Dale Clemmens book, Advanced Custom Rod Building, and in it he is quite adamant about the importance of spine. Most of the recent posts here, however, seem to indicate that spine is not that important. I realize that when it comes to opinions, there are no "right" answers, but have any engineers addressed this question from a purely empirical standpoint? In other words,
Forum: rodboard

I build all my rods with guides on the hard spline. This weekend, I glued up at butt section and neglected to align the reel seat with the spline (so that reel hangs in line with the guides. If I build the other three sections with guides on the hard spline, will I have any performance issues? I have had people tell me the spline on butt section does not matter that much, or at all. I don't a
Forum: rodboard

I am building a casting rod as a birthday present for my brother. I am to the point of gluing on the handle and reel seat and I need to know how to align these with the spine. I was reading a book called Advanced Custom Rod Building by Clemens and it said to align the guides 90 degrees to the spine. This is if the caster casts side arm style. I am not sure what my brother's prefered casting s
Forum: rodboard

Random assortment of things I learned on this board that have REALLY helped me as a beginner... Better details available here if you do a search. Credit for each tip goes to original poster, I am just listing some for rookies to consider BEFORE getting started. It would be nice if this was added to and possibly made sticky... Eventually I think Tom could make an issue of RB titled "101 T
Forum: rodboard

I have decided I need a Switch rod. I've been reading on them and searching on here but still have a few questions. I want to use the batson IF1086-4 blank I think that will be all I will ever need. I've started fishing a bigger river that has some monster browns in it and is about 250 feet wide. So I think I might like the extra distance. But my question because I have never seen a lot
Forum: rodboard

I know all the arguments re spine and straightest orientation of blank. I happen to spine because , I guess I am lucky, I have never received a crooked blank, and it is so easy to do so. But I am nervous when the spined orientation does not line-up with the orientation that gives me the "cleanest" straight up-and-down oscillation of the two top sections of a fly rod. Does anyone have
Forum: rodboard

I am building a 6 wt fly rod, and, somehow, managed to put my diamond butt wrap off-axis. I am considering altering the recessed hood, by using a rotary tool to extend the opening, so that the reel can sit on the center axis of the wrap. Is there a problem with this idea? Is there a better fix? Thanks for any replies.
Forum: rodboard

I am part of another site that has a small group of rod builders (mostly novice) and a few with good skills. I am a novice and lack the experience to fully draw my own conclusions. This site has enough experience to help me form my own opinions. The issue of spine came up, and the statement that : "modern rod builders who now better understand what causes the spine and what its affect
Forum: rodboard

I have been making flyrods for a few years and I know that the quides go on the oppsite side of the spine. Well I have been asked to make a casting rod and common sense tells me to put the guides on the same side as the spine sine the guides on a casting rod are outside the bend verses a flyrod wich are on the inside. Am I thinking correcty or am I way off base?
Forum: rodboard

Sorry to resurrect a dead horse, but I was doing my homework on rod spine (in this case with respect to a big two handed spey rod) and I agree very much with what I've found on this board that it has been blown way out of proportion. I agree that the rod will not twist because of the spine, given the loading of the line through the guides. I was reading some information on building two handed
Forum: rodboard

E21 Carrot Sticks. Has anyone seen any of these rods? They claim to use carrot fiber in the rod which is 20% lighter than graphite. They seem to be selling two different lines of rods. One is $150. that uses Al2O3 guides and the other Fuji Alconite at $250. I cannot find these rods as blanks or at a discount. They claim to be using their Scandium (Sc-Element #21) technology. They have been
Forum: rodboard

I put a new reel seat on a project the other day and miss my alignment mark a little. I am usually pretty careful and have never had to move a seat once I epoxy it in place. I used rodbuilders epoxy to glue the seat. How do I move it? I thought about the hot (boiling) water trick that I use for removing reel seats but they are usually junk and I don't know if I do it, do I need to remove al
Forum: rodboard

well i order a couple anyfish anywhere blanks from robert at fishsticks and can't wait for them to show up. my only problem is i've never built a surf rod. finding the spine shouldn't be a problem and wrapping the guides is pretty simple but nobody i know has seen 1 of these blanks much less built on them so i have no clue how to set it up. i'm currently working in fairfield cali so any of you no
Forum: rodboard

I have been building rods for 17 years, 7 as pro, but no flyrods. I figured I might learn something new by buying a couple of fly rod building books. Now, while I repsect the authors, I found that the 2 guys put their guides on oposite sides of the blank from each other. And some of the reasoning was way off. For an accurate cast the guides need to be on top of the spine (rod bent toward you
Forum: rodboard

Well, today has not been the best day. To top it off, my wife and I share office and shop space and she saw these all happen.... Rule #1 - Don't touch the new shiny stuff on the wraps. Some days I have to tell myself this one every hour or so throughout the day. Rule #2 - Let the hot glue cool for 10 or 15 seconds before you try to remove the excess. You want to remove it while it is sti
Forum: rodboard

Let me first say that this doen't go for most sage products, however, I received the blank from the dealer that I had posted about earlier on this board and got the over whelming responce that sage blanks do not come with their ferrels wrapped. Today when I received the blank, both ferrels are wrapped from the factory and coated with finish. The package was completely sealed and the blank i
Forum: rodboard

I just built my first 130 lb class rod. It has big foot guides, and it came out real nice but.......... It looks like the weight of the guides made the rod slightly curved in the direction of the spine. I didn't notice when it was in the power wrapper or even when I applied the finish, but now that it is done, I was looking at it and it is slightly curved. It shouldn't hurt the rod, but i w
Forum: rodboard

Where would you put the guides on 6'6'' (light) spinning rod in respect to the spline: on the soft side or on the "harder" - spline side? Thanks for any help (newbie)!
Forum: rodboard

Before I started building rods it never occured to me to check my rod for straightness after fishing. Do all glass blanks have memory? One of the first blanks I purchased seemed horribly bent when I mounted the reel seat to the straightest axis, belly down, tip up. Eventually I did a static placement test and set up the guides. Wondering if I really wanted to build crooked rod I eyeballed the
Forum: rodboard