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Part 3: Guide Placement and Wrapping

In the third installment we will cover guide placement and wrapping.  Guide placement is a critical factor that will affect the performance of the finished rod.  There are two important points to know:

-          The relationship of the spine of the rod and placement of the guides.

-          The distance of the stripper guide from the reel.

In addition to traditional guide placement there are other guide placement methods such as the Fuji Concept System and the Roberts or Spiral Wrap.  I will not go into these since there have already been several discussions on SurfTalk <---- (click there and then click on "Rod Building Forum") - on these subjects and they all have their application.

The Spine and Guide Placement

Rod building tradition has been that for conventional rods the spine, reel and guides are placed on the top of the rod on the zero degree axis and for spinning the guides and reel are placed on the bottom of the rod on the 180-degree axis opposite to the spine.  This traditional placement of the guides in relation to the spine has changed in current practice where casting is a prime consideration.

When casting for distance to reach the fish, albeit from the surf, boat or fly casting, it is essential that the lure reach the feeding zone of the fish.  Therefore, maximum casting efficiency becomes essential.  "You need to reach them before you can beach them."

Therefore, to achieve maximum efficiency and power in your cast the spine should be on the bottom of the rod regardless if it's set up for spinning or conventional. Then:

-          For Surf Spinning - align the spine, reel seat and guides on the bottom of the blank.

-          For Conventional Surf - the spine is on the 180 degree axis and the reel seat and guides are on the 0 degree axis.

If you are building a conventional boat rod then the spine, reel seat and guides should be on the 0 degree axis on top of the rod.

Stripper Guide Placement in Relation to the Reel

The next step is the process is to first determine the position of the stripper guide in relation to the reel.  Factors that will determine the guide's position are:

-          The size and height of the guide.

-          The action of the blank.

-          The size of the reel and the face of the spool on a spinning reel.

The following measurements for stripper guide placement are all approximate:

-          For surf spinning anywhere from 36-50 inches from the face of the spool.  The higher the guide ring off the blank or the bigger the spool face, then the farther away the guide should be from the reel face. 

-          For conventional surf rods anywhere from 32-40 inches from the center of the reel seat.  Slow action rods will require distance at the lower end of the range.  Also, reel size is a factor.

Once the initial position of the stripper guide has been determined, the next step is the position of the first guide from the tip top.  Again, these distances are approximate.

-          Surf Spinning - 7-8 inches

-          Conventional Surf - 5-7 inches.

-          Lighter Spinning - 4-5 inches

-          Conventional Boat - 4-5 inches

To space out the remaining guides, I use the following approximate distances:

-          Surf Spinning - increasing distances from the tip of 1.5-2.0 inch increments working towards the stripper guide.  e.g. 5.0" then 6.5" then 8.0" etc.

-          Conventional Surf - increasing distances from the tip of 1-inch increments working towards the stripper guide.  e.g. 5.0", 6.0", 7.0" etc.

-          Conventional Boat - increasing distances from the tip of 1/2-inch increments working towards the stripper guide.  e.g. 4.0", 4.5", 5.0", 5.5" etc.

Now that the initial guide position has been determined, two more steps need to be done before wrapping the guides in place.

If the rod is a casting rod, spinning or conventional, tape the guides in place and take the rod out and test cast it.  Adjust the position of the stripper guide until all line slap has stopped and you are consistently casting your desired distance.  Once the stripper guide's final position has been determined, then adjust the position of the remaining guides.

The next step is to do a stress distribution test.  This requires running the line through the guides and tying the line to a fixed object.  Tighten up on the reel drag and flex the rod into a fish fighting position.  Check the line as it goes from one guide to the next making sure that the line is not touching the blank.  Adjust the guide positions as necessary. 

Using a grease pencil mark the guide's position on the blank.  Roll the surgical tubing back and remove the guide.  You are now ready to start the wrapping phase.

Guide Wrapping

Here are a few observations and tips I have learned over the years about guide wraps:

-          Keep your guide wraps short.  Long guide wraps will change the action of the blank.

-          Use NCP or metallic thread for underwraps on dark blanks.  You can use size "A" or "C" for underwraps.

-          Gently burnish the wraps using a burnishing tool or the back of a teaspoon.

-          Use a piece of spectra line as a thread-pulling tool.  Double the line and attach it to a barrel swivel.

-          Apply two thin coats of color sealant and one coat of finish to the underwraps.  (This will be covered in Part 4 on Finishing).

-          Re-position the guides and roll the rubber bands over the guide feet to hold them in place.

-          Wrap on your guides with either size "C" or "D" thread.

-          Gently burnish the overwraps.

As the final step is this process we need to now do a final alignment of the guides and glue on the tip top.

-          To align the guides, first mount a reel on the rod.  Sight down the rod and align the stripper guide with the center of the reel.

-          Remove the reel and turn over the rod with the guides on the bottom.

-          Sight down the top of the rod and align the remaining guides.  Now turn the rod over sight down the guides again.

-          Glue on the tip top with 5-minute epoxy glue and let dry for 20 minutes.

-          Re-mount the reel on the rod and thread the line through the guides and tip.

-          Keeping the line taught, check each guide so that the line is passing through the center of the guide.  Make any minor alignment adjustments as required.

-          Check each guide's overwrap and burnish to remove any gaps.

The next and final installment will cover finishing.  We are almost done with our custom rod!