Soft Side of the Blank

[Skip Summer]

Trying to find out where the put the guides
on this fly rod.
Which is the soft side? The top as I push down
or side that faces down toward the table.
The inside of the curve or the outside?

Where do the guides go?

Any guide spacing numbers for an IM6 8'6" 4 wt?

thanks to all
Skip

[Ernie]

I have heard both. I usually put mine on the soft side. The
important thing is to put them on one or the other. If you put
them on the side the rod will tend to cast crooked.
Ernie

"Skip Summer" > wrote in message
om...
> Trying to find out where the put the guides
> on this fly rod.
> Which is the soft side? The top as I push down
> or side that faces down toward the table.
> The inside of the curve or the outside?
>
> Where do the guides go?
>
> Any guide spacing numbers for an IM6 8'6" 4 wt?
>
> thanks to all
> Skip

[Spencer Phipps]

Once you've found the spline, put the ti[p top on with the guide facing down
on freshwater rods, tip top up on heavier sal****er rods where casting isn't
as important as fish fighting power.
Good luck on the rod.
"Skip Summer" > wrote in message
om...
> Trying to find out where the put the guides
> on this fly rod.
> Which is the soft side? The top as I push down
> or side that faces down toward the table.
> The inside of the curve or the outside?
>
> Where do the guides go?
>
> Any guide spacing numbers for an IM6 8'6" 4 wt?
>
> thanks to all
> Skip

[Anglerboy]

"Skip Summer" > wrote in message
om...

>
> Where do the guides go?
>
> Any guide spacing numbers for an IM6 8'6" 4 wt?
>
> thanks to all

Skip,
Spacings are measured from the top of the ferrule on butt joints and from
the top of the tip top guide.
8' 6", 2 piece
Butt
3-7/8"
12-1/8"
21-1/2"

Tip
4-7/8"
10-7/8"
17-5/8"
24-1/2"
31-1/2"
38-3/4"
46-5/8"

From an Orvis rod building booklet.

You should be able to find a kit somewhere with the correct number of guides
in the proper sizes.

Anglerboy

[rw]

Anglerboy wrote:
> "Skip Summer" > wrote in message
> om...
>
>
>>Where do the guides go?
>>
>>Any guide spacing numbers for an IM6 8'6" 4 wt?
>>
>>thanks to all
>
>
> Skip,
> Spacings are measured from the top of the ferrule on butt joints and from
> the top of the tip top guide.
> 8' 6", 2 piece
> Butt
> 3-7/8"
> 12-1/8"
> 21-1/2"
>
> Tip
> 4-7/8"
> 10-7/8"
> 17-5/8"
> 24-1/2"
> 31-1/2"
> 38-3/4"
> 46-5/8"
>
> From an Orvis rod building booklet.
>
> You should be able to find a kit somewhere with the correct number of guides
> in the proper sizes.

I've only built one rod, and I was fanatical about determining the guide
spacings and measuring them as accurately as I could. I felt kind of
silly, though, because it seemed like I could do as good a job by just
"eyeballing" it. So here's a question for experienced rod builders: Is
getting the exact recommended guide spacings really that important?

BTW, I intend no criticism of Anglerboy for helping Skip out with his
question.

--
Cut "to the chase" for my email address.

[Kevin Vang]

In article >, rw56
says...
>
> I've only built one rod, and I was fanatical about determining the guide
> spacings and measuring them as accurately as I could. I felt kind of
> silly, though, because it seemed like I could do as good a job by just
> "eyeballing" it. So here's a question for experienced rod builders: Is
> getting the exact recommended guide spacings really that important?


If you want to be really obsessive-compulsive about it, you just use the
charts as a first pass, before doing a "static load test". You tape the
guides down tight with masking tape, then string up the rod with flyline
and put enough pull on the line to put a bend in the rod. Then you
study the guides, looking for, hell, i don't know, things that don't
look right. Then adjust spacing, and repeat until satisfied.

I tried it once, and found it fairly unenlightening, and left the guides
where the spacing chart said they should be. Most of the manufacturers
post spacing charts on their web sites, so I figure they have probably
figured out the optimal spacing for their blanks.

Kevin

[Charlie Wilson]

"rw" wrote:
> I've only built one rod, and I was fanatical about determining the guide
> spacings and measuring them as accurately as I could. I felt kind of
> silly, though, because it seemed like I could do as good a job by just
> "eyeballing" it. So here's a question for experienced rod builders: Is
> getting the exact recommended guide spacings really that important?

You'll find out how important it is if you ever try to get a warranty
replacement and the customer service guys spot any amount of variance. I
don't think small variances will lower the performance or lessen the life
expectancy of a rod, but I know for a fact some manufacturers will use it as
an excuse to disallow a claim.

[Chas Wade]

"Charlie Wilson" > wrote:
>
>"rw" wrote:
>> I've only built one rod, and I was fanatical about determining the
>>guide
>> spacings and measuring them as accurately as I could. I felt kind of
>> silly, though, because it seemed like I could do as good a job by
>>just
>> "eyeballing" it. So here's a question for experienced rod builders:
>>Is
>> getting the exact recommended guide spacings really that important?
>
> You'll find out how important it is if you ever try to get a
>warranty
>replacement and the customer service guys spot any amount of variance.
>I
>don't think small variances will lower the performance or lessen the
>life
>expectancy of a rod, but I know for a fact some manufacturers will use
>it as
>an excuse to disallow a claim.
>

I have 3 Sage RPLX 9'8wt 2 piece rods that I built from blanks. We've
broken several times and returned them to Sage for replacement blanks.
I've spaced then in the standard Sage arrangement, and also in G
Loomis's configuration which uses the same number of guides but has 3
on the butt section instead of 2. No comment or complaint from Sage.

In my experience, the good companies don't look for excuses to disallow
a claim. Who was it that disallowed one?

Chas
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[Charlie Wilson]

"Chas Wade" wrote :
> In my experience, the good companies don't look for excuses to disallow
> a claim. Who was it that disallowed one?

Powell. They did it to a friend who is a prominent local rod builder,
shortly before he stopped building on their blanks.

[vincent p. norris]

>......, then string up the rod with flyline
>and put enough pull on the line to put a bend in the rod. Then you
>study the guides, looking for, hell, i don't know, things that don't
>look right....

As I understand it (or perhaps misunderstand it), the angles that the
line bends when it goes through each guide should all be equal.

(I apologize for writing something as awkward as "angles that the line
bends," but at the moment, I can't think of a more elegant way to say
it. Somehow,"angle of dangle" doesn't seem appropriate.)

vince