I've read and heard pros and cons about setting line guides on or 180* off rod blank sine. My question to get an opinion is why? I heard rod twist under a load how?
I've read and heard pros and cons about setting line guides on or 180* off rod blank sine. My question to get an opinion is why? I heard rod twist under a load how?
The rod is the strongest that way. If you put them 90* off then the rod will not be as strong. Think of it like your spine it is made to be more powerful going forwards and back up rather than bending to the side and picking something up.
Also the rod want to bend in relation to the spine this is especially true in guide up builds like your standard casting rods. That’s why on hooksets the rod will feel like it wants to twist if not built with the spine
Nitro z21
There was recently a big back and forth on the Custom Rod Builder's Guild page on FB about building on the spine or the straightest axis. I tend to agree with jasonG and build my rods on the spine but there were a ton of guys on the straightest axis side of things. I think overall with bass rods there's not a ton of difference and some of that can be overcome by building spiral.
I build on the straightest axis and have been for nearly 30 years.
I’ve not had the rods twisted out of my hand or break due to it.
Baits I drag on the bottom or fish vertically, I build on the spine. Moving baits, straightest axis. Not sure one way is better than the other just the way I do it. Starting to venture into offshore saltwater bottom fishing, my thinking is build on the spine for those. Get ya two of the same blank build one on the spine, one on straightest axis and report back with your thoughts.
I build on the straightest as well.
I will find the spine, but typically build on the straightest axis. Regarding the "roll over" or twisting, it will be negligible on bass rods typically, but just build your casting with a spiral wrap and it becomes a non-issue. My casting rods are typically spiral wrapped. There has been a ton of debate on spines, twisting, spiral wraps, etc, but with bass rods, you're not going to have the weight where any of this really matters. The cool thing on blanks is that you can change the characteristics or fine tune a blank by rolling it, although it may only be small amounts of change. For example, if you build on top or below a spine, the power will slightly change. It is hard to notice unless you have a blank testing board like backlash tools used to sell and I believe mud hole has one now. When you get into saltwater or even large freshwater like catfish, you will start to notice the loading/twisting, and this is where the spiral wrap will work.
The twisting associated with a conventionally wrapped casting rod has to do with the guides being on top, the spine has little if anything to do with it. The twist is because the line wants to travel in a straight path. The straightest path is at the bottom of the blank. On a conventionally wrapped casting rod, the taller the guide frame, the more the twisting force. If you don't believe it take a spinning rod and turn it up side down and put a load on it.
I agree with the line guides determining how the rod will react when rod put in a load situation. That said I do find the spine of a rod blank to determine, what I believe, is the rod blank's strongest line of action from butt end of blank to the tip.
There is a difference in the power of the rod when building on the spine or off, anybody can feel the difference when rolling the blank in your hand as you're looking for the spine. I can't understand why people buy a high end, high dollar blank and then build on the straightest axis with no regard to the spine.
spent 15 years building rods professionally, the difference between the spine and and off the spine is minimal.. build the rod in the straightest possible position. with spinning rods the any curve in the blank should be away from the guides on casting rods the curve should be going with the guides. A straight rod is more important than a marginally stronger rod.
Also when you spine a rod you are only testing where the spine is at the butt of the rod, it may or may not be the same axis throughout the length of the rod.
Not all churches have pews? Very few churches without pews have God.
Question for those that build on the straightest axis. When laying out your guide train, do you load your blank to see how the line flows? If so do you lock the blank in a holder to keep it from turning ? I've noticed that when I build on the straightest axis I have a hard time keeping the blank from rolling to the spine. Just wondering how yall do it ?
Speaking of bass rods here .... there have been tests done on the difference in power of identical rods, one built on the spine, the other built off the spine, and the difference is negligible. It's no different than the debate over the strength of guide wraps done using CP, and wraps done without CP. There is a slight difference in strength, but not something that would show in anything but the most extreme conditions. Also, Rob made an extremely valid point. The spine of a rod blank is not linear. Its' position changes along the length of the blank. If you want to check that for yourself, just move your support hand up and down the length of the blank while checking for the spine and see for yourself.
bama as far as your question goes ... I build on the straightest axis. I never bother to check for the spine. When I do static load testing I mount a reel in the reel seat and secure the butt of the rod well enough so that it won't roll over from the weight of the reel. I use two lines when doing static guide placement. One that is secured to the tip top that I use to load the blank, the other is line on the reel that I pass through the guides. I use bright yellow 50# braided line on the reel to make it easier to see. I fully load the rod by CCS standards and tie a 3/8 oz bell sinker to the line that runs to the reel. I do that just to keep tension on the line. I do not use the line passing through the guides, to load the rod.
Once again as I mentioned earlier, on conventionally wrapped casting rods (guides on top) the rod isn't rolling because of the spine, it's rolling because the line is taking the straightest path between two points.
I was taught to build on the effective spine and how to find it so that's how i build. I would not accept a blank with a pronounced curve in it. There are many ways too skin this cat so use what works for you. One point to ponder on spine is, why do graphite golf clubs always get built on the spine? No two people swing a golf club the same as no two people cast at the same angles? I don't know the answer, just something i have learned.
I also use the two line method to setup my guides. I may be loading my blanks too much, because it hunts for the spine when I add load. The string through the guides has about 1/2 oz. on it. ThanksOriginally Posted by Bassbme
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