High side of spline for 4 piece rod

[PAangler]

I know how to find the high side of a spline on a 2 piece rod by rolling the butt ends on a hard surface and bending it as I roll it in my hand. Is it the same for a 4 piece rod? Is it harder to find the highside on a 4 piece as the lower two pieces are shorter and stiffer? I would appreciate any help. If it's the same as a 2 piece, no need to explain the technique.

[matt26]

PaAngler,
I was told spline does not matter.......................... just sight each piece and put the curve up. It is very easy to do.
Spent three hours talking about this matter at a rod building class and this was the way the instructor taught us to build. just my two cents matt

[Joe Valencic]

PAangler,

As Matt said, sighting the rod sections is the best way to determine the spine and curvature of a multi-piece rod. Here's how I do it:

Take the butt section and it's mating section and put them together. Put a piece of tape on each section close to the ferrule and then sight the two pieces. If there is a curve, make sure it's in the UP position and then put a mark on each piece of masking tape to mark the curvature. The butt section should not have any curvature to it, but check by rolling on a flat surface.

Take piece #3 and loosely fit to #2 and wrap masking tape as you did in the previous step. At this step I have the curve up on #1 &2, and rotate the loosely fitting #3 piece until its curve is also UP and in line with the other pieces, then snug down the section and mark the tape accordingly.

Do this same procedure with the fourth piece making sure to mark the masking tape when the last piece is aligned.

Now you have a choice at this point as to which side of the curve you want to put the guides on. Treat the curve as would a spine, and decide from there if you want the guides inside or outside of the spine/curve. (Hint: most builders put the guides on the inside of the curve, which is the soft side)

Several rod manufacturers are using this method of alignment rather than being concerned with the actual spine. This makes a lot of sense, because if the tip section is offset, then the rod is going to pull the line to the soft side of the tip, regardless of its position in a 360 degree circle. I want the tip to pull the line in the direction I'm casting, so this method works well for me. The last two rods I built I did this way, and found the spine to be in alignment with the curvature of the pieces when doing the usual bend/roll spine test. Go figure.

The best way to find if you are pleased with this arrangement is to lawn cast the rod after you tape the guides on. This will show you if the rod is casting true. You can do this even before putting on the reel seat. Just put the fly reel in your pocket after getting out as much line as you would like. If you like the way it casts, then glue up the reel seat and finish your build.

Joe

[PAangler]

Joe,

Thanks for the wonderful very detailed advise.