I received my copy og John Bett's "Making Strip-Built Fly Rods...". Let me start by saying what a great book it is. Really more of a work of art than a book. The drawings and pictures make it easy to follow. If I never am able to build a functional wood fly rod I'll still be glad I bought the book.

Now a question...

For the record I am building this first rod out of white ash. It will be a 2 piece 8' rod. My plan is for this to be about a 4 wt. rod. I am about done tapering the top section. I have noticed there is a slight bow about 8" from the tip. Not much (less than 1/4") but noticable if you sight down the blank. What effect do any of you think this will have on the performance of the rod? When I wrap on the guides should should the bow be on the top of the rod or the bottom?

I'll keep you posted on my progress. Thanks.