Bamboo Rod Guide Placement

[Greyone]

Has anyone seen or know where I can find a chart for guide placement on bamboo rods? I have an 8 1/2' and 9' that I am rebuilding. I have built graphite rods and have the placement charts for them but I am not sure that the charts apply to bamboo rods.

Also, I need some Jasper B/W thread. This is a rare commodity. Any suggestions?

[dleo6446]

The guide spacing on most bamboos was unique to the bamboo rod and you would need to know what the rod is (was) if you are in the restoration mode as it sounds you are seeking the B/W Jasper. Right now David Henny, [url=http://www.davesrods.com,:c06c1]www.davesrods.com,[/url:c06c1] has some b/w jasper in silk that he was trying to sell and that may be a good source.

Back to the guides...look on Hexrod, the taper archives and a lot of the rodmakers have guide spacing information there. Also contact the Rodbuilders guild as there is a lot of information to be gleaned form those pros as well. If you haven't taken the old guides off yet you could map them and that would help to facilitate relocation. If they are already off, look at the rod very carefully in the direct sunlight and see if you can see any ghosting caused by the old guides. And of course, last but not least. You can start with a guide placement chart, and tape all of the guides on according to the chart then run a line through the guides and look at the flex of the rod with it under a load to see if the flex looks apporpriate, and adjust the guides placement accordingly to get the desired rod flex.

[This message has been edited by dleo6446 (edited 05 April 2005).]

The Garrison book has a good set of spacing for rods in the appendix.

A Master's Guide to Building a Bamboo Fly Rod by Everett Garrison, Hoagy B. Carmichael

Else, you can tape on guides and string up the rod and get it under tension so it bends. Look for flat spots on the line and adjust the guides to match the rod. Really, that is an excellent way to match the taper of the rod (how and where it bends) to the placement of the guides.

Scott T