Where is your "Spine"

[skip16510]

Well said Steve Thats my thoughts also

[Joe Valencic]

I'm in the "straightest axis" camp on this one. They cast just fine.

Joe

[shorthaul]

I think Black_Co may have hit the true reason. I'd say that "The Twist" he mentions can add fatigue to your casting on those long days of fishing. This was pointed out to me from a rod builder and friend here in TN. You may not think it's much but after 6 hours you'll feel it!

Thanks Smernsky!!

Hahaha Jack!---We are so old that putting on our waders and walking to the river adds to the fatigue of the day!

I was always told that the spine should align with the casting force and the side that you place the guides should help straighten the rod.

Mike

[PanFisher]

I have come real close to joining the "straightest axis" camp except for one problem. I hear the same reason from that camp:

The reason is because almost any amount of pressure wheather its from a fish or even just casting 10' of fly line cancels out any affect the "spine" may have on the rod.

My problem is I cannot explain the Tuna sticks that went on the boat straight and came off the boat twisted or broke after fighting a big tuna. That picture just sticks in my mind. The rods that went on straight and came off straight were always the custom built with guides aligned with the spine. I questioned quite a few tuna fisherman about this.

I have to admit I don't catch large fish very often but that time I caught the Silver Salmon on my 8' 5wt I thought the rod might be gone. My confidence came from knowing the blank was bending in the direction it should.

Steve is right though "You'll find that builders are split on this topic most times" For me, until I can get a good explanation of why those tuna sticks would twist I will stick with the camp that spines the rod.

[JohnScott]

Steve et al -

Not sure what EXACTLY you mean by the "straightest axis," but it seems to me that one side or the other of the spline would be the straightest axis ?? Some folks talk about splining a rod just by looking for the natural curve in the blank. So if you are seeing the straightest axis, you are looking at the top or bottom of the spline. ??

John

[Midwest Custom Fly Rods]

Hi John, Straightest axis meaning sighting down the rod and making sure the natural curve of the rod is curving ethier up or down so that the weight of the guides makes it run true. The spine is not always (actually rarely) conformed to the bend of the rod if it has a slight curve to it.

Dont ge me wrong about saying "Straightest axis" though...if the blank is curved too much then it should be sent back. But almost every blank out there, even high dollar blanks, will have a slight curve to them so thats the curve I'm talking about. So really the straightest axis has nothing to do with the spine.


Panfisher that is weird about the tuna rod, and as I said if you spine a rod and believe it is something that works then by all means keep doing it, I dont want to talk anyone out of something they are happy with.

One thing that somewhat makes me believe the spine dosent matter even on the large tuna rods though is the fact that so many builders now are usings the Spiral wrap placement method which spirals the guides on casting rods 180 from dead on top of the blank to dead on the bottom of the blank. When that is done then really all practicality of a spine goes out the window. Just some food for thought

[ducksterman]

I wonder way the rod making industry doesn't use the technology to settle this question as the golf industry has? Of course it is questioned in that industry also but I think some of you rod makers may be interested in this.

http://sstpure.com/sstpure.html

http://www.golfsmith.com/cm/display_...ge_num=pureing

Golfsmith now calls spining...PUREing.

[PanFisher]

Panfisher that is weird about the tuna rod, and as I said if you spine a rod and believe it is something that works then by all means keep doing it, I dont want to talk anyone out of something they are happy with.

Steve,

Perhaps I should start a new thread on the word "compromise". You're right - rod design is ALL compromise.

In this case I believe maybe not aligning the guides with the spine might lose a fraction of a percent of durability in the rod. Most manufacturers have saved the expense for years simply because most fisherman don't get hooked to a fish big enough to make a difference. I really can't prove that I have but I have had instances where it could have been possible it made a difference. I compromised appearance for that fraction percent of durability.

I have aligned guides in different locations related to the spine and cast rods not aligned at all with the spine. It would take an extremely and I do mean extremely experienced caster to tell if there is a difference. There is definitely not enough to matter. Again if there is a difference its a small fraction of a percent in performance.

So it comes down to compromise for me - appearance/durability, expensive/cheap, single foot/snake, guide placement, handle size, guide size, etc. It all amounts to compromising one aspect of the rod over an other. Each decision makes a small difference - that's what makes building a rod fun. Designing it to our specifications and making our own compromises.

[ohiofly]

Boy! This was a classic, allot like Shakespeare. "To Spline or not to Spline" I will continue to "Spline" my hand crafted, brain tormenting Rods. As for those Tuna rods, who knows?