Here's a question from Volume 4, Issue #4 Issue of RodMaker magazine:
"I am reading on these message boards about "slowing down the action"
of a rod. They say there are all sorts of ways to do this but I am not sure
which is the correct way. What do you say on this." Richard . . .
Austin, TX.
Most of the time when you see someone refer to "slowing down the action"
of a rod they are using the wrong term to describe something entirely
different. Rod action relates to taper and where the rod exhibits most
of its bend when a load is applied. Thus the terms, fast, medium and slow.
Fast action rods bend mostly in the upper 1/3rd of their length, medium action
rods in the top half, and slow action rods along their total length. Adding
extra guides, overlining, etc., will not change this. Only by cutting/trimming
the rod can you change where most of the flex is occuring.
However, when someone asks about "slowing down the action" they are not
really talking about changing the flex pattern of the blank. What they really
mean to say is how do you slow the response/recovery of the rod. This is
not at all the same thing as rod action. In this case, adding more and
heavier guides will undermine rod efficiency and make it slower to respond
to input and longer to recover from imparted energy. It knocks the rod down
a bit on the performance scale.
Picture what would happen if you tossed about a thousand pounds worth of
sandbags into your car. It would take longer to accelerate, longer to stop
and be harder to corner. Same thing when you overload the blank with extra
weight.
The next obvious question is why would anyone want to do this? Sometimes
in haste to get the latest and greatest new rod they end up with a rod or blank
that is, in fact, quite efficient and just plain reacts faster than what they are
used to. Some people adjust themselves while others would rather adjust
their equipment. To each his own. ~ Tom Kirkman
Publishers note:
If you have any tips or techniques, send them
along! Help out your fellow rodmakers!
~ Publisher, FAOL
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