Identifying parts of a rod?

[Guest]

Hi,
I'm converting an old 8' Shakespeare fiberglass 2-piece fly rod over to a spinning outfit for live-bait&hook (no weight) and I read on-line a reference to the "spine" of the rod. The piece spoke of aligning the spine either on the back of the rod for hooksetting, or the belly of the rod (under the guides) for casting. I want to go with the latter, but how do I identify the "spine"? The old giudes are still on the skinny section, but I have already stripped the base section. The rod is hollow.

Thanks in advence, ya'll.

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RobertC

[Guest]

Robert: It's really quite simple, and I could describe it, but it would be easier if you checked out this HSOforum, flyanglersonline.com and click on their rod building section. Anything you need to know about building a rod is right there. The directions are very clear and concise. Good luck it's fun building your own rods. I've done several over the years.

[redhooks]

Hey Robert - I have a friend in Bemidji that makes lots of rods and he told me about a slick trick he learned at a rodbuilders convention this summer. By taking a fishhook/paperclip and tying it to some string/line he put the hook in the tip of the blank (if hollow) and pull on the string, this creates an arc in the rod and if the rod is allowed to rotate it will find it's own spine and settle in its arc naturally, kind of a path of least resistance thing. Then he marks the top of the spine with a marker and is off and running. Hope this helps more than confuses and if you want I could put you in contact with him and he might be able to explain better than me.Good luck and tight lines!
redhooks [email protected]

[Surface Tension]

Take your blank put on end on a table and the other end in the air. Now put a bend in the blank and twist it. You will notice the blank comes to a spot and stops there. If you are making a spinning rod the guides will go on the inside of the bend. If your making a casting rod the guides will go on the outside of the bend. Do the same thing for the other section. Have fun with your custom rod.