I just bought a T&T Horizon Series fly rod, custom made. The materials all look high quality and are assembled with care. The first thing I did with the rod after I unwrapped it was to check the spine...well, what I found out (if I am doing the spine check thing right) is that the butt section guides were in line with the spine, but the tip guides were more or less 90 degrees off the spine!!! damn... My question to you rod builders is: am I crazy to try to remove the tip guides and replace them in the correct position to the spine? If I were to do that, is there a risk to the blank itself in the stripping process? I am assuming that the chemical strong enough to cut through that epoxy is also strong enough to screw up my blank. Any suggestions?
No the epoxy is only on the thread wraps. Take a xacto blade and cut the thread wraps on top of the guide feet. I find it best if you've never done this before to cut from the end of the foot up to the guide ring. That way the guide ring will stop your blade. But only cut the wraps that are on top of the guide feet. Once you have those cut you can use your fingers to take off the snake guide and peel the wraps off of the blank. If you have a small file that will fit on the blank between your existing epoxy edge lines you can smooth out the blank were the original thread wraps were placed. Now remark your spine, place the guides with it or directly opposite of it. Put them on the same spacing, rewrap and epoxy. If this is alot no problem give me a buzz and I can explain more for ya. :thumb:
Take the rod out and cast it before you do anything. If it works to your satisfaction, leave well enough alone. What you have discovered is often the norm. I think a lot of big name rod makers think the whole spine business in so much nonsense.
Hey thanks, Scott. The guides are single foot guides but it sounds like it should be the same process. I'll give it a shot.
It is...same smell, different taste...You know. I would agree with the other post, first cast the thing, then if it doesn't work for you then commense to taking the guides off. :thumb:
I know that sage at least has decided that the spine is not that big a deal because the blanks come premarked with a white dot to where they suggest putting the guides and it is not where the spine is. it must not be that important anymore.
Thanks for the advice, guys...now here's a dumb question: Since I have not cast a rod like this before I have very little experience to know how it is supposed to perform. So let's say the spine location DOES make a difference. Will that translate into a loss of power or will it show up as some other performance flaw?
I'm betting it will cast nicely being a T&T. If you are a new caster have one of your more adept friends try it. You may get the old guides of easily, but unless you are an experienced rod builder you will not get the epoxy finish anywhere as nice as the original.
In theory, casting a rod with a misaligned spine will cause the tip of your rod to deviate from a straight line path decreasing your casting accuracy. The fly line follows the tip so if the spine is deflecting the tip from its intended path, your fly will not be landing where you are aiming. In the real world, the actual result may be irrelevant. One thing is that blanks can have multiple spines. The builder may not have picked the one you would have but then again, he may have had a reason you don't discerned yet. Like everyone is saying, the real test is how it casts. Use it. Have your buddies use it. Finally, make your decision to rewrap or not based on results.
first bear in mind that you will totally void your warranty on the whole rod. a misspined rod will cast crooked. try it out and if it is not noticible leave it alone or take it back and get another rod. you can cut off the wraps pretty easily with a sharp exacto knife. make sure the point is perpendicular to the rod so you can't cut into the blank. you can easily get as good a finish as the factory if you have a rod turner. A little heat from a hair dryer on high can help soften the wraps. my bet though is that you are looking at more trouble than its worth unless it casts way off to one side. i think the slower the action the worse it will be affected, that's probably why they don't worry much about it on fast (new) rods.
Did you check the tip and butt section individually and decide the sections are spined different? Also, where do the guides line up when the rod is assembled and you check the spine? Some builders recommend assembling the rod and then marking spine, marking the blank and aligning guides while others start with individual sections and then make adustments. Others pay no attention to the spine, go for straightness. First, check out the rod by lawn casting or at the lake and you probably will find it casts fine. Primary purpose of placing the spine is to either get more power on your backcast or greater speed forward IMO. Both methods have their advantage.
When a rod has guides on it, you can't check the spine. The guide feet add significant resistance to bending. The rod naturally bends in the plane of least resistance, and when guides are present, the rods bends 90 degrees off the plane of the guides. Try it with any factory or custom rod you own. This effect is most dramatic in tip sections, where the rod is most flexible, and where the guides are most plentiful. In the butt, with fewer guides, some of the natural blank spine may be noticeable.
