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IMPORTANT
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Fish & Fly at fishandfly.com
Building
your own fly rod - part 2
Our February 2002 contribution from Terry Lawton
The next stage is to find the spine of the blank and start measuring and marking the positions of the guides. To find the spine of each section, wrap a piece of masking tape round the 'thick' end. Holding that end in one hand, bend the section into a good curve and rotate it slowly. Then release it. The blank should spring into its natural position which you can then mark, along the length of the section, on the masking tape. Do this for each section. If you want, you can assemble the rod, checking that it is as straight as possible, and try to find the spine of the whole rod. Positioning the rings in relationship to a rod's spine is critical. If the rings are not fitted to each section in the same relationship to the spine, the rod will have a tendency to twist or rotate when casting. For dynamic stability of the rod when casting, the rings must be positioned either on the same side as the spine or 1800 round the blank on the opposite side. As most fishermen judge the performance of a rod by its casting ability - accuracy, action and feel - it makes sense to position the rings on the same side of the blank as the spine, so that the spine is on the underside of the rod and thus towards the water. This is the gospel according to Dale P Clemens in his standard work on rod building, Advanced Custom Rod Building.
"Positioning the rings in relationship to a rod's spine is critical. If the rings are not fitted to each section in the same relationship to the spine, the rod will have a tendency to twist or rotate when casting"
More recent thought and practice suggests that the rings should be aligned with a rod's preferred curve of bending which is at 900 to the spine. How you decide to position the rings is a matter of personal choice, but the one essential is that the position is the same on each section of the rod. If either the spine or the preferred curve of bend do not run continuously throughout the length of the rod, it will try to twist or rotate in your hand and will not be an effective or pleasant casting tool. This problem is exacerbated by the more sections there are and will be at its worst with a four-piece travel rod. If it is difficult to find the spine of your blank, do not worry because it may be less pronounced and it follows that it will have less effect on the rod's action. Should your blank have any suggestion of a curve, then fit the rings along the spine or 1800 opposite and closest to the outside of the curve. This will help straighten the blank.
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section with a piece of masking tape |
Having found and marked the position of the spine, you can measure out and mark the position of the rings, handle and reel seat. The tip top obviously fits on the top end of the blank. Mark the position of the first ring at a maximum of 100mm down the blank. If you mark an arrowhead against the edge of the tape that is in the right place, it will help you remember which side of the tape to fit the ring. Find and mark the position of the stripping guide or bottom ring. The best way to do this is to place the butt end of the rod against your hip and, with the rod held level, reach up it with your casting hand, arm straight. Where your fingers touch the rod is the optimum place for the ring. Once you have established the position for the butt ring, make sure that you do not have too big a gap between it and the next ring up the rod. The line slap caused by such a gap will reduce the casting performance of the rod quite severely. There should be no excessive gaps anywhere along the length of the rod. When positioning rings, tape them to the rod in what you think are the right places and then cast it and see and feel how it performs. You can also bend the rod into a fighting curve and make sure that there are no big gaps or flat spots by moving rings as appropriate. As you work your way down the rod, from the tip, increase the spacings progressively.
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positioning of each ring |
Rod rings act as fulcrum points in the bending of a rod. The greatest stress on the blank will be midway between a pair of fulcrum points or rings. If a pair of rings is fitted so that a ferrule is midway between them, it follows that the load on the ferrule will be at its greatest. To reduce the load on the ferrule, which is a week point in a rod, a ring should be positioned close to the ferrule to support it and so reduce the stress on the joint.
"Having found and marked the position of the spine, you can measure out and mark the position of the rings, handle and reel seat"
Positioning the rings on a travel rod is complicated by the extra ferrules. The guidelines above for the positions of the tip top, the first and butt or stripping rings all apply as does positioning the intermediate rings to support the ferrules. On a four-piece rod travel rod the stripping ring may well be best positioned on the second section rather than on the butt section which may result in it being positioned uncomfortably close to your casting hand. As there are fewer rings on each section, compared with a two piece or long three piece rod, aligning the rings is much easier. Note: As the handle has to be slid down the butt section of the rod, you cannot fit the rings until the handle is in place.
Now position the reel seat on the butt end and mark the top edge. Measure the position of the top of the handle, taking into account the fact that for an uplocking reel seat the bottom of the handle will have to cover the reel hood. Again mark the upper limit of the handle. Now you can start fitting the reel seat if using a pre-formed handle or building the handle if using cork rings.
< Read Terry's introduction to rod design and construction
COMING SOON... Whipping the rings to the rod
Terry Lawton is a passionate nymph fisherman who caught his biggest wild brown trout (in the UK) - 4lb 2oz - on a home-tied variant of a goldhead, Sawyer-style pheasant tail nymph.