Hey guys so I am interested in making a spiral wrap rod. I have tried googling, but my issue is that there are a lot of different types of wraps, and some have different names for the same one. So if I am mainly making rods at the moment for freshwater bass fishing, what would you say are the main wraps I need to research and learn more about?

Also how should one go about deciding if I should spiral the guides to the left or the right of my blank?

Should you place the reel seat and the butt guide on the top of the spine so that the guides on the bottom will be on the bottom of the spine like a spinning rod would be?

Finally, how do you go about figuring out the correct size butt guide you should use?

Thanks guys for all the help! This forum has been a great help over the last couple of days since I heard about it, so again thank you!

Cameron
Try this for starters A lot of info on that wrap I generally stay with the Simple Spiral unless I need the line to do something special
Butt guide is used to maybe give room for the hand on the foregrip If needed With a low profile reel you can go small

[rodbuilding.org]

Bill - willierods.com

bill boettcher Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Cameron
> Try this for starters A lot of info on that wrap I
> generally stay with the Simple Spiral unless I
> need the line to do something special
> Butt guide is used to maybe give room for the hand
> on the foregrip If needed With a low profile reel
> you can go small
>
> [rodbuilding.org]
> ral+wrap,author=,page=1,match_type=ALL,match_dates
> =0,match_forum=ALL,match_threads=0

Ok thanks! So then I take the the simple spiral would work well with tip high techniques like texas rigging as well as tight lines like crankbaits?

Cameron, don't over think this. Spiral wrapping is not the holy grail of rodbuilding, like anything else it has benefits and drawbacks. You're just getting the line from the top to the underside of the rod.

Think about common sense kinds of stuff like:

a) where will your hands make contact with the rod while fishing? Will the line cross over a hand? If it does cross over my hand is this a problem, not a factor, or something desirable based upon the way you fish?

b) am I using a levelwind? Stripper guide angle placement can affect levelwind performance causing line to stack on one side of the reel's spool. Is this a problem if it does? Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. If your not using a levelwind, you might want the line to go toward your hand so it is easier to control with your fingers or thumb (if you even do that). Are either of these concepts important considerations for you and the way you fish? Maybe they are, maybe they're not.

c) will I lay the rod flat on the deck of the boat? Some people like to rotate the guides to the same side as the reel's handle. If you lay the rod on a deck, the reel usually forces you to lay the rod down with the handle up. If you wrap to the same side as your handle then the transition guides will also be up and the rod will rest on the blank. If you wrap away from the handle then the guide will be down and the rod will rest on the transition guide. Is this a concern? maybe it is, maybe it isn't.

d) the size of the stripper guide should be determined by proper rod performance during stress testing and test casting, not by a formulaic approach associated with a method of spiral rod wrapping. Acceptable line pathing through guides is what your looking for. The size, location, and orientation of the reel and grip(s) will influence ring height and location just like any other build. Again, stress testing, test casting and fiddling with frame height, orientation and sizing will best inform you what works best on that rod.

e) what about other rod qualities that are important for your rod to have? How will I make accommodations in the build to satisfy the other rod qualities that I feel are important?

f) are there overriding build concerns? Are there build concerns that are in conflict with each other? If so, which conflicting concern is more important to you? I'll give you an example of a conflict I face in my fishery. I build spiral trolling rods for large predator fish. When they hit, they can run out 300-400 yards of line in a blistering first run. I would like my line to take the path of least resistance to minimize friction to the line, but if i built my rods this way I will experience levelwind stacking. This is a phenomena where the reel is emptied during the run and when refilled by the angler, the line builds up on one side of the spool. In some extreme cases the line can build up to the point that it binds against the reel frame or slips between the spool and the frame (if the reel doesn't have a tight fitting skirt to prevent this) . For me levelwind stacking is an overriding concern and dictates that I might have to make accommodations or allowances with other factors in my customer's build.


As to building along a Spine:

It's now generally accepted that there's negligible benefits to building on a spine. It's now generally accepted practice to locate the 0 axis along the rod where the rod blank is straightest when held in the fishing position.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/12/2014 03:30PM by John E Powell.

I have spiral wrapped all of my casting rods since the first time I tried. It does not hurt casting distance or accuracy and makes a noticeable difference when reeling in a fish. I just layout the guides and flip all but the first two or three around the blank. Then I just use those guides I did not rotate to bring the line around. Just place them so that the line will not hit the blank. After that just static test as normal and you are good to go. That is the way I have done it and it seems to work. Just like they said don't over think it.
Ben Eipert

Mr. Johnson;
I build exclusively bass rods. If you like email and I will send you a copy of the formula I use.

Steve Gardner Wrote:
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> Mr. Johnson;
> I build exclusively bass rods. If you like email
> and I will send you a copy of the formula I use.


Thank you! I will send you an email in just a minute then!

Thanks everyone else for all the replies I appreciate it!