I was at BPS this evening looking for a couple of rods for the new baitfeeder spinning reels I picked up a few days ago. These will be two more catfish rigs, but that's not the point of this thread.

I looked over several rods, and finally settled on the tied and true Ugly Stick. So they had four on the rack, and I pulled them down and looked them over good. Nothing horrible in outward appearance, so I checked the spine on the first one. Nope, eyes and reel set about 30 degrees off the spine. The second one was about the same but the opposite direction. The third one was pretty darn good, and the fourth one was about 10 degrees off. So out of four rods there was one built right.

One of the workers asked me if I was finding everything, and I politely made a comment about the spines not being right on the rods. I could tell right away he wasn't understanding what I was talking about, so i showed him how to check it. So I settled for the best two and out of curiosity we went to the next isle and grabbed a couple of $100 bass rods and checked them, just to see if a higher dollar rod was built right. I never even looked at what brand or model they were. Not a single one of three we checked were spined correctly. We both were a bit surprised, so we head around the corner and grab a $300 G-Loomis rod, and it wasn't spined correctly either. We checked two more before we found one that was.

Now I'm no rod builder, yet, but it takes all of 15 seconds to find and mark the spine of any rod, so why wouldn't even one of the most expensive rods be built correctly? And how many people even know to look for this when buying a rod?

Interestingly enough, a female employee noticed us checking the spines and joined in. She knew right away what we were doing, and told me she never sees anyone check for this before they buy a rod.

I can understand how QC could be poor on a $39 whoopin' stick, but I would think a rod built on a high quality blank, with high quality components otherwise, would have had the minimal respect it deserved and be built correctly.

I check every rod I get. Easy to do. A custom rod builder taught me how to check this about 8 years ago. I too had a salesman at BPS ask what the heck I was doing. Also, when getting the free rod at the Skeeter tourney, I check it before I settle on one. Everyone around was looking at me like I was crazy! It's sad to say, but 90% aren't spine-aligned. Even the high end rods. Good on you for checking.

.

Could you go ahead and tell us how to check the spine on a rod ?

I've never checked before because this is the first I've heard about it.

Also, what happens with the functionality of a rod if the spin is off ?

thanks kindly

.

I use to build rods. I check everyone of them before I buy off the shelf, sometimes it's hard to find one that is right. It makes a big difference in the performance of your rod!

There are several you tube videos explaining the spline

Yes, the videos will be the best way to see and understand what the spine of a rod is, and how it's presence effects the way a rod performs. It's very easy to check. I place the butt on the floor, with one hand high on the rod, and the other about mid way. Support the rod with the top hand and apply pressure with the middle hand, and angle the rod where the butt won't slip on the floor. You'll see that the rod will want to roll around to the same position every time, you have now found the spine. On a spinning rod the guides will need to be on the inside of the bend, a casting rod will be the opposite.

Watching a video on it will make this much more clear.

Bottom line is though, the rod wants to bend that way, not allowing it too means it will not apply pressure to the guides properly when loaded, it will not act correctly when casting, it just isn't built right if not spine aligned when built.

Before I knew about this, I wondered why I could buy three rods of the same build, outfit them with identical reels, and end up with one I liked much more than the others. Also, a moderately priced rod that is built correctly will feel better than a high priced rod that isn't built right.

I figure if I'm gonna spend my hard earned money on something, it should be built right, even if it's not the top of the line. What really shocked me is, even the top of the line rods we checked weren't built correctly. That is sad!

I just checked 7 TFO Tacticals and 4 were perfect.... 2 were close enough and one was backwards I think..... I love these rods.....

Good info on checking the spine. I've never done this and when I get home I'm planning on checking. When I do purchase a rod I will take a Q-tip and check all the guides. Thanks for the info!

One can not check for the spine in a built rod using the method described. Without the blank butt resting on a smooth surface, all you are checking is the roundness of the cork handle(or whatever material) that is glued onto it. If it is even slightly off round (and it will be), the test will show an incorrect spine location.

Hmm, I will have to recheck the rods I purchased based on your input and see how big a difference there is. Not arguing at all, you have me curious now.

Although I have never heard of checking a spline, this seems to be the way to check. I've fished for more than 50 yrs and have only noticed a great deal of difference in quality of fly rods. Not saying there is no difference in spinning or casting rods, it's just the dislike I have for a rod comes from my not using the correct weight rod for a particular application. I guess I'm just not that particular. Just my 2 cents.
Tight Lines

As with many rules, there seem to be exceptions to this one. I checked the spine on the same two rods this evening resting the blank on a firm padded surface just above the fore grip, supported the tip end, and applied pressure in the middle of the rod, and the spine is in the same place. The butt cap is not so far out of line that it's making any difference on these particular rods. I didn't take time to check others in my collection, but probably will at some point.

I certainly see the logic behind what you say though, and will modify how I check rods in the future. After some thought I understand how a cap attaches to the blank or rear grip could have a profound effect on it's concentricity to the blank. Doing a couple minutes of searching at mudhole, it looks like this one might actually use a stud that fits the ID of the blank, so if the aluminum constructed butt cap is machined on a lathe (looks like it was) and the stud's OD was close to the blank's ID, then it would want to find center when installed. But yeah, I can see where a glued on cap could get off center easily.

Look inside a rod blank...its rough and definitly not round, thus the spine. The butt cap would have to be installed perfectly centered. Manufacturers do "spine" thier rods,but it is done quickly and definitely not perfect. Some built rods will be better than others but there is no good way to check once it is assembled. I look for quality of materials and fit and finish when buying off the shelf. I usually bring my reel with me, mount it on the rod, and check for balance and "feel". If the rod is improperly spined (ie-built wrong) I can tell with just a few false casts

To read....

http://www.rodbuilding.org/library/blankstrength.pdf

I would be interested to know if they monitored how much the blanks twisted when checking the thick side on the compression side? If it did at all?

I've been procrastinating about getting into rod building for a couple of years now, but reading info and watching videos on it. Learning what I can, and getting ideas. Every tutorial I've seen on rod building, the first step is locating the spine on the rod, and building the rod around that. How important is it really? I haven't built a single rod myself, but have gone through a few hundred of them in my time. I have a few brands/models that I prefer, and have have a few that just ended up fishing better than others. Hard to explain, they just worked better. With all other components being equal, in my alleged brain, I attribute at least some of that to them being assembled better than the others. Oddly enough, most often the "good ones" are spined close to right, according to what I've understood. I do have a few that aren't, that aren't necessarily bad rods, but they aren't my favorites either.

I might over-concern myself with small details like this when I buy, or use, stuff. But how much fun would it be if I just grabbed a rod, whipped it around a little bit, and went to the counter like a lot of other people?