I have only been building rods for about 2-3 years.  Maybe 15 rods total.  I have yet to do a spiral wrap, but it seems like it is the way to go.  Any tips on starting one of these?  Is there any info on guide placement out there?  I am going to build a spinnerbait rod over the holidays for a friend, and I am considering the spiral wrap for it.  Any info is greatly appreciated.  Thank you.

Happy   Holidays!

WCCT,

PM Me I'll help you out....

I'm a day or two late to jump in... not sure if you got the help you needed from ReelMech yet or not so I'll put in my $.02 worth... and give you the rundown of what I do.

I'm going to assume with 15 rods under your belt, you have done spinning and casting and are comfortable with static testing for guide placement on both. If not let us know.

There are a few ways to do this... the Simple Spiral is very popular, it's the one with a single 90 degree transition guide (known as the "bumper") which goes 1/2 way between the butt and #2 guides. To get the Simple Spiral you tape the guides on as you would for a traditional "guides up" rod and static test, adjust, retest, etc. until you are happy with it. Then rotate all the guides except the butt guide and add the bumper at the mid point between butt and #2 guides and you are done. Yup, it's that easy and that's why it's called the Simple Spiral. Most people love it just like that.

I don't build a true Simple Spiral as defined by Tom K. (and he actually asked me not to call mine a Simple Spiral since it is a little different) No problem, I like my way better and just refer to it as the OTS. ("other than simple") ...lol

Here are the 2 problems (I have had) with a true Simple Spiral and what has happened with every fast action rod I have built when trying it that way.

1. line contact with side load

2. #2 guide not bearing weight

To correst those, here is what I do:

I increase the distance from the butt guide to the #2 guide, use a lower framed (TLSG or BLAG) #2 guide, and a slightly higher framed bumper guide (TSG or Batson FLG) and the location of the bumper is determined by load applied in testing to confirm no line contact at max drag pressures. Usually an inch or 2 forward of centered and 10 degrees up, or at about 80 degrees.

It is more work to do it this way but you get a few advantages, IMO. The line doesn't touch the blank, regardless of conditions or how much pressure you hold. Secondly, the #2 guide actually carries weight when the rod is under full load... this distributes the pressure when it's highest and because it does so, lessens the chance of blank failure. The true Simple Spiral will rarely allow the #2 guide to carry weight on a fast action rod. It creates a gap the distance of the butt guide to the #3 guide without support, which is exactly where it will fail when over stressed. I think that allowing the #2 guide to carry weight is the best way to go and worth all the extra effort.

I static test with the guides under tried it both ways and like it better this way. I think it's a better method and the only way to assure that you get the #2 to carry weight. (the original instructions for the Simple Spiral say to only static with guides up I didn't trust that so even when I stayed close to the original I static tested both ways- to verify the finished result.

There are several other types of spirals but I haven't tried any of them.

I hope you find some value in all that... if nothing else it should get you thinking through the build before starting and give you some things to look at when building.

I honestly think that if you build a spiral for yourself, you will like it. Just don't blame me when you have to go and replace all your rods with spirals!! I did. ...lol

If any of that is of interest but unclear, feel free to PM me.

I appreciate all of the help.  I really need to study up on all of the guides that are available.  On the rods that I have built, I basically just picked my guides, not knowing the height of any of them.  Luckily, I am happy with all of them.  I am really getting hooked on building rods, and I would like to start turning my own cork handles too.  I guess I need to go get a lathe.  Thanks again for the help.  Both of you have been very helpful.  

A lathe is awesome if you have the space and cash.  Many of us use a drill mounted to a board with a hose clamp from a dryer, and then use either a mandrel or a quality drill steel.  I even used a 1/2" bolt for a while.  ...lol