Rod Spline - Striper Talk Striped Bass Fishing, Surfcasting, Boating

JohnR · 08-21-2001, 09:44 PM

What happens when you spline a rod and it lands in two places 180 degrees apart on the blank - is that a perfect blank? I've always had rods that had one sweet spot but this one has 2 and again, they are 120 deg apart....

Thanks...

Saltheart · 08-21-2001, 09:55 PM

First off , if they are 180 apart , it won't matter much. Secondly , I think if you spline it on rollers or bearings and press a little harder , one side will win out. But , as I said , if it's that close and 180 apart , don't worry , it will be fine.

Got Stripers · 08-22-2001, 06:58 AM

I've had that happen before, but typically one usually wins out like Saltheart said. How do you spline your rods, there are a couple different ways and you might want to check it with another method. Anyone every fork over the bucks for one of those spine finding machines? If I were building commercially maybe, but I was curious how well they work.

JohnR · 08-22-2001, 07:39 AM

I've seen those in action and they're pretty sweet - they can also be made relatively cheap - probably under $20. Maybe this winter time...

I roll the blank on a hard, smooth floorwith my left hand applying power to the tip, my right pressing down along several points along the blank to get it to "jump" to the right spot and then dial it in the rest of the way. I applied the pressure along several points and it was pretty consistant....

Got Stripers · 08-22-2001, 08:52 AM

Now my way would be tough on 10 foot rods

, but it works like a charm on my 8 footers and shorter. I wrap a band of masking tape about 2 feet down from the tip. With my left forearm extended in front of me, with my palm up facing the ceiling, I place the rod on my forearm with the butt to the left. The masking tape is usually just off to the left of my arm, so most of the blank is suspended. I'm holding the rod tip between my tumb and forefinger of my right hand, with the blank resting on my left forearm. Now as a bump the rod into the air slightly with my left forearm, I give it a good hard spin using my right hand. Now the blank isn't leaping into the air a foot, just enough to take it off my arm so I can give it a good hard spin. My right hand flattens out to allow the tip to spin freely on my right palm, while the blank spins and rotates back and forth easily on my left forearm. It will come to rest on my forearm and the spline will make it set up in the same position every time. I will use a fine pointed permanent marker, and mark the top of the masking tape, to indicate the spline facing the ceiling. I will make subsequent spins to fine tune it and then make a wider mark. When a friend showed me this method, I tested it against the standard and the one your using and it worked the same. I switched over, because I use shorter blanks and it's quicker for me.

SeaWolf · 08-22-2001, 09:21 AM

John, i usually find that graphites have a less pronounced spline that do glass rods. I've had graphites with splines only 90 degrees apart and some 180, like yours. Also, depending on the action, type, and manufacturer some splines are very difficult to distinguish from the major and minor spline. Especially when it comes to faster action rods. I do like you, base of the rod on the floor and upper 1/3 in my palm. Roll it and mark it several times to make sure you find the right spot. I also spin the rod around with the tip on the floor to make sure I'm right on.

My .02...Good luck

JohnR · 08-22-2001, 09:53 AM

Thanks guys - I'm not worried about the spline on this as when lined up properly and 180 degrees out - I's going to be fine - the beauty of it all is, if I were very adventurous, I could put spinning guides on one side and casting on the other with one of those Fuji tape on real seats and have a dual purpose rod... OK, just patricking here...

Saltheart · 08-22-2001, 01:03 PM

I have found that with some blanks , you got to go almost frictionless by putting the butt on the rod wrapper rollers. Then spine as usual. I have also found that with some blanks , you spine them , then add corktape and a reel seat , and the spine apparently has moved (which is impossible) I found that if i put the blank end on the rollers and pressed very hard to put a good bend in it , it would go to the original spine. Anyway , absolutely no friction helps and also putting a good bend in it helps.
For Seawolf , John said he was getting 2 spines at 180 degrees from eachother. That won't hurt the build but 2 spines at 90 degrees to eachother is bad. mayber try doing it the way I suggest above which is more frictionless and a much heavier bend.