# Guide spacing



## 11855 (Oct 10, 2009)

Maybe someone here has the specs for a Rainshadow SU1502F 70/30 split built for SPINNING. Found all info for conventional but little for spinning.
Plan is 30 in. center of reel seat from butt, if this helps. Thanks


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## basstardo (Jun 5, 2006)

Your best bet is to use 7 guides and a tip, and do a static placement test by stressing the rod and checking the bend of the rod. I would highly recommend trying the Fuji New Guide Concept setup. You can read more about it here: http://www.rodbuilding.org/library/newguide.html

It takes a little more work to get things setup, and test casting is an *absolute must*, but you will get far greater distance from that setup than with a traditional cone of flight setup.


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## 11855 (Oct 10, 2009)

thanks basstardo, i guess that technique can be used for all rods including the long surf casting rods, I do plan on using Fuji BMNAG guides which are described as concept, they were reccommended from another person.
So heres what I got build the butt section of rod which will not have any guides on it, then follow the directions from above post by taping guides on and test casting. For test casting what exactly am I looking for? Line slap on rod, what else? What oz weights are you employing for test casting? Static testing a rod is??? getting a good bend and looking for any flat spots in the line along the blank then adjusting the guide spacing? before I start I gotta get the info thanks.


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## basstardo (Jun 5, 2006)

When you're test casting you want to look at how the line chokes down through the guides. The first guide, or stripper guide, should calm the line down significantly, and the stripper to the next should calm it down even more, and so on until you get to the choker guide where it should be calm and running straight out. It won't be perfectly smooth going out, but get as close as you can. Also, the distance of the stripper guide to the reel is very important, and you should try moving it around until you find what works best. The best thing to do is measure the casts, and do two or three casts per setup to get an average. Once you find where the stripper works the best, and you get the rest of the reducing guides set, you should have a rod that gets very good distance. 

Static testing is exactly what you said. I tie off to a bench on my deck and pull like I have a huge drum on the other end. I'll crank the drag down and look for any flat spots or where I feel there is excessive strain and try to get the guides adjusted if possible, or add a guide. If you change anything here, you will want to test cast again to ensure the changes aren't robbing you of distance. 

It seems like a lot of work, but it's really not that bad and the effort pays off in the end. When I build trout type rods and smaller spinners, I can test cast and static test the rod in about 15 minutes in my back yard.


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## 11855 (Oct 10, 2009)

Great Info, since this is a surf rod should I load it with 8oz while test casting?


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