# New Rod Man



## dcfishman (Dec 20, 2002)

Hey guys  This will be my first attempt at building my own rod. I am a ex distance caster but never did very well at it and this was one of my favorite practice rods a Zziplex Primo Syncro 13ft 6in and i am turning it into a spinning rod because of its flexable tip i have had the guides tape on as a spinner for quite a while but just recently decided to make it permanent. My questioin is i have read that stock premade rods usually dont have enough guides on them and i want to know what u guys think if i should use 6 guides on the top includeing tip top or 5 and what spaceing should i use/guide placement its my first but i want to do the best job on it that i can. Allso what u think about guide underwraps and the weight it might add. not sure if i should attempt to paint the whole blank because of added weight want to keep it kind of lite. any help provided is greatly appreciated. thanks alot Tony/dcfishman:fishing:


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## BDreamweaver (Nov 28, 2008)

*rod*

I would not paint blank or add underwrapes. All this adds extra weight which does effect performance. But it is your rod and the extra weight might not be a big deal to you,but the less weight you can add to the tip of a rod the better.
As far as amount of guides do a stress test and it will tell you how many it should have,after that you can decide how many to put on, remember ,less is better for casting distance,but must have enough for fish catching,which is what you are doing now,not tournament casting.


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## basstardo (Jun 5, 2006)

Is the blank really nicked up and banged up? If it isn't painted already (not familiar with Zippy's) you could use the finest grit scotch brite pad to buff it a bit, and use Permagloss to redo the finish. It's a one part urethane that dries quickly, and puts a very nice thin shiny layer on the rod, and you can wrap over it, put finish on it, etc. 

For the guides, look into the Fuji New Guide Concept layout and how-to here, then do some more research on it because the method has been updated since that site was put up. Also, since it's a Zippy, which I understand is a very expensive blank, you may want to look into the Fuji Low Rider's (LCSG series). They make a titanium version that Hellrhay could tell you much more about than I, but I understand they are very light, but also pricey. That particular model guide was designed for braid on spinning reels. As for underwraps and weight, it does make a difference, but if you had two identical rods, one with and one without, you probably couldn't tell the difference.

Also, the test casting and stress test are very important as well. The test casting especially with spinners and the NGC placement, because it can make a big difference in distance if the guides are out of place.


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## dcfishman (Dec 20, 2002)

*rods*

Thank you for your quick response I allways wondered if the underwraps added that much weight to the finished product to be concered with it. Dont know about the stress test could u xplain this process to me now i have the guides on with rubber bands . I now have the fuji Alconite BMNAG guides but could u tell me wich guides u would use for braided line?? I just started hearing about Titanium which ones would u choose maybe i could use the Alconite on my Century WR300 with i have cut the butt section down to 11ft 6in . this rod is a beast feells like a 15ft Ugly Stick . thanks again for your hgelp Tony /dcfishman:fishing::fishing:


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## basstardo (Jun 5, 2006)

BMNAG's are fine. The alconite ring will do braid just fine. The titanium guides are top of the line technology, but not a must have in my opinion. They definitely have their advantages though with weight, corrosion resistence, etc. 

For stress testing, you need to actually tape the guides on with masking tape. Put a reel on the rod, and tie the line to something solid and put stress on the rod as if you were fighting a fish. When you're doing that, you check to make sure the rod has a smooth arc, and that the spacing of the guides doesn't cause any unnecessary stress along the blank.


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## Mark G (Nov 15, 2004)

If you know your going to use braid, I would definitely opt for lowriders on that rod. You can get them in alconite or sic rings and with steel or titanium guide frames.

Make sure when you test do it both in the casting position and the fish fighting position. THe reason is when you fight fish with a spinner the guides are positioned on the bottom and line contact with the blank is not an issue, but when you typically load it going into the cast, the guides are up on top and as you bend into the cast, there is a potential for the line to contact the rod then. 

Personally I would opt for Low rider sic guides/steel frames with braid, the titanium frames are very expensive, and might be worth it for the corrosion resistance if you expect to get a lot of years use out of the rod, otherwise might be overkill.


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## jlentz (Sep 11, 2005)

As for number of guides, I have built a few Zziplex rods and found that the recommended spacing from the company is spot on. Here are the recommended guide spacings from the Zziplex website

ZZIPLEX Primo Synchro
Ring spacing measured from the tip of the blank,
as butt- and tipsection are joined.
All measures of the rod in inch/cm.

Fixed Spool: 

5/12,7
12/30,5
22/55,9
36/91,4
57/144,8
85/215,9

Multiplier
4/10,1
9/22,9
15/38,1
22/55,9
31/78,7
43/109,2
63/160
93/236,2

I have not built a Zzipplex spinner, but I would think if you are using lowriders you may have to make some adjustments to the above measurements. I am currently building a Conoflex Sea Match Bass with Lowriders as a dual purpose rod and the recommended spacings are way off. A Stress test and test casts are absolutely necessary when going with lowriders. Also I recently built a Zziplex Primo Match which has a very soft tip. I would recommend trying to keep the build as light as possible especially in the tip section. I would not paint the blank or use any underwraps. The above recommendation of using Permagloss to cover the scratches is good. If you go with stainless guides I would reccomend the alconites and you might want to use the lighter frames towards the tip.

John


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