Bamboo Tips - Tips Area
Rod Design - Converting Stations

< Home < Tips Area < Rod Design < Converting Stations

Do any of you mathemagicians out there have a formula or method to convert tapers from rods measured at 6" stations to 5" stations?  I've got quite a few and was wondering how y'all do it. 

(BTW, had to throw that obligatory y'all in there for Harry, since I'm the dreaded Yankee)  (Todd Talsma)

Here's the little spreadsheet I use. Just enter the taper in 6" increments in column B. The formulas calculate a 5" increment taper in column J. Works for me!  (Tom Bowden)

I graph all the tapers on paper the old fashion way.  I feel this gives me more control over the process then plugging the numbers in to a spread sheet with "fuzzy logic" that I have never seen let alone can control.

I also graph most of the tapers I find on the net. By graphing them I can "see'" the slope of the tapers and graph the next station on either side of the ferrule station. I really like using the graphs on rods that have drops over the ferrule as it allows me to set the next station on the forms.  (Brad Love)

Hexrod can do that. I think Frank's version can do it to.  Take a look...  (Larry Blan)

It all depends on what kind of taper it is.  If you were converting tapers from the old books like Earl Osten's "Tournament fly and bait casting", those were all linear tapers and the slope is easy to figure out.  Easy with a Morgan hand mill.  I just set the taper at 6" intervals.  Don't try this with a Ritz parabolic.  Then I would measure a rod each 1" and graph it on a piece of paper.  Have many of my fathers old one piece tournament rods and they are linear tapers and measured at 6" points.  Much like the EC Powell tapers.  AB9 rod would be .009" in a 6' point, etc., etc.    (Jerry Young)

One way is to go to my Hexrod stress calculation spreadsheet, enter a guess at five inch intervals into cells C47-C71 area, based on the nearest 6 F47-F166 to see if the 6 inch numbers came out correct.   If they don't adjust the 5 inch ones in column C until the 6 inch ones in column F are correct.

Brute force, but it should work.  (Claude Freaner)

I am using a older taper that has settings set at 6" instead of 5".  Is there a easy method to convert this taper, or do I need to do it the "hard" way and measure it out on my forms, inch by inch?  (Louis DeVos)

Go to Hexrod and enter your taper there, following directions for entering your own taper. The program will then figure it out on 5" centers for you.  (John Channer)

I've got an Excel spreadsheet on my site you can use. Depending on the length you need you may have to copy and paste for an added length. Here's the spreadsheet.  (Ken Paterson)