Thanks for the kuddo's guy's, the knowledge was passed on to me, so as my old mentor told me, It's my duty to pass it on. If any of this drival helps even one person, I've accomplished something.
Back to the story.

The production process of the customs back then was of course based on the equipment. Actions tended to be stiffer, and the guides of the day were big. The length of the feet were up to 5 times what a modern guide is today. When you wrapped these guides onto the blank, they would then create a section where the blank was braced. In other words the action was deadened at that location. ( I promise pictures soon) Generally less guides were used overall, and it was uncommon to see a rod with more than 5 guides, 4 was the norm, and some bait heavers on the Cape used no more than 3. We're talking about 11 or 12 foot rods here. Shops put out what they called a canal special, a 10 foot rod with 4 guides, on a heavy action blank. Usually a 12 footer cut down 16 inches from the tip, and 8 from the butt. They were more like broom handles, than glass rods, as the folks that fished the canal then, weren't worried so much with casting distance as they were with beating a fish in a 10 to 15 knot current. Canal guy's usually spooled with a minimum of 30 lb test, the average used 40. Canal rods usually had more butt wrap as well to stiffen the portion of the rod just above the reel seat for even more lifting power.

With the advent of new materials, such as rings that resist wear, and 2 part epoxies, many of the issues with older rods are now almost exstinct. It was common for a custom rod to be rebuilt, accourding to how much seasonal use it got, every 2 years. Murats made their winter money doing axactly that. The old thread coatings, the most common being Gudebrod, would deteriorate after just a season or 2 of hard use, and guides would break at the welds, or groove from the line abrasion. It was a simple task to run a razor blade flat along the blank and strip out all the guides in less than 5 minutes. A light touch with 200 grit sand paper and the blank would look like it had never been wrapped. In a matter of an hour or less, the rod was re-guided and ready for use. New method building, takes at least 2 hours to accomplish just 1 broken guide to be replaced.

Pictures coming soon guy's, I'll try to get them up today. I have an old brownie still in its original built form that I am going to be stripping for a restoration re-build. It will clear up a lot of confusion anyone may have.