Replacing the Reel Seat.

[Sopranokam]

Hey everyone, I'm curious about replacing a reel seat and fighting butt on one of my rods and was wondering what kind of process this is. Are there things I should check regarding the rod to determine if this is possible, and what kind of job am I in for?

Any Info on this topic would be great, I have never done any rod building, so I am trying to find out if this is a job I can do myself.

Thanks

[professori]

I have never done this , but there are plenty of people here ( http://www.rodbuildingforum.com/ ) with lots of experience.

[Sopranokam]

Thanks Prof, I will check it out.

[fishin30]

As I am trying to break into the custom rod building market I am doing the same thing to a friends rod. The cork should come off fairly easily, the reel seat gonna have to cut
it off carefully with a dremel. Then the job of reaming the cork. Since this process is being done backwards your cork is gonna fit loosly instead of snug because you are working from the butt up the taper. Which translates to sensitivity being lost in the handle. To do this properly I would remove the guides off of the butt section build and turn your handle and rewrap the guides.

[professori]

I did bit more research and came up with this http://www.rodbuildingforum.com/inde...opic=22515&hl= A friend of mine used to rebuild old golf clubs. He would remove the heads from woods, by wrapping them in plastic bags and then immersing them in boiling water. The heat would completely soften the epoxy and the heads would slip right off. If you do this, do not try dry heat. Let us know how you fare. I agree with fishin30, if you are replacing the handle as well, the best idea is to strip off the guides on the butt section so you can slip the cork on from the narrower end.

[Sopranokam]

So if there are no guides on the butt section, its a 4pc, then all I should have to do is strip everything (I heard also about heat to remove the epoxy under the seat, you suggest boiling water?)and start from scratch with new cork, seat and fighting-butt? Is that correct or am I missing something?

Thanks again gents, I really appreciate it.

[professori]

If your handle is still good, you could probably leave it, but otherwise you have the idea. I will PM you with some details on an alternate idea.