Turning Reel Seats

[chigdon]

I have seen a couple of people mention turning reel seats for fly rods and people selling reel seat blanks on ebay. Can anyone tell me how they have turned them? I have never seen any tubes or bushings for them.

 

[BillATsetelDOTcom]

My dad turns his own cork reel seats and grips. He uses sandpaper and shapes them the size he needs. As for "tubes" for this purpose, you would typically just drill it to the size you need and it would be expoxied to the rod blank.

My Dad has been making fishing rods as a hobby for almost 30 years.

Bill

 

[LanceD]

You first drill your hole just like you would a pen blank but you don't use tubes or bushings for them, although you could fashion some bushings from an existing reel seat and use those. After the blank is drilled i epoxy the two ends of the blank to a 1/2" steel mandred with a little dab of five minute epoxy. You would purchase a skeleton seat which is only parts without the insert then turn your blank to fit the parts. Your blank can be made out of any type of wood but stabilized is a better choice because of the exposure to water. Also you would have to have a blank at 1-1/8 to 1-1/4 inches wide by 4" long.

 

[chigdon]

Thanks, that gives me an idea. I know a couple of rod builders and I could probably get some spare parts from them to put together something.

 

[KenV]

Beware --

It can be a slippery slope that could lead to the worst form of addiction - making bamboo fly rods.....