# After Disassembling a Reel Seat



## AtlantaKing (Jul 7, 2002)

Because I'm an idiot and glued in a reel seat too high up the blank, I had to cut it off. After popping off the reel seat, I decided to snap a picture of what it should look like under a reel seat. 

The green bands are masking tape arbors and the rest of it is Rod Bond (epoxy). The kinda brownish stuff is cork that's getting cut off. Notice the Rod Bond fills all the spaces between the blank and the inner diameter of the reel seat as well as sealing up both ends. The reel seat is supported by the several banks of Rod Bond; the masking tape bands are just there to center the reel seat while the Rod Bond cures, and to form a "dam" to keep the Rod Bond where it needs to be. 

Many people claim that masking tape arbors are inferior and cause reel seats to come unglued when they get wet and disintegrate. I disagree with this theory because the masking tape is completely encased in epoxy. With this amount of epoxy bonding the seat to the blank, it pretty much becomes one solid piece. 









ETA: taking apart an already glued in reel seat means complete destruction of the reel seat. I took a Dremel with a cut-off wheel to it: cutting through the seat on each side, lengthwise, and then prying it off with a screwdriver.


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## Clyde (Oct 18, 2003)

To each his own I guess. That's exactly how I do NOT want mine to look. All that extra rod bond in there is unnecessary weight. And rod bond is a great adhesive, but it isn't very structurally strong. 

I suggest the flexcoat polyeurthane reel seat arbors. They're very cheap and work very well. If you do use masking tape, and I do at times when the arbors need to be very thin, just put enough on the tape arbors to cover the ends as to help keep water intrusion to a minimum, and a light coat on top of the arbors for adhesion to the reel seat.

Just the way I was taught to do it. YMMV.


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## junkmansj (Jul 23, 2005)

I do thin tape arbors the same way Clyde. but used drywall tape till I tried the foam arbors


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## Lightload (Nov 30, 2007)

*Removing the seat.*

AND, you probably could have saved the reel seat if you would have submersed it in boiling water for 70 seconds, then twisted and pulled it off.


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## Mark G (Nov 15, 2004)

Lightload said:


> AND, you probably could have saved the reel seat if you would have submersed it in boiling water for 70 seconds, then twisted and pulled it off.



Not poking fun at the idea- but few of us have a way to submerge the reel seat when it is placed several feet up a rod blank- and I doubt the submersion in boiling water is great for the blank itself.

Cutting off with a dremel is the standard way of removing it- reel seats aren't generally that expensive tho if you have a really nice one you want to save that might be worth the work.

CT- masking tape works- but I do prefer drywall tape with the holes so that more contact is made with the blank and the reel seat- the tape has holes in it that the epoxy will flow into and make contact with the blank.

I haven't tried the flex coat reel seat arbors yet, so can't comment.


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## Lightload (Nov 30, 2007)

*removing seat*

It takes a deeeeep pot!

I've done it with fly reel seats that were attached with Rod Bond and it works like a champ.


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## AtlantaKing (Jul 7, 2002)

I don't know the weight difference fo the Flex Coat arbors, but I didn't feel that the Rod Bond was all that heavy. However, I can say that it was pretty dang strong, as I had to cut off a couple of sections (since I'm planning to move the reel seat closer to the butt) and it was a pain. I had to resort to a hacksaw. The cured Rod Bond is strong, but also very resilient; it has a slightly flexible nature that makes cutting it hard. 

Clyde, do you use the FC arbors as well when you're assembling surf rod reel seats, where the blank is almost the same diameter as the ID of the reel seat? Also, how do you ream the arbors concentric to the OD and what do you use to bond it?


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## basstardo (Jun 5, 2006)

AtlantaKing said:


> Also, how do you ream the arbors concentric to the OD and what do you use to bond it?


I have used them one time for a trout rod, and they're pretty easy to use. You buy them based on the size of the reel seat you plan to use, and I have the Dream Reamer kit which I used to ream it out. I used Rod Bond to put it all together. For surf rods, I use the drywall mesh tape. I also use a syringe to inject rod bond at either end if there is a gap to prevent water intrusion and seal everything up.


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## HellRhaY (Jul 6, 2007)

Lightload said:


> AND, you probably could have saved the reel seat if you would have submersed it in boiling water for 70 seconds, then twisted and pulled it off.


i need to buy those cauldrons used by the witches to fit the rod.


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## Clyde (Oct 18, 2003)

AtlantaKing said:


> Clyde, do you use the FC arbors as well when you're assembling surf rod reel seats, where the blank is almost the same diameter as the ID of the reel seat? Also, how do you ream the arbors concentric to the OD and what do you use to bond it?


On large diameter blanks I don't use the flexcoat arbors. If I only need a few layers of masking tape I'll use that, if I need more I'll use the dry wall tape. The dry wall tape method is without a doubt the strongest I've used. 

For boring the flexcoat arbors the dream reamers are great, as are spade bits with a pilot. Both are available from Mudhole and other suppliers.

For relatively lightweight rods, even heavers, your method will probably work fine. For very light weight rods I like the flexcoat arbors simply because they are so light. For heavy duty stuff (offshore, heavy drags) I definitely reccomend the drywall tape or a larger piece of blank sandwiched and fitted.


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