# Grip/reel seat placement?



## Elkhunter (Jun 18, 2004)

Looking at a 8' casting rod.
How do you decide where to put the reel seat and the EVA grips?
Is a 8' to short for split grips? I have several 10' split grip rods with Reel seat @ 24" If I go 24" on the 8' then it is only 12 " from the top of the reel seat to the first guide. This seems close? any thoughts? If I do split grips on the 8' the bottom EVA would be 5" the EVA below the reel seat would be about 3.5" and the fore grip another 4-5" that would put the tip of the EVA only 8" from the first guide. again this seems short. I'm using 9 guides + tip. 16,12,10,10,8,8,8,8,8.. spaced 
58", 47", 38", 30", 23", 17", 12", 7.5", 3.5". Any thoughts?


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## Mark G (Nov 15, 2004)

24" placement for reel seat on a 10' rod is close to the norm, on an 8' rod would usually be a bit less maybe 16- 20",sometimes less, depending on the rod specifics. 

What is the rod rated for?

If this is a light weight lure rod, one recommendation that I sometimes use is to not have the butt extend more than a couple of inches past the elbow of the hand working the rod. You can measure from the base of the wrist to the elbow to get an idea- for me this is about 12".

I add at least 2 inches to this, so I would most likely put the reel seat around 14- 16" up from the butt end in this case. This is only a place to start, tape the reel seat at a starting point and attach the reel to check for balance.

Longer rods like the 10' and rods designed to toss heavier weights need the reel seat placed further up the rod to allow 2 handed leverage for tossing heavier weights. So on my 13' heavers the reel seat may be placed as far as 32" up from the end of the butt.


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## Mark G (Nov 15, 2004)

Elkhunter said:


> Looking at a 8' casting rod.
> How do you decide where to put the reel seat and the EVA grips?
> Is a 8' to short for split grips? I have several 10' split grip rods with Reel seat @ 24" If I go 24" on the 8' then it is only 12 " from the top of the reel seat to the first guide. This seems close? any thoughts? If I do split grips on the 8' the bottom EVA would be 5" the EVA below the reel seat would be about 3.5" and the fore grip another 4-5" that would put the tip of the EVA only 8" from the first guide. again this seems short. I'm using 9 guides + tip. 16,12,10,10,8,8,8,8,8.. spaced
> 58", 47", 38", 30", 23", 17", 12", 7.5", 3.5". Any thoughts?


You are right in thinking that the reel is going to be too close to the first guide if ya go with 9 guides + tip. Of course if it's a VERY limber rod you may need that many, make sure by doing a static stress distribution test before gluing anything down. If you can drop one or two guides you can get that first guide a bit further up the rod (away from the reel ), really it depends on the rod and how stiff or limber it is.


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## Elkhunter (Jun 18, 2004)

It's a 967 wrapping it Conv. Rated to 4oz... Is there a rule of thumb for distance from Reel to first guide? Likely gonna put a 6500 on it.


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## Mark G (Nov 15, 2004)

On a conventional you don't want the first guide so close that it causes a sharp angle when the line is coming off the very left or right sides of the reel spool. I would think on an 8' rod rated to 4 oz you could get by with maybe 7 guides instead of the 9 suggested, here again depends on the rod action , etc.

On my long surf rods (13') I have only 7 guides + the tip, and the first guide is a long (4') away from the reel. This is not a good comparison to the type of rod you are building, but it gives a feel for something to compare too. 

Really I don't want to steer you wrong, without actually seeing the blank and flexing it, I can't make any specific recommendations for guide or reel seat placement.


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## Rockfish1 (Apr 8, 2005)

Elkhunter said:


> It's a 967 wrapping it Conv. Rated to 4oz... Is there a rule of thumb for distance from Reel to first guide? Likely gonna put a 6500 on it.


I see your gettin on'em already... would like to see them when finished...


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## Charlie2 (May 2, 2007)

*Seat Placement*

The reel seat placement is a personal thing.

Hold the blank under your arm at the armpit and where your hand falls is the place for the reel seat for heavy two-hand casting.

For a rod that you cast with a lot the location of the seat should determined by your elbow. The butt can be somewhere near your elbow; either inside or outside as you feel comfortable with.

Split grips can be placed on any rod. I just can't understand why someone would put split grips on a rod then add weight to the butt for balance. To each his/her own. I make them with split grips because people want them that way.

FYI , the Fuji recommendation for Lowrider seat placement is 88 mm, then 120 mm to the first guide. It's a little long for my taste, but it's their guides/rods. C2


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## Charlie2 (May 2, 2007)

*Corrrection*

Seat distance and first giode placement should read cm instead of mm. First cup of coffee. C2


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