Another Reel Seat question??

[bonedog]

Building rod #3 (last one for quite a while) and the reel seat will not fit over the butt end of the graphite. Rods 1 and 2 were fine, added tape rings and epoxied them on. This one is gonna have to be reamed out some. What do I do?? Already epoxied it together cuz I didn't expect problems.
Thanks in advance,
bd

[GonetoSeed]

bonedog - what kind of seat is it? What are the diameters involved - OD of blank, ID of reel seat? What weight rod? The reason I'm asking is to make sure that if you do ream it, there is enough wall in the seat. Sometimes when the seat doesn't fit, its better to go up in size to match the seat for the weight of the rod.

[bonedog]

GTS, It's a Hook and Hackle IM 6 6wt 4pc blank. I'm not at home so I can't specify the reel seat model. Will do when I get home. It's a Pac Bay (UL I think is the model) of some configuration, walnut insert. Doesn't need much opening, just barely too tight. It came as a kit so I assumed it would be okay. Should I possibly order another seat??
Thanks,
bd

[GonetoSeed]

If it is just barely too tight then the epoxy may act as a lubricant and it will slide on. Put a coating of epoxy on the blank, and then scrap it off. All you need is a very thin "film" - a wet look. This is a case where more is not better. Even thin, when pushing the seat on, it will push excess epoxy out the end, so just clean it off with a lint free rag or paper towel soaked in iso alcohol. btw, this tight of fit is actually good because of the tight tolerances.

If this doesn't work, I would call Bob and talk to him. It may be if the end cap is already in place, then an option would be to carefully remove the end cap and ream just as you would the grip. You would only have to ream enough to get to the above - its still slightly too tight dry, but the epoxy helps it slip into place. What you are trying to make sure not to do is get the walls of the insert too thin. With certain kinds of wood, it could split. But, as I said, before doing this I'd talk to Bob, including discussing what reel I intended to use. It might be that you are right on the edge for the correct seat size and that by going up one size now, you will feel better and in fact have better results in the long run - more durable, holds the reel better.

[bonedog]

There is a "ridge" at the end of the insert that prevents the blank from being inserted at all so I don't think the epoxy idea will help (although I will definitely file that one away for future reference). I think I'm gonna call Bob and probably just get another seat. Reaming this one out would also have to be done by some tool that I don't have, only thing I have is a cork reamer.
Thanks again for the help,
bd

[The Ole Man]

The ridge is prob where the wood insert was sawed off and the inside diameter edge was not deburred. If you break that edge with your cork reamer or a rat-tail file, the insert might go on. Just an idea.

[bonedog]

They looked up my order and were a little surprised, said they used those same components to build their rods but were thankful for the heads-up and are sending me another reel seat. Good company to do business with imho.
Thanks again,
bd

PS. Just saw your response, Ole Man, and the diameter of the insert appears to be the same from the ridge on down. Anyhow, it will work on a smaller diameter blank just fine, I'll hang on to it for future use. Thanks.

[GonetoSeed]

Since blank manufacturing is very manual, it is not uncommon at all for a blank's actual deminsions to be different than the specs, and each other - the butt diameter and/or tip diameter to vary +/-. btw, this a reason to order tip tops in a couple or three sizes around the published specs.

Also, keep in mind that on very rare occasions that a blank may be incorrectly packaged - that is a 7wt blank pulled and placed in a 6wt packaging. If you haven't already, check the blank decal just to be sure.

[GUTHOOKED]

It is usually no problem to open the bore up a little with a rat tail file, especially if you only need to open it slightly. Just be careful to keep the bore centered. I like to lay the insert on an old mouse pad, then roll it slowly as I file, keeping the file in the bottom of the bore.

[bonedog]

I did check the blank and it says 906-4 (although it might have been mislabeled also). And I do have a rattail file (come to think of it) but having only built 2 others assumed that the seat wouldn't need any prep work (of course we all know what A$$uming means) so I epoxied the insert and skeleton together without checking. Thanks guys, I'm sure there will be more questions but vacation is almost over :( so no more rods for a while.
Take care,
bd