I made my first rod a couple months ago with hyphalon grips (front and rear of the reel seat) and a graphite fuji reel seat. I used drywall tape, tacked down with masking tape for the bushings (about 1/8 - 1/4 inch gap). I used Flex Coat high build for my epoxy.

The reel seat has come completely loose and can spin around the blank. It does not wobble so I think the bushings are in tact and have just let go of the blank. 1) what did I do wrong and 2) how can I fix it?

My thought was to drill small holes under where the reel attaches -one in front of the first bushing, one between and one after the last bushing - and pump in rod bond or flex coat until it fills up the space - this is a surf rod so I am not too worried about adding weight. Is this a good solution or it there something better? Thanks in advance!

The best way to secure the reel seat is to remove and rebond it. You can soften the epoxy of the bottom handle in a pot of gently boiling water. It takes between 5 - 10 minutes. The bottom grip or whatever you have at the end of the rod will slide off with a little force, freeing the reel seat. The water temperature never got high enough to soften the rod blank. I just performed the same procedure on two highend flyrods to replace the reel seats, and it came out great.
Patrick Vernacchio

One other thing, I would use a different epoxy. The high build is meant for your guides and butt wrap. I would use either Rod Bond or a slow curing epoxy from the hardware store.

Flex Coat High Build is a finish for wraps, not an adhesive for reel seats.

Putter

It was your Flex Coat high build. This is just used for wrap finish. I would recomend Rod Bond. epoxy bonding agent. What did you use to bond the grips with?
Good Wraps Bob

Just guessing....I would say you didnt sand or "rough up" the inside of the real seat. Most mfgs use silicone as a release agent.

I used Flex Coat for everything ...and I did not sand the inside of the seat.

The hyphalon had to stretch quite a bit to make it to the bottom of the rod - how would I stretch it to put it back on without the gentle taper of the blank lined with epoxy to help it?

Ryan,

Couple of way to skin a cat.

1: Remove the foregrip...slide the reel seat up and epoxy. Replace the foregrip by cutting it in two and cinching. (I've done this with cork successfully)

2: Remove everything from the back and put it back together from the back. Take the taper out of the rod's reel seat area with mesh tape.

psst....I used high build for handles for a long time.
I now use the FC rod builder epoxy now (little cheaper then FCHB)

i perfer to use the u40 paste, i feel its alot stronger then the flexcoat

If you use flexcoat to glue the fore grip try this.
Have a friend hold the rear grip so it won't move. Grab the fore grip with both hands and twist back and forth. it might take a few min. but it will beak free.then slide it and the reelseat and glue with rod bond. If you glued it with rod bond you will have to cut it off.
Steve

A few years ago I posted a procedure to remove grips without damaging them. You can try boiling them, but all I got for my trouble when I tried this was a hot soft grip that was still tightly bonded by the epoxy. I also found it hard to find a container to boil a 14" butt grip.

The procedure involved slipping a thin-walled brass tubing of the proper diameter under the grip. The tubing ID must be just slightly larger than the OD of the blank. Work the tubing all the way under the rear grip, and the grip will come off the blank "mounted" on the brass tube. I have performed this procedure on both cork and eva grips on lenghts up to 18" and the grip came off with no problem. The cork comes off much easier than eva.

You can then do the reel seat repair from the rear. Use a paste epoxy, ie. Kardol or Rod bond, to do the bonding. Make sure the drywall tape is saturated while applying. Personally I use masking tape and have never had a reel seat failure or complaints about lack of sensitivity.

You can reuse the grip. Recoat the blank with epoxy, slide the tube over the blank and slide the grip off back onto the blank.

I used to have pics and all with link posted here. The message thread is buried in the archives.

Lou

Once again, Cut the rod into at the center of the reel seat. Remove pieces of old reel seat, make a plug [ solid or tubular glass] to fit inside the blank, make arbors, glue together with new reel seat making sure to line up seat hoods with guides. Once you get the hang of it this is a 24 hr. repair. Jesse

Flex Coat high build (as well as other wrap finishes) is a casting resin, NOT an adhesive. It won't hold much of anything to anything very long. It doesn't even hold a guide, the thread does that, the finish just protects the thread.

You need to use Rod Bond or othe epoxy ADHESIVE when assembling, components/grips, etc and have a water break-free surface

Mike

Jesse, Jesse, Jesse - how many time will you have to make this post. The first time I saw it I thought you were really a nut - since then I have fixed 12 YOUR WAY - ONLY WAY TO GO!! Simple and permanent!!

Gon Fishn