Hi. Just a short question. Can you use string to snug up a reel seat ? It would take to many wraps
with thread compared to one wrap with string.Has anyone done this before,and would you get a good bond ?
Like always all help is appreciated.

< Thanks DON >
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I have used twine on grips/seats that were just a little to big for thread and to small for arbors. I spiraled the twinw around the blank and spread Rod Bond on it. Worked good.

Mike

I remember seeing this technique used by Dale Clemens in his first book, "Fiberglass Rod Making". Should work ok - but reel seat arbors might make a more sensitive rod. I'm sure some of the more experienced rod builders on this site can provide more information.

Scuffing the rod blank where the reel seat will sit, will help the thread stay put. Don't use anything to "treat" the thread. (The adhesive you use to fill the gap between the rod blank and the barrel of the reel seat will keep out water.) Wind the thread on in such a way that the thread does not completely cover the rod blank under the reel seat, but leaves gaps so that the reel seat's adhesive can directly adhere to the rod blank itself, and not to the thread or twine only. You can spiral the thread with gaps between threads, like the threads on a screw, with heights and valleys. Tom Kirkman's book, Rod-Building Guide, has a picture of this on pages 22-23.

You can even use an over-lapping, diamond-wrap pattern to fit a larger ID-OD gap. Just just keep the ends of the wrap neat, and don't let an un-even height build up. Especially on the side facing the direction from which you will slide on the reel seat (which is usually from the rod's tip-side). The natural taper of the rod blank helps here. But you don't want to create a high dam wall that scrapes the adhesive off from the inside of the barrel of the reel seat, and pushes it out the far end, before the barrel gets into final position. The thread is there mostly to keep the reel seat co-axial with the rod blank, and to create wells that keep the adhesive from running out. Make sure there is plenty of adhesive epoxy to fill all that space and saturate the thread. Clean up the ooze before it sets. -Cliff Hall-

I habve used string many times for a reel seat. I use cotton chalk line which is a laid (twisted) twine. You can seperate the three strands and use one, two, or three to get a good fit. I also saturate the twine with 2-Ton epoxy. Here's how:

1. To see how much twine you need wrap the area where the reel seat will be with as many layers of twine as needed get a good fit by winding it on the blank. You can mark where to start and finish with some tape. Test fit the reel seat so the twine is almost all the way to the ends inside the reel seat. Remember when you saturate the twine with epoxy it will swell a bit so you are looking to get a snug but not too tight fit.

2. Mix up a fair amount of epoxy. This is not the time to be saving on epoxy because once you get going you don't want to run out in the middle of the process. The cotton twine will absorb some of the epoxy.

3. Take the test wound twine off the blank. Tape one end of the twine down with a small piece of tape and coat the blank with epoxy in the area where the seat will go. Wind on a layer of twine and cover with epoxy. Continue winding and applying the epoxy until you run out of twine.

4. Slide the reel seat on and make sure it is in the proper place on the blank. Using a spatula or small stick push the end of the string sticking out of the reel seat in to the seat so it does not stick out.

I also take some saran wrap and wrap the seat before I do anything to be sure the epoxy stays off the seat. When the foregrip is installed I usually fill the small empty space at the front of the seat with rod bond.

This method makes a very good seat but it does add more weight than arbors.

It does add more weight than foam arbors, but it's a very secure mount and the place where it adds this small bit of extra weight is low on the rod and not likely to really harm sensitivity by any noticeable degree. It's a good method to have in your bag of rod building tricks.

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