Hey guys,
I'm building a casting rod and I'm using an exposed blank reel seat. The instructions with the reel seat say to install the reel seat first ( for obvious reasons), and to install the rear grip from the butt of the rod.
My issue, I'm using an eva grip, and the ID is smaller than the diameter of the rod butt ... What is the best way for me to install the rear grip and insure that I'll get a good layer of epoxy or glue spread out under it?

Thanks in advance,
Bill

What are the obvious reasons you'd want to install the seat first? I'd put the butt grip on as usual, then mount the seat.


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The instructions say to fill the bottom of the reel seat up with epoxy, it is a friction fit on the blank, and I was just trying to figure out the order of operations ... this is the first exposed blank reel seat I've done ....

I can see having to do that from the bottom end, but there are other ways. Put enough epoxy on the blank and the seat will scoop it up and fill itself as you slide it into position. You may have to wipe or clean off any excess as you bring it down onto the face of the grip, but it still seems like the easier method to me. Perhaps somebody else will offer an alternative.

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Bill,
I use a lot of the exposed blank reel seats and basically do it just as Tom has suggested and it works just fine. First install the rear grip then install the reel seat using enough epoxy that the grip when pushed on will force some epoxy into the void at the rear of the reel seat. Then wipe off the excess epoxy on the exposed trigger portion of the blank. You will also want to fill the space at the forward end of the reel seat with epoxy or a shim of some sort, some use the graphite shims. This last steep is sometimes not necessary if the blank has a large diameter so that there is very little space between the reel seat and the blank.

Bill,
I second Tom and Emory's suggestions. Follow the general guidelines for EVA grips. Drop it on the blank, mark the spot where the bottom stops, then apply your epoxy about 12 inches forward of this spot. the length of the grip. Push the grip down into position while "pinching" the top around the blank. For the reel seat, I don't worry about the large space in the rear. Structurally, it isn't going anywhere. Just make sure that the areas that contact the blank have a good amount of epoxy. As Emory mentioned, I like to use a graphite arbor in the forward section where the threads are. This area is pretty thin and I like the support underneath as this is where the bulk of the pressure is on a reel seat. Clean up the exposed blank area with a Q tip and alcohol.

Can anyone give me some information on how to diassemble a fuji spinning reel seat?