i have been asked by a friend to replace some guides on a casting rod and i have a rod that i want to replace the real seat and handle. how do i remove the guides (Graphite rod) and the real seat also on a graphite rod? thanks guys this is a great site

First thing to consider on these "all the way" repairs/re-dos is this: Can I buy the same or similar blank and start over? Your labor stripping the old one and starting over is easily covered by the price of all but the very most expensive blanks.

Still wanna tackle it?

Cut the thread on top of the feet of the guides with a razor blade (don't cut where the blank may be accidentally cut into) and work the guides out of the split wrap. You'll be able to find a tag end of the remaining thread and unwind the rest of it. Use a bit of heat and your fingernail or a plastic picnic knife and scrape off the old finish carefully. If it had CP on the guide wrap, this'll be real easy. If just epoxy was used, it's gonna be a chore!

Lots of ways to do the reel seat. A search will show cutting the blank and replacing the reel seat while using a piece of blank glued in to "splice" the old blank back together. Others boil the old reel seat off.

You'll get more responses, I'm gonna go back to the football game... LOL!!

Putter
Williston, ND

the guides and reel seat are actualy on 2 different rods.

Since your going at the reelseat and grips you can strip everything off and start new, or strip off the grips and reelseat and mount eveything from the back with arbors as the taper of the blank is going to require your holes to be the diameter of the blank butt to pass back on. Everything will be loose and oversized on the blank.The grips come right off with a sharp knife skinning them off like filetting a fish. Don't cut the blank. The reelseat can be hacksawed off with your cut at an angle like a barber pole around from top to bottom and than use a screwdriver in the cut to twist and pry it off. Don't cut the blank. Either way as Putter said you really got to like that blank as the work and money involved is just about as much as needed to start from scratch.

ok, thanks for the info so far. I have the reel seat and grips off but now i need to know how to add some length to the butt section so i can use a longer grip. Can I use a woodedn dowl? or do I need to use something else? the rod is graphite and i need the longer grip as this rod is going to be a trolling rod for walleye fishing. it only need about 3-4 inches added to it. thanks again, Dave

I'd use a scrap piece of rod blank and find a piece that will fit over, preferably, but I've done many that go inside the blank and extend out, too. Don't use a wooden dowel, though. Trust me on that. Been there over 20 years ago and done that-they come back pretty quickly... :(

Putter
Williston, ND