Have turned my reel seat and now need to route/carve the channel for the reel foot. Is there a router bit for this operation? Tried using my dremel, but not as precise as I wanted.

Use a 5/8" or 3/4" finernail bit for making oval cuts and a modified 5/8" fingernail bit for mortised . Sometimes these bits can either be hard to find locally or very expensive. Mail order is a good choice for obtaining these. You probably already know, but when routing the spacers, I use roughly a 2 - 2"x2"x2" blocks of wood with a hole towards the end and bolt the spacer between them. I then run the blocks against against a fence on my router table. I install handles on the wood blocks to keep my fingers away from the bit, if I were to slip.

Thanks, I knew there was a better solution than the dremel.

Given the price of the bits the easy method is to choose seat hardware that handles full round inserts not requiring the mortise feature. If you intend to do a lot of them then a bit makes sense but if its only an occasional insert they don't pay back well.

Stan Grace
Helena, MT
"Our best is none too good"