hello everyone,
i was wondering how some of ya'll glued your reel seats. i have been using 5 min. epoxy setting my rear grip, then placing it in my cork clamp. after this has set up, and i am sure it is cured, i then slide my reel seat onto the blank and mark the leading edge with a china marker so as not to get my masking tape arbor out of my seat area. when i glue my reel seat and fore grip on with the 2 hr. epoxy are you supposed to only apply enough epoxy to bond the reel seat to the masking tape arbor, or do you let alot of the epoxy run into the gaps between the sections of masking arbors? i have later found that after everything is set up and i am shaping and sanding my rear and fore grips that my rod is spinning out of balance. is this because i am applying too much epoxy and it is settleing to one side fo the blank more so than the other, thus making my rod out of balanced? please - any help would be appreciated. thanks.

My suggestion, switch to Rod Bond. Much easier to use and way more forgiving on the mix. Plus it doesn't run, it stays where you put it.

Bill in WV

David,

There are several reasons as to why your rod is running out of true. Most likely are the corks which will probably be not dead center. Then your actual reel seat is not symetrical in design and will produce out of balance forces. It is unlikely anything to do with your epoxy. You may have a blank which is curved. How many steadies are you using. Is your head stock and steady lined up properly. If the corks are the culprit as you turn you will true them up and the blank should run truer. We are dealing with rod blanks here and not metal bar. Few blanks are dead true and some run out is unavoidable. We have to learn to live with it to a degree.

You would want to secure the seat to the blank.The tape will act like a cushion,also it will over time loosen up.Best bet is to use the Flex coat type foam arbors.Since I started using them things go much faster if speed is what you are looking for.Glue the arbors in the seats when you first get them and have them ready to ream as needed.The use of the Flex Coat bit will keep it centered although it can be enlarged with a hand reamer.

Freddwhy (Rapt-Ryte)

David,
I would second the suggestion to switch to Rod Bond. Use it for all you handle/seat applications.
Its a paste epoxy and easy to work with. It stays where you put it.
Work towards getting more of the blank bonded to your seat. Not just the arbors.
I would also suggest using fiberglass drywall tape as your arbor material.
Its woven design allows you to work epoxy into the weave and onto the blank giving you a better bond.
I build up two 1" arbors with it (with the reel seat on, the arbors are at each end of the seat).
I use enough epoxy so the holes of the arbors are caked with epoxy, as well as the section in between them.
Be sure to prep your blank as well as the inside of your reel seat before you apply your epoxy.

RB

The flex coat arbors are a much better way to go David. They are cheap to buy, they ream out super easy and you can do your entire "glueing" all at once:

Last night I scuffed the blank, reamed the cork handle, reamed the flex coat arbor, scuffed the inside of the reel seat, aligned everything, applied flex coat epoxy to the rod blank 5" above where everything will sit and all the way to the end of the blank, added the cork, turned and worked the cork back and forth to make sure pleanty of epoxy was all inside the cork, slid it into place, added the flex coat arbor next, turning it to make sure it was fully epoxyed inside, then added more epoxy to the outside of the flex coat arbor and brushed some inside the reel seat evenly, then slid the reel seat in place (this rod gets an epoxy foregrip later). Take alcohol and clean up excess epoxy-you're done.

It only takes a few minutes to do this way and you can do it all at once. Making your parts fit nicely you really don't need to place anything into a clamp or do things in several steps (unless you're building cork rings).

On your epoxy issue, I doubt anyone can get TOO much epoxy in the reel seat/handle area and get it to stay inside if your parts are fitted correctly. Another note, some 5min epoxy is water proof, others are NOT, they are water "resistant". Make sure you choose the right epoxy for the job. I like a longer working time and I use the "Flex coat Rod Builders Epoxy Glue" it's designed for the job at hand and I like the 1/2hour+ working time, also I believe an epoxy that "runs" will fill better into small areas that paste epoxy's won't go-but that's just me, the pastes work well also as stated.

Masking tape....I agree with Fred above, and IF I were to use masking tape, I'd want to ENTIRELY cover ALL the tape completely with epoxy before I added my "over part" (reel seat or handle). If you have to use masking tape the coating of epoxy will help preserve the tape for a lot longer lasting arbor, and if coated REALLY well, I suspect the tape will last as long as the rod.

DR



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/10/2006 10:25AM by Duane Richards (DR).