Hi

What technique do you guys prefer? Are you placing your seats using a tape or graphite arbors? Which one is better and why? I`ve just ordered fuji exposed reel seat for my first rod and I`m wondering how to place it.

Thanks,
Bartosz

The full seat length nylon Fuji reel seat arbhors is the trick if they will work out in your exposed situation, which they probably will not. its a toss up between fiberglass drywall mesh tape saturated with epoxy and built up to the correct I.D. or Graphite arbors, cut to fit both seat I.D. and blank O.D. are your next best bets. I have on occasion used HD button and carpet sewing thtread saturated with epoxy on each layer and built up to the correct I.D. for the seat. I like doing this when I have to internally sleeve a fighting butt extention onto an original blank butt section, as I then cover the entire overlapping area under the reel seat.

Measure placement and take blank areas to be bonded to water wet condition. Be careful not to scour the exposed area of the blank. Recess the front end of your cork to fit the back end of the seat or make a cork shim - firm slide fit with the seat - cut about an inch of Flexcoat foam arbor - file or drill the ID with the Flexcoat Arbor Tool - Rod Bond and slide all in place. Less than 10 minutes of fitting work and a joint that will take anything. Carefully wipe all excess Rod Bond from exposed section of blank.

Bartosz,
The exposed blank reel seats should fit snug against the blank and do not require any arbors to make them fit properly. If you chose to use an arbor instead of epoxy at the rear end of the reel seat or under the threads that it fine but the center part of the reel seat, where the blank is exposed, should fit tight against the blank and no arbor is required or should be used.

I started using the Flex Coat abors and drilling system as much as I can. It's just faster. And I think the urethane stuff the arbors are made from should be indestructible and not affected by water or age.

The exposed grip part should fit tight to the blank but it's always good to put about an inch of Flex Coat arbor where the threads are, that is if you are usig Fuji seats. If ou are using Forecast exposed seats you don't need anything as long as it is tight to the blank where you want it.

Flexcoat arbors nut like everyone has pointed out, blank exposed seats don't need them though as they should fit snug

Mike (Southgate, MI)
If I don't want to, I don't have to and nobody can make me (except my wife) cuz I'm RETIRED!!

I have used all types of shims, and they all work. Tape is very easy but must be encapsulated to prevent eventual failure. Many prominant mfgers used tape at one time, and may continue.

Still, I prefer using drywall tape. It is light, synthetic, and some have adhesive on them. In conjunction with thick rod bond epoxy, wonderful results.

Hive



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/08/2006 08:09AM by Robert Hively.