Today I received some rod building supplies and to my surprise the reel seat is one that requires a milled insert. By that I mean an insert with a flat channel that the reel foot sits in. Does anyone have a link to some online information about how this is done? I turn my own reel seats, and I do have a router but I don't have much experience with the router and I have no idea how to go about making this channel.
Thanks in advance.

Darrell....Take this as FWIW ok. I have successfully used an end mill in my drill press to mortise the grove in reel seats. It's a little time consuming since I make many shallow cuts that overlap each other. I use a machinest's vice to control the movement across the end mill, but it could also be done with an ordinary vice moved by hand and guided by two strips clamped on either side of the vice on the dp table.

email me for more info if you'd like.

cheers....Rodge

Bob Venneri makes a router bit just for this purpose, a modified 5/8" moritising bit (or half bull nose).
He also makes a special jig for using it to make reel seet inserts.

I purchased this bit and I am currently working on my own jig to do this.

I know others on the board make the mortise manually, either by carefully carving or sanding the groove, but I've not done it that way.


Walt

Use a finger nail bit (half radius) , 1/2" diameter bead. set up a jig with a bolt and nut to hold the insert as you pass it thru the bit.. I am assuming you have your router in a router table.

I made a little wooden saddle that slides along the lathe bed. It holds a dremel tool mounted so that the point of the bit cuts. I use a router bit in it and rough out the groove for the insert while the insert is still mounted in the lathe. A little sanding to even out the little flat spots from each pass of the router bit finishes it. A little slow, but it also works very well with figured wood and bad grain direction that I would be afraid to tackle with a fingernail bit in a router table.