I'v e built other rods before but never a fly rod. I just purchased a Lami XMG 9' 2pc 4wt blank and have lots of questions on reel seat selections - specifically downlocking reel seats.

1. With downlocking reel seats, is there a cork transition ring required like uplocking reel seats or does the cork grip get mounted directly on top of the reel seat?

2. With other rods I have built, I usually insert a rubber butt cap over the cork grip or tape and be done with it. WIth fly rod blanks this seems to be a problem as you have butt cap on the bottom of the reel seat which must be considered. Do you ensure the rod blank is contained under the reel seat and not exposed so the butt cap can be put on? How much distance would this entail?

Last but probably the most debatable question - Snake guides vs single foot guides? I was going to use the manufactures recommended snake guides ( 1-1-1-2-2-2-3-4 and a 10 and 12 double foot guide). Can I use wire single foot guides in the same sizes? What about ceramic single foot guides? Are REC guides OK to use?

Thanks

Ron B

1. With a downlocking reel seat, the grip should simply have a flush bottom with no inletting. The only opening at the bottom is the reamed hole for the blank. The reel seat mounts up flush with the grip.

2. With the butt cap on a fly rod, what I do is to assemble the reel seat (including the butt cap) before I install it. That way it will fit right up to the end of the blank with no trimming required.

3. As far as I am concerned, there is no practical difference between regular snake guides and single-foot snakes. There is practically no weight difference, and no performance enhancement with the single foots. I use them on my rods at the preference of the customer, and consider it a cosmetic issue only. Yes, you would use the same sized single-foots as the snake guides. I do not use ceramic single-foots, except as stripping guides. There are those on this board that have done controlled experiments that show a definite performance improvement with these types of guides, but my customers tend to like the traditional look of the snake type guides. One of these days I'll take the plunge and give them a try.


Walt

Hello Ron,
I build primarily fly rods, but have not been using downlocking reel seats. They do, however, have a trim ring that butts up against the grip for appearance. You would want to ensure that the flat bottom of the grip is wider than the trim ring. This should not be a problem, and you should be able to specify this when ordering the reel seat and grip.

The butt caps on uplocking and downlocking seats are a bit different. On downlocking seats the butt cap has a hood integrated into it. On Uplocking seats the butt cap is more of a round button. I'm sure you've seen both. Though they are different this shouldn't be a problem. For uplocking seats I ream the wood insert prior to assembling the reel seat. I ream enough to allow the reel seat insert to slip on from the bottom. I then assemble the reel seat with Rod Bond epoxy and allow the unit to set up. In doing this I am ensuring that the bottom section of the rod blank seats down against the butt cap.

For some rods I have selected titanium single foot SIC guides. For four weight rods and below I have only used traditional snake guides, and even for nine foot rods have only used one stripping guide. I've gotten in the habit of using titanium stripper and tip tops with SIC rings on all my fly rods.

I have used REC Recoil snake guides on several fly rods and have a love/hate relationship with them. I'm attracted to the fact that they flex with the rod (a little challenging to hold in place while wrapping) but am very annoyed by the singing noise they make while line slides through them. Though I have a few sets lying around, I plan to switch to Snake Brand snake guides.

Jeff Shafer



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/19/2008 06:19PM by Jeff Shafer.

Guides - for a 4 wt I use size 6 or 5 ceramics and a 10 stripping guide. I usually use 1/0 guides wire guides. I do not use more than one stripper and I use one size of guide from stripper to tip. It is fine to use SF guides....often it will make the rod slightly more powerful/quicker/lighter vs double foots.

With the butt, make sure the blank does not extend beyond the end of the reel seat. I usually apply some extra epoxy inside the blank as well as around the outer edge of the seat.

You do not need a hollowed out transition cork ring with a downlocking seat.

Hope this helps.

It's late. I'm brain dead. But....too late to look up the guides n a catalog but I do not think you can use the same size wire snake guides as single foot ceramics. For example if you order a number 6 wire snake guide and a number 6 ceramic single foot guide they will not have the same size hole....or opening if you measure them.....I think. Anyway I built a 9' 2pc 4wt. Used Fuji Alconite black single foot guides. I like the rod. Size 8 stripper, 7 stripper, 7 tamer, rest....INCLUDING the tip tip.....single foot 6's.
Just FYI

Jeff Shafer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ... I've gotten in the habit of using titanium stripper and tip tops with SIC rings on all my fly rods.
> Jeff Shafer

Jeff,

Am I to assume that you are not using the standard fly rod tip top and use a regular tip top for your fly rods? If so, my rod calls for a size 4 tip and I would be able to use any tip with a 4 tube and say a 6 or 7 ring?

What about reel seats with inserts? They all mention the bore size. Does this mean that those fly rod reel seats with inserts have a hole drilled down the middle fof the wooden insert for the specified bore size? My rod blank has a .405 butt dia. Should I get a fly rod reel seat with an insert near or bigger than this dia - say .406,.420, etc.?

Thanks for listening...

Ron

Yes, fly rod seats have a hole in them to allow for the blank to reach all the way to the bottom. You can either order a seat with a slightly larger bore than the diameter of the butt of the blank, or you can ream it out (assuming it is wood).


Walt

Hello Ron,

The tip top I use on my fly rods is a Fuji TLST7L. It has an SIC ring which will not wear out. I can't comment on how much weight I'm adding versus a traditional wire ring tip top as I've never paid any attention to that.

As Walt mentioned the wooden insert is already bored out, and some manufacturers offer varying bores. If the bore size you purchase is smaller than the butt diameter, simply ream with a round file. If the bore size is larger, I use three 1/4" masking tape arbors to cause the blank to self center in the bore hole. I load a lot of Rod Bond into the reel seat insert and onto the blank to ensure that any gap between the blank and reel seat (usually very small) is filled with epoxy. Given the choice I'd rather ream out the wood insert so that the gap is small. In your case I think I'd purchase the .420 bore and center with masking tape arbors.

If you have additional questions, feel free to ask.

Jeff

Thanks to everyone for their help.

Ron B