I was told that the Lakeland 2 piece aluminum reel seats #7166M-BG is the better reel seat to use on a 80# line class rod that I want to build as a two piece travel rod. This build will be for a travel jigging rod rated for 80# test line. I was told not to use the smaller 3166M-BG as the threads and wall thickness of the reel seat is smaller and would not stand up to the rigors of a 80# class rod.

Here is my problem. The blank that I will be using will be cut at a location where the O.D. of the blank is only .50 inches. The I.D. of the reelseat is 1.0 inches ( the I.D. of the 3166M-BG is .765 inches. In the past, where I have used the smaller reelseat, it has been difficult to get the reel seat perfectly centered so that when the two pieces are epoxied on to the respective pieces, they will turn without any wobbles. In the past, my technique has been to use dry wall tape.

My question is, would it be better to use arbors instead of the drywall tape and what are the issues in getting the correct fit and alignment without wobble? I do not have a lathe nor do I know how to use it if I had one.

Use arbors. Glue into the reel seat, then when dry ream the arbor to fit the blank. The bore is concentric to the outer diameter, so everything should line up straight. Go slowly and check often when reaming. For that size blank, I'd glue the arbor, then drill it out with one of Flex-Coat's pilot bits to a bore just smaller than the top part of where the seat will fit. This minimises the reaming you have to do. The pilot bit will stay centered. If you try to ream too big a hole sometimes you can go off a bit.

Who told you that it would better than what? Any of the seats from AFTCO, AMTAK, Batson, Perfection, Pacific Bay, etc., will easily suffice.

I'd use the full length arbors from Flex Coat if you want to save time and have a product that will hold up over the long haul. Drywall tape will certainly work, but will just take a little longer to wind and epoxy.

What Ted told you about the pilot bits is something I'd heartily agree with. Any builder that builds more than a couple rods per year should have a set.

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Tom, the comparison that I was making is within the same manufacturer's products. This is a two piece reel seat that makes the rod break down into a butt section from the reel seat down and a locking ferrule from the reelseat to the tip. Only the size is different as they make three or four different sizes. Normally, I would use the smallest ID reelseat but I was told to use the largest because it is built more heavy duty. Only problem is that I have so much more space to fill between the blank which is .5" and the reel seat which has an ID of 1.0 inches. I have used dry wall tape in the past but I have to be very careful with the final adjustments to make sure that the reel seat and the ferrule is centered so that when I wrap that rod, it will spin the same as before cutting and adding the reel seat.

I guess the concensus is that I should used the arbors. Never used them before as I generally am able to use a reel seat that does not need much in the way of filling space. Have questions as to what arbors to get and what pilot bit set do I need. I need to dig up the issue of Rodmaker that dealt with this. Thanks for all the responses.

You have another alternative - you could mount a short section of heavier blank scrap over/onto what you have now and mount the seat on that. It would be heavier than the urethane arbors, but might not matter much for you on a rod this heavy to begin with.

Yes, that method would work too. It was suggested to me for extending a two piece 9 ft surf blank to make it a three piece 11 foot blank. I still have to contend with the top section though which would be even further up the blank to maintain the short 5.5 ft lenght and the action of the blank would change as well.

No, I was only suggesting that you enlarge your current blank in the seat area by use of a larger sleeve.

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Oh, I understand. Thanks.

If the reel has a reel seat clamp, it really won't matter if you use a smaller one that fits the blank. In fact I'd prefer that as you won't have to worry about the clamp denting or crushing the seat as the seat will be up against the blank on the inside. Not sure how much pressure the Flex Coat bushings can take, although those seats have pretty heavy walls to begin with.

I was told that the bigger seat has thicker materials and better threads. Remember, this is a two piece reel seat that allows the butt section to be removed from the tip section. Sort of like the uni-butt concept.