What's the best way to remove a reel seat on a castining rod ? I'm thinking Dremel tool with a cut off wheel. -Thanks

Either that or a hacksaw. Make a spiral cut and try to stay out of the blank. When you have a cut the length of the seat, insert a screwdriver and twist it. The seat should pop open. At that point you can usually remove it. The seats on most commercially made rods are not installed extremely well and once you pop open the seat it should come loose fairly easily.

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SCARY! I was nervous the first couple of times but it does work and I've had no problems since making the repairs.

Mike-
Sam is right-it is a little scary the 1st time. Keep in mind that th threaded, barrel end of the seat is the thinnest part and it might be easy to get into the blank there. Take your time .

Chris

A dremel, or other abrasive grinding wheel will work to cut off the reel seat.
Also, a band saw can work well. With a band saw, you can use a thickness bar clamped to the saw bed to keep from running into the blank.
If you use an abrasive wheel, you can make a slit nearly through - running full length of the reel seat on two sides of the reel seat. Then, insert a screwdriver into the slit, give it a twist and normally the seat will pop apart and fall off the blank.
Once the reel seat is off, you can use a heat gun to soften remaining epoxy and use a razor blade, scraped at 90 degrees to the blank to clean up a blank.
It is normally not a good idea to use a knife or razor blade that is running nearly parallel to the blank during your clean up chores. It is too easy to slip a knife or blade under a piece of graphite and slice off a big piece of blank.

(Don't ask me how I know).

Take care
Roger