Guys,
Can anyone give me a tip for making a straight cut on a spinning reel seat?
I tried it yesterday and I unwittingly got in one of the thread grooves and it came out crooked.
Thank you.

You can try sanding your uneven cut to even with a belt sander

Wrap a couple of thicknesses of tape on your threads before cutting.

Several bands of tape as Sam suggests, will help function as a straightedge. Once cut, if you have a disk sander, you can perfectly square the edges if need be.

...............

Charles,
I use a chop saw with an abrasive blade to make the cut for the reel seat.

One thing that helps for some reel seats is to insert a snug fitting dowel on the inside of the reel seat, and then supporting the dowel on each end - when making the cut.
Many reel seats have protrusions on one side or the other. So, if you start to make a cut on the reel seat the reel seat ends up tilting one way or the other.

But, if you use a dowel, and then masking tape on the dowel to have a snug fit on the inside of the reel seat and then support the dowel on the ends, you can insure that you don't get any tilting.

Another thing to do is to rotate the reel seat slowly, as you cut. This will give you a uniform cut around the reel seat. You could always put the reel seat on a dowel in your lathe, and run the lathe at slow speed and use a hack saw blade to make the initial cut of the reel seat, to insure that the cut is uniform as well. By spinning the reel seat as the cut is made will insure a uniform and right angle cut of the seat.

Roger

I start the process by putting the reel (that will be used) in the reel seat and clamping it down tight. Then, I take my 1/4" masking tape, and make a very tight turn or two around the front edge of the front hood/nut. The next step is to unscrew the front hood/nut over the tape (if the tape is tight enough, the front hood/nut will go right over it.) Once loose enough, take the reel off, then tighten the hood back as far as it will go. Then, mask both hoods with electrical tape, then take the reel seat to the bandsaw, and cut along the tape line. The tape edge will keep the cut pretty straight, but not perfectly. (It helps to rotate the piece as you're cutting with the bandsaw.) Now that the extra threads are cut off, it's time to make the threads perfectly square. Take the electrical tape off the front hood/nut, then move the front hood/nut right to the edge of the cut threads, and use that front nut edge as your sanding edge against a disc sander on your lathe/drill. It takes a light touch, as you don't want to actually sand much into your front nut, but there's usually not much threads to sand. Go very slowly--you can take it off, but you can't put it back on. The final result is a very square edge, and no visible threads once your reel is on the rod. For a casting rod/reel, I just leave everything as is because I don't use any sort of foregrip. For a spinning rod/reel, I turn a really small o.d. "ramp" foregrip out of cork. The little "ramp" foregrip is a small enough o.d. that the front hood will unscrew over it.

Here's what it looks like: [www.rodbuilding.org]

Andrew,I really like that idea!!!
I gonna try that.
thanks,mikeb

Home Town,Gretna VA

I have used a fine hacksaw blade & a miter box to cut the reel seat. I make sure that it will be just a little bit larger than the reel feet that I plan to use on the rod & then cut about 1/32nd or 1/64th beyond this point. I then finish the end of the reel seat with a block of wood and fine sandpaper. I found that cutting slowly helps.

Charles,
All of these ideas are great for cutting a reel seat.
But I would really caution you against cuttin too many or for that matter, any threads out of a reel seat.
Folks will often cut threads or length out of a reel seat to Just accomate a given reel.
But for folks who take care of their rods, a rod will often outlast a reel by many years. Also, as time goes on, reels and reel designs change and often a reel will come along that a fisherperson wants to try on his favorite rod.

If the new reel happens to have a reel foot that is longer than the available space can make it impossible to mount the reel with out cutting off part of the reel foot. This is a distasteful ideas for most folks with a new reel.

So, certainly folks can and do shorten reel seats all of the time. I just urge caution, because it can often come back to bite the person who trimmed the reel seats too much.

Roger

I trim my reel seats on the lathe, with a parting tool. Makes very straight, square cuts.

Roger

Good excuse to build another
But you are right.

Bill - willierods.com

I use a hacksaw and a miter box to cut metal seats, then smooth/take the burrs off with a file.

No fancy equipment - there is a man with a plan

Bill - willierods.com

Not having a lathe or band sander, but having a table saw, I fit the reel seat into a cobbled holder to ensure it is square, then s..l..o..w..l..y run it through the table saw with a fine pitch carbide tipped blade. After that only a little hand sanding with fine sandpaper is required. I used to use a hacksaw, but never could get them square, even with tape as a guide. I don't think I have used this method on metal seats, but it might work since they are a lot softer than the carbide. You must move the part very slowly, adjust the blade for minimum height above the table, have it held down well, and keep track of your fingers.