I am about to build my first super light freshwater rod. The few rods I have built so far have been saltwater rods. This is a 6' rod with crappie fishing in mind. The blank diameter at the reel seat is right at 1/4". Browsing reel seats it seems that even the smallest ones have an ID of around 1/2". I know I can compensate by using arbors or drywall tape but I want to make sure I'm not missing something. So I guess I'm just looking for a little input as to what reel seats I should be looking at. I'm building this for fun, not for a customer, so I am willing to experiment but I'd like to get it right the first time around.

Using arbors will be light and easy or you can use a minama seat, or a split seat or make your own insert to go with it. Inserts can be made with a lot of different materials. Check out Mudholes project x or tribal ink seats.

Mike

Jody,
Most of the crappie rods are built using a size 16 reel seat. Pick up a size 16 poly arbor, ream the arbor to fit the blank - glue up and you are good to go.

Take care
Roger

Thanks for the replies.

On most all my panfish rods i will just use a cork tennesse handle. Light and easy to do.

I don't know much about Tennessee handles as I'm pretty new at rod building. I'll look into that for future builds though. I ended up ordering one of the Pac Bay Dynawood seats. I like the way they look and they had a slightly smaller ID than some of the other seats. Thanks again for the advice.

Go to Swampland (link on the left) and look at the castaway reel seat might be just what you're looking for.
Bob

is it a spinning rod? if so, go with a tennesee handle...

On a rod that light the only choice for a reel seat is no seat at all. Once you start weighing things you quickly find out that reel seats are heavy, on an ultralight rod they weigh more than all the other components combined, and I bet that that wood seat you ordered weighs at least two times what all the other parts weigh combined. Another problem with reel seats on ultralight rods is that people order small diameter seats and they are not comfortable to fish with, if the seat is too small to fit in your hand it will never be comfortable.

I like to use carbon skinned split Tennessee grips and tape the reels on [www.rodbuilding.org], you only need about 5 inches for the reel to mount and be very comfortable in your hand, you can make the OD exactly the size that is most comfortable to you and the tapered ends are much nicer than sharp corners of a reel seat, and they weigh about 90% less than any reel seat. They are very easy to make, you don’t even need a lathe, I made my first ones with a drill and piece of threaded rod.

If you like the looks and are happy with the rod that is fine it will fish OK and still be fairly light, just know that the rod will weigh 3 times what it could have.

That makes a lot of sense. I should have given this thread more time before I placed my order last night!

Jody Pierce Wrote:
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> That makes a lot of sense. I should have given
> this thread more time before I placed my order
> last night!


Just another part for the Uh-Oh drawer. You know the parts, like Uh-Oh that don't fit, that looks stupid, now why did I buy that. Throw it in the drawer you might use it on another rod someday.

heck I got a very large Uh-Oh draw filled. I do use them before ordering more and try to use up what I got

It is always good to have and not want - who wrote that LOL

Bill - willierods.com

The Tennessee is probably the lightest.

I prefer something you can quickly change reels with, and something more secure. Try a #16 spinning seat with poly arbor and split it, using a cork insert. Pac Bay G16 has no rubber cushions in the hoods and may be the lightest, but could also scratch the reel foot (you could tape the reel foot so it does not scratch).

Another solution if you don't like Tennessee style is to get a size 16 skeleton seat, turn an insert from cork rings, length determined by your reel foot. You can make it any diameter larger than the seat ends that you want, just make a flat on it for the reel foot. If you have already ordered a reel seat you can cut it to make it into a skeleton seat. If you want to consider this approach, let me know and I'll send you detailed instructions. Another member of this forum did that for me a couple years ago.

Or do the Tennessee handle by turning cork rings on your drill press-it's pretty easy. And keep the seat for another build later.

A really simple and comforatble seat is to just have the cork grip and tape the reel to it.

The advantage of Tennessee and the last suggestion is that the rod may be adjusted somewhat for balance, depending on how long you make the handle.