I'm new to rod building - my only other experience was over 20 years ago. I bought a Sage VXP 9' 5wt blank with a butt size of .37. My question is about reel seats. I'm considering wither a Struble or an REC.
1) How much larger than the butt diameter should the I.D. of the reel seat be? The Struble U-20 offers only .36 or .42 options. The REC offers a standard size of .375, but with options to go bigger. Is .375 enough clearance for the epoxy?
2) Also, Nickel Silver or Anodized Aluminum? I read where the NS will tarnish and therefore require constant maintenance. Interestingly the REC anodized aluminum offers the choice of a nickel silver finish.... Is this just a matter of personal preference?
3) Lastly, I read where on a rod and reel of this light weight, a down locking reel offers better rod balance. Again, is this just personal preference?

That's a super nice blank to be starting on!

1-The smaller the clearance the better. In fact, if you use a foam or graphite arbor, you ream it to a snug fit so there is just enough room for an ultra thin layer of epoxy glue.

2-Me personally-Anodized aluminum wins every time. Struble and REC = First quality.

3-Don't know. I have a lot of fly rods, and all are uplocking except one ancient 3 weight. I'd say personal preference, but uplocking helps to keep the reel out of the dirt when you set the rod down.


You might consider building a very cheap fly rod first and learn the process before you build that nice of a blank. If I could start over, I'd get a $30 blank, some inexpensive snake guides and a St Croix handle kit. You could build the entire rod for $75 or so and it would be OK to make a mistake or two. I know my first rod has flaws you can see from a distance and my second rod was nice enough to give away as a gift.

Drew

Thanks for the suggestions, including the "practice" rod recommendation. I think I'll go that route. Do you have any suggestions on a cheap fly rod blank that will still make a usable rod?

I would second Drew's suggestion to start on something a bit less expensive.

Mud Hole offers a St Croix "kit" that would be perfect AND very fishable ... the SC4/2, 2-piece, 9 foot, 5 weight. It is inexpensive and an incredible value. The SC4/2 series is an extremely nice blank, you would definitely be able to use it yourself - you might even prefer it over other rods you own. It is the same blank that is used in the Imperial series, which has won rave reviews ... and for good reason. For the price, you won't find a better option out there IMO.

[www.mudhole.com]

Likewise, I would suggest starting with a much cheaper blank. Personally, I'd go with something like a Batson RX7 or a Pac Bay Rainforest. The St. Croix's are awesome, but still a bit pricey for a practice rod. The RX7s and the Rainforest blanks are good quality, pretty and quite inexpensive. I have several that I fish with on a regular basis still.

1. If you have reamers, you can use the smaller i.d. seat, ream it out ever so slightly, and have the perfect fit. That's what I'd do. But, if you don't have reamers, then get the slightly larger i.d. seat, use some thread wraps on your blank to shim the area, then epoxy it up. Either option will give you a great bond.

2. I'm not really fond of NS. It's pretty but high maintenance. After the first few fishing trips, it starts looking junky, and you have to work to maintain it. Further, the hoods are always an exceptionally tight fit on the reel feet, and sometimes get stuck. Aluminum is better, IMO. But, the best option is just to use a Fuji skeleton seat, and turn an insert to fit that. A basic black Fuji seat attracts no attention (allowing all attention to focus on the wood insert). But, if you don't have a means to get an insert for a Fuji seat (i.e. lathe), then I'd go with the aluminum seat.

3. Down-locking seats are always better, IMO. I've found only one situation where I like up-locking seats on fly rods: 7-10 wts. that use fighting butts. All rods without fighting butts, though, should be down-locking. I understand the concern about "keeping the reel off the ground." But I find that the reel touches the ground anyway most of the time. And, I kinda' figure that getting a reel scratched a little is just occupational hazard for fisherman. Up-locking seats require burying the front hood in the rear of the grip. If you're turning your own cork grip, inletting that last ring is a little annoying. There are ways around it, but I just don't like messing with it. And, since I like half-wells or cigar grips most of the time anyway, up-locking and inletting isn't a very good option. Further, I think that down-locking seats do offer an extreme advantage in terms of balance.

I had not seen those St Croix SCIV kits before-that does look like a nice value package.

For rock bottom prices, the Utmost closeout blanks are hard to beat at $20-$30. Similarly, the "Tiger Eye" from Sevier are a bargain at $30.

In fact, at Utmost, you could get a blank and ask them to put the rest of the package together for you. They sell a lot of Batson stuff too, and I like the Batson handle kits (very similar to the St Croix kits) for quality/value. I have found them very good to deal with.

Drew