Hello all. wish I was down at the expo, but I will hope to make it next year!!

I think I may have turned my wood down a little too much on my first seat. How much play should I have under the hoods? I assume I can make this up with tape but just making sure. Here is a pic:

[www.rodbuilding.org]

Thanks!

Scott

"My biggest fear in life is that when I die, my wife will sell my fishing gear for what I said I paid for it."

Well, I tend to be a perfectionist, so I would start over. I'm not sure how it would look with those gaps in there.
Other than tha diameter issue, I think you did a great job and I really like the two-tone look!

Walt Natzke
Ripon, CA

Great advice, and I really appreciate the comment!

Scott,
Make another one. You will be happy that you did.
Remember, this reel seat will likely be on the rod a very long time. If you don't do it the way that you really want to make it; every time that you look at it; you will be sorry that you didn't redo it.

The time spent to redo it is just a fraction of the time that the reel seat will be on the rod.

If you have to redo it a dozen times to get it right; it will be worth it in the end.


Good luck
Roger

Good point thanks Roger. Starting a new one now. So it should be snug then right?

take your time and measure VERY OFTEN

Bill - willierods.com

It looks a little long also. Most reel feet are 2.5 inches long. So when you completely tighten the seat it would be 2.5" from the outside edge of each hood. I would use a reel and put it on where you like it, then mark it where you will glue it up.

David Dosser
Coshocton, OH

excellent advice, thanks guys.

I would definitely follow the advice above. In addition to measuring the reel foot and determining the length dimension, I put a small shoulder where each end of the reel seat will stop on the insert. Turn the center portion so it's just a tad smaller in diameter than the reel seat, then the foot rests on the reel seat and not the wood. It prevents wear on the wood insert and still provides good reel seat security.

If you are using a mandrel with the insert piece, you can just let the reel seat parts ride along on the mandrel as you are turning, and stop to check the fit often.

Terry

thanks Terry, appreciate it!

Terry,
I don't necessarily agree with your comment about making the center portion a bit smaller than the reel seat to avoid wear on the wood.
The thing that this is called is a reel seat. I believe that the definition of the reel seat is something to support the reel. If you don't have the reel resting on the center portion of the reel seat, the reel will not be as well supported as if the reel seat were not made full sized.

There is nothing wrong with the wood showing reel seat marks. After all, the marks are covered when the reel is in place. If the reel is not on the rod, what difference does it make if you happen to see wear marks on the wood?

I purposely turn all of my reel seats, so that I can see 100% on the full length of the reel seat when the reel seat is locked down.

Take care
Roger

Hello Scott,
As I look at your reel seat insert I'm not sure I'm seeing a correct fit. Not necessarily the exposed barrel diameter or overall length, but I think I'm seeing one continuous diameter inserted inside the threaded barrel on the upper end and extending down and into the butt of the reel seat. I have only used the spin rod version of this reel seat hardware so maybe I’m not looking at it correctly.

What I’d expect to see is the exposed wood diameter matching and butting up against the end of the threaded barrel. The wood section that is inserted into the threaded barrel is sometimes referred to as the tenon. The tenon is turned to the inside diameter of the threaded barrel, a smaller diameter than the exposed section. At the butt end the ID of the hardware is the same as the diameter of the exposed barrel of the insert.

If I’m misinterpreting let me know.

Jeff

What is the most common type of wood used on inserts? Or do you mostly choose color? Has anyone used Cocobola or Tiger Wood? (I've got some laying around the shop) If so, how did it turn out? Thinking of turning my own insert on my next rod.

Cocobolo is commonly used. I have several lengths of cocobolo and each has its own characteristics, visually. It's an oily wood so if you're planning on using an oil/urethane finish you'll need to draw oil from the wood before applying finish. Otherwise your finish will continually pull oil from the wood and remain tacky. I'm not familiar with tiger wood.

Jeff

No Jeff, you are right on, that was kinda the reason for original post. Not only was it too thin, but I did not have any tenons. I am doing a new one, and this time i am using Purple Heart with a white maple strip in the middle.

Thanks!

Chris, Cocobolo is fantastic. Havent used Tigerwood but do a search in photos, it is beautiful.

I have use the cocobolo for turning duck calls. Never had a problem with finish. But I used something other that rod building finish. I used a spray can of automotive clear coat. Very hard and holds up well in the elements of duck hunters. Not sure how it would do in this application. How would you go about drawing the oil from the wood?

Automotive clear coats shouldn't be a problem over oily woods because as far as I know they don’t contain oils. I'm referring to gunstock finishing products like Pro Custom Oil or Tru-Oil which have Tung oil and Linseed oil respectively. For oily woods like Bocote, Cocobolo (and other rosewood family woods) I soak the turned and sanded insert in acetone (inside a sealed cigar tube). Three soaks, a couple of hours each leaches out a lot of oil. The wood then looks pale in comparison to its normal appearance. But when you rub in Pro Custom Oil the colors are rejuvenated and the wood looks normal again.

Jeff

Thanks for the help.

Scott - thanks for starting this thread. Made me start thinking of things around the shop i could use on the next rod.

Scott,
Here is a pretty good video on turning a reel seat insert.
In this case it is a fly rod handle, but the principle is the same.
Note the tenons on the reel seat that the builder is copying with the tenons on the ends of the seat?

[www.rodbuildingtutorials.com]

Roger

This catalog page from Merrick Tackle gives nice pictures of reel seats and inserts.
If you go down to the page where "wood inserts" are shown, you get an excellent picture of the typical turned insert for a sleletal reel seat as you are turning.

[www.merricktackle.com]

Roger