I have a salt water rod with an all aluminum reel seat. Due to my stupidity the reel seat needs to be rotated about 3/4" or 10 degrees to be inline with all of the guides, which are in perfect alignment. The seat was installed with 24 hour epoxe.
Can I heat the seat to try to soften the epoxe and then rotate it? I dont want to take the rod apart and then rewrap it unless I have to. What would you do? Maybe if the seat is large enough I could remove the rear hypalon and work from that end.
Any input or ideas are appreciated.

Thank you
Tom

Epoxy doesn't work like hot melt cement. Once you break the bond (if you can) the seat will be broken loose. The Epoxy will not reset when it cools.

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

Hi Tom,
You need to get it off, clean off all the old epoxy and redo it. Don't forget the inside of the seat. You might be able to get it off from the butt end provided the seat is not a snug fit. Don't know what you have for a rear grip etc but that has to come off. You might be able to loosen the epoxy with some heat but you need to be careful. Another method is to let it sit in some boiling water and then try to loosen it. Either way it may take several attempts before the bond is broken. A set of multi grips may help to loosen it but you'll need to protect the seat with a rag or similar. If the seat is a snug fit then you'll have to cut off with a dremel or similar but you need to be very careful that you don't damage the foregrip or the blank. If you get it off and rebuild from the butt end you may need to get a larger id grip to get it on. This may require some building up of the blank with thread so you get a snug fit.
Good luck.

ESFNEM Col
Port Kembla, NSW
Australia



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/10/2012 04:55PM by Col Chaseling.

I don't pretend to have the experience of others here. IMHO you have three options. At first look some appear to be more work. In the end you may learn otherwise.

1) Remove and rewrap all the guides. You have a pretty clear idea of what this involves.
2) Provided the reel seat can fit over the butt end of the blank you can remove the rear grip and reel seat. This seems to be the easy way out. First you need to know the reel seat can come of the butt and second you have to try and break the epoxy bond. Breaking the bond has the potential of ruining the seat as well as the blank. Depending on how the seat is installed, and the epoxy used, you may or may not be able to remove and save the reel seat. You are probably better off not even trying and cutting it off. Making a spiral cutt in the reel seat and inserting a screwdriver to "pop" it off entails less risk.
3) This will seem like an unbearable option but is the quick and easy way. I wouldn't pick it for a bass rod but it is fine for a heavy salt water rod. Cut the reel seat in half at a 45 degree angle. Split the reel seat after making a spiral cut in it. Remove the seat and gimbal. Obtain a piece of scrap blank the fits inside your old one. Solid fiberglass stock can be used and turned down to fit. Carefully make up an internal plug from your scrap that fits the inside taper of your blank's front and rear section. Use drywall tape to make reel seat arbors. Sand inside of the old blank and epoxy the scrap plug from butt end, install reel seat arbors, epoxy on the reel seat and plug to the front section of the old blank, and epoxy on your gimbal. It may sound radical but consider what a uni-butt or stuart tuff-butt with the aluminum tube is.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

hmmmmmmmm.... another issue raised here I think, Tom L seems to glue the reel seat after he wraps the guides..I personally do it the other way round, glue and finish the grips and reel seat then i wrap the guides, plenty of fine tuning to line the guides up to the reel seat but easily done. plus its very simple to line the reel seat up with the spine first of all, plus if I get into strife with grips or reel seat and they move before curing It wont matter,
cheers

Yep always do the handle assembly first A lot easier

Bill - willierods.com

If its for yourself heat it twist it then pin it Larry

How would you install the grip from behind once you have a taper ?
At the butt end you will have a Nice fit but close to the seat it will be lose. You might be able to wrap a thread in order to remove the taper but .....???!!!!! Lol

I build it up with 1/4" tape
If it is cork and you have a lath you can sand the cork make it level and slide the handle and onto that

That also depends on the seat The seat will have to fit over the butt end

Bill - willierods.com