I recently acquired a couple old Montague rods in fairly bad disrepair. Am wondering how to best remove the grips and reel seats so I can start from scratch on refinishing the blanks

Thank you,

if the reel seats are all metal which a lot of Montys were. first look for a pin in the endcap. it may look like a small brad. pull it out, gently heat the reel seat and it should come of. more than likely there will be a wood spacer under there. knife,chiesel, screwdriver, whatever works to pop off the spacer. knive to slice the grip lengthwise then pop it off in chunks. scrap and sand the cane below the replace with new.

Thank you! I want to "practice" on this rod as it was fairly inexpensive to acquire. Any suggestions on a new cane blank maker for a net new build?

I've been told that the president series blanks from Anglers Roost (on the left) are good quality. Of course there are a lot of individual bamboo builders that will build a blank for you but the price will be much different.

Also on your refurb, after the guides, wraps, grip and seat are removed, you'll probably want to remove the finish as well. A cabinet scraper is a good tool for this, or a utility knife held at 90 degrees to the blank. Don't shave, only scrape. Sand lightly and refinish.

Terry

Thanks a million, Terry... this will be a fun project and I'll take some before & after pics. Will even post them if the "after" turns out nice!

anglers work shop carries a unfinished blanks give them a call they seem to know what they are doing they are a supporter on the left