I have a bunch of old deep sea rods and Penn reels that I want to fix up. I understand it is not financially worth it, but money and time are not an issue. I'm just looking to practice, see how things work, and have some fun in my shop.

I have a rod with a long wood butt and a wood handle above the reel seat. The wedges (or place where the reel locks in) are broken and have been removed. I still have the body of the reel seat and the nut. So here's the directions I could go, as I currently see them:

1) Use the dremel and split the reel seat off and buy a new one. I'm not sure how it was made so I'm not sure I could do this?

2) Coggle up some new wedges that have a split in the ring. Fit them over the reel seat and then epoxy and thread them in fo strength. I could turn this into an "art" feature of the rod?

3) Any other ideas? I would like to go way out of the box with this one!

Thanks for your help,
John

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by "wedges." If I could see a photo I could better advise you.

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I have a large supply of Varmac wood rod butts and some Varmac reel seats. Send me a photo, and I will see if they would work for you.

Tom, after a little more digging the two pieces that I was calling the "wedges" are what I now believe are the hoods. Sorry I can't post pictures. This site is not too intuitive. Or I'm just not that bright. Maybe a little of both.

Has anyone ever made up their own hoods to be installed after the wood above and below the reel seat?

Randolph, that is a VERY generous offer. If I end up having to replace the wood I will turn new pieces on the lathe. I am a woodworker and metal worker and the thought of making my own parts is what has me looking at recycling these these old rods. i know it's not the traditional approach, but the challenge of it is certainly driving me.

Thanks again,
John

Complete instructions for posting photos are above at the top of the forum.

You'll be a lot better off replacing the seat rather than trying to make new hoods to fit what you have now. If you want a challenge, well, making new hoods would be just that.

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Perhaps you should cut the handles off Then bore them out to make them lighter with seat arbors glued inside Use for other rods

Bill - willierods.com

Personally, I'd cut the forward grip off and replace it with EVA.

These are older rods
Are they tip into butt rods

Bill - willierods.com

Bill, the majority of the problem is that I don't know how they are built. THis is from lack of experience. I heistate to cut out the reel seat out to investigate until I've exhausted all other options.

I seriously don't think you will encounter any hidden issues by cutting off the forward grip and reel seat. That is exactly what I would do...without hesitation.

Hello
I am currently in a similar re build, and i have completed one a few years ago. I can only tell you that I replaced the old reel seat by using a dremel.
In my opinion the older rods are so much more appealing to the eye when the are restored. New guides, new reel seat, wood sanded and re-stained.

My question to you, will you use any poly on the wood.

Thanks for all the tips!

Frank, I went to my favorite woodworking site, lumberjocks.com, with your question. I got three very different but all quality answers. I am curious what the pros on this site think?

Here's how I posed the question: I could use some good advice on a tough finish spec. I am rebuilding some old saltwater fishing rods. They have the old style long wooden handles. I am looking for the best way to finish. The rods will see salt water, get regular fresh water rinses, and a fair amount of the outdoors. A heavy poly? Maybe an annual soaking of oil? Any and all advice is VERY appreciated!

Answers:

1) I’d go for an epoxy finish. completely seals the wood against sand, salt and water. Sand would abrade the wood, salt would dry out the wood, any splashes would leave standing water that causes splits and discolouration. Take no chances with any of that stuff.

Maybe cut it with CA glue to make it super resiliant?

if you don’t like the shiny finish, just grind some chalk into a bowl of soapy water and rub to a satin finish

-- Ben, England.

2) Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil. It is for finishing gunstocks. I used it for years for building fishing rods. Any gunshop or box store should have it.

3) Just use spar varnish, a couple of coats should work well. Spar varnish has UV inhibitors in it and is designed for outdoor use exactly like the fishing rod handles will see. Simple and works well.

I believe I would start with #2, the oil finish. I love working with oils because it goes on so easy, you can use as many coats as you want, and I can re-finish projects at any time. With the other two, there is more work is stripping the old stuff before refinishing. I could picture giving each fishing rod a polish with oil after each season or every other one?