Im stumped. Im taking the challenge of building my first heavy spinning rod. Just wondering if anyone uses Cork in between the reel seat and blank for thier heavy spinning reelseat arbors/bushings?? I have heard some preffer building up dacron or heavy butt cord/ cotton like threaded twine, glued then fitting the reel seat after the area has dried and been preped. I do not use tape , tho i often wonder about fiberglass tape..i always use polyfoam or graphite arbors on my lighter inshore/flats spinning rods. I want to use the fuji H22 boat rod heavy graphite reel seat on a heavy blank with a 8000/12000 shimano baitrunner spinning reel. And lastly if a aluminum reel seat is used for a heavy casting/bottom rod , what material would be used to make the reel seat arbors/bushings /shim for those reel seats ??

Any help is much appreciated.

The same brick foam will work fine. Make it full length instead of two shorter pieces.

If the fit is very close, there's certainly nothing wrong with a wrap of nylon twine as a bushing.

...........

I use drywall tape.

Drywall tape for me also. I use four narrow pieces with the adhesive heavily applied in between the strips

I'm not sure anything much different needs to be done for a "heavy offshore rod" than a ultra-lite rod. What I mean by that is the reel seat arbors that I have seen fail have always been what I'd call "poor material choices". Things along the lines of carboard tubes and the like. That and they haven't been well sealed with epoxy at the ends and allowed water to intrude.

Masking tape, mesh drywall tape, and graphite arbors will all be just fine if done right IMHO. Depending on the blank's taper, how long the reel seat is, and how my reamers fit the task at hand....I might go with with one long arbor or several short ones. Sometimes I use tape at each end (to insure reel seat is centered) and like three/four short graphite arbors in the middle.

I wouldn't really do anything much different for arbors on an aluminum seat but I'd spend a little more time on cleaning/prep of the reel seat beforehand. These days "heavy spinning" needs defining given folks are catching 1000# tuna on Stellas. I'm assuming you aren't talking anything like that!

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

No 1000 lb. Tuna..more like 165lb + Tarpon in the keys and 30lb+ Permit on offshore West Pam Beach/Broward county wrecks.
7'6 Lamiglas graphite inshore classic. 1/2oz-3oz lure weight .705 o.d. butt.

Ft. Lauderdale

I'd probably use a DNPSD20 seat with a full length graphite arbor. Some folks would call a tarpon/permit rod an "inshore" rod. All about what pound test you are fishing and it doesn't sound like you are going to be using 80# braid. Stick with how you have been doing things and I think you will be fine.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

Drywall tape here also

I greatly appreciate everyones generous input and knowledge
.. THANKS!!!!

Here's a link to a couple of boat plugging rods.

[www.donstacklehawaii.com]
The link is old. I do not believe the blanks are currently available.

Regarding the reel seat, you can use a lot of things when attaching it to the handle. The folks were probably refering to fiberglass drywall tape, not the paper type.

If you do decide to use a metal reel seat, it would be a good idea to stay away from wood products such as masking tape.

Don

Don Becker

Don, top notch work there!! Love the slit grips..thanks for sharing!!

..Cork is mention in the library on this forum..and Pac Bay has cork reel seat arbors for some of the metal fly rod seats?????? I don't fly fish..So what's the deal there??