Any ideas on how to remove a PacBay split style reel seat with minimal damage to blank and seat itself? Thanks in advance. FYI i do not own a heat gun

you can try hair dryer, put it in a plastic bag an put in boiling water, or buy a hear gun or rent one it would be a lot less trouble to buy a new reel seat my 2 cts

William Sidney
AK

I have used the same methods as listed above, all with mixed results. The water method has worked a bunch of times, but every once in while you get a seat that just won't budge.

It really depends on what type of glue or epoxy was used in the first place. If it was glued up with something like Rod Bond or Ultimate Epoxy it is on their for the long haul, that stuff holds! If they used a 5 min epoxy or some single part glue you stand a decent chance of getting it off with some heat (buy a heat gun, they are like 20 bucks) or putting it in boiling water. Go that route first if you want to.

As a last resort, cut it off and buy a new grip and seat, many times that is just the easiest way to go also.

Good luck and have fun!

I just have not found it to be time effective to spend time removing a $5-$20 reel seat. Take a dremel tool with an abrasive wheel and cut it off the blank and move on. It takes a couple of minutes to remove the grip and then you can get on with other things.
I just run a cut down the reel seat on each side of the reel seat. Then, stick a wide bladed screwdriver in the slot and give it a twist to pop the seat apart and off of the rod. I am careful to not quite quite through the seat when cutting. The screwdriver will complete the cut without having a worry about nicking the blank with the cutting wheel.

Be safe