I bought an Aero size 17 spinning reel seat for a 7½ ft. med action light saltwater blank (L905-MHX-CG). The blank is 19mm at the butt. This is the heaviest rod I have ever attempted.
Whenever I put the Aero reel seat without any arbor on the blank it is a snug fit whenever the back of the reel seat is at 12½ in. from the butt. As far as I know, Aero does not make a size 18 seat.
This gives me a slightly longer handle than I think I want. I was shooting for a 11-11½ in. handle. I looked in catalogs at various light saltwater rods and the handles ranged from 9 in. to 14 in. Selling price of the rods seemed to have no uniform handle length.
Can I mount the Aero size 17 reel seat on the rod with no arbor material and still get a good bond between the handle & blank, or should I purchase a size 18 seat and make it fit with an arbor?
I have used graphite and polyurethane arbors on other lighter rods & either one seems to make no difference. I have even used masking tape on a couple of cheap fly blanks approximately 50 years ago & still occasionally use the 9wt. rod for crappie rod.
I would appreciate your thoughts on arbor material for my heavier rod.

If you only have an inch or so to move it down,
why not use a round file and "open up" the ID of the reel seat?
Just be careful not to make it too thin.
We like using those seats in an "up-lock" position.
I believe not having to use an arbor is a good thing.

Best wishes,
Ron Schneider
Schneider's Rod Shop
Mountain Home, Arkansas
[www.schneidersrods.com]
mtnron40@yahoo.com
870-424-3381

x10 on Ron's comment.

Thanks for the info. I did some reaming and achieved a good seat-2-rod fit at 11 5/8 inches. I stopped there.
This seat has a palm swell & cannot be installed in the up-lock position; at least I could not figure out how to do it. I will purchase a locking-not to keep the reel tight in the down-lock position.

I always do all my reel seats down locking, I dislike unlocking reel seats, they were one of the reasons I starting making rods about 49 yrs ago. Direct contact of the reel seat with the blank is good thing, it will make the rod a little more sensitive. Many casting reel seat today are made to directly fit the blank. Take the shine off the blanks were the reel seat fits with steel wool or a scotch brite land and since you already reamed the reel seat you should get a good glue joint.
Norm