Ok, so im working on building a ultra light.. Looking at the MHX S781-2, im kinda digging the minima split reel seat.. Im going minimalist on this build, but ive never done a split seat before.. Im planing on having the seat at 10, and 12 inchs from the butt... That measures 7.30 mm and 7.13 mm, now i know when you install spit seats they need to be fairly tight to the blanks OD, the smallest minima seat is a 9.5mm i know its literally just over a milimeter all the way around the blank, but is this ID compatable? I would prefer to not use a tape arbor.. I dont like them.. And if i go with silicone checks it will hide everything nicely.. I just dont want to get the reel seat and not be able to use it properly.. Or have issues due to the gap in the future...

What do you guys think?

I have not used these reel seats. I considered them on my last UL and did some thinking about how to do it as I would also have had a gap, in my case about 2mm. It is fairly routine to make up extremely larger gaps with tape bushings when mounting reel seats. On small gaps I see no reason for tape to cause problems.Two possible ways I was thinking of attacking this.

First would be a very thin tape bushing in the center of the two halves of the reel seat. I was thinking 1/4" tape. Fit the reel seat tight on the tape very tight near force fit. Would want it to act as a dam to keep epoxy from running out of the reel seat.Line everything up.Stand the rod vertical perfectly straight and clamp it in some way so it cannot move. Mix up a liquid epoxy. Pour the epoxy into the top of the two reel seat halves. Let cure. Flip the rod over and do the same filling the bottoms. Would create a epoxy bushing to support the reelseat and bond it to the blank. The tape would not be seen and would not be counted on for any structural integrity. You could go a step further and dye the epoxy and they would be no way of seeing the tape even without winding checks.

Other way I was thinking of doing this might provide a better bond. Wrap the areas under the reel seat components with thread.Black thread would not be seen. D thread is aprox .010. Four layers would be just a hair over 1mm. Epoxy would saturate the thread very well. You would have a very strong bond between reel seat and blank. Thinner layer of epoxy would be more flexible and may be less likely to crack over time than the epoxy bushing of the first option.

Again have not tried either but after letting the hamster spin the wheel in my brain for awhile these were the two options I narrowed it down to. For me it came down to looks just could not warm up to the split reel seats. Maybe on a larger diameter blank on a UL just look out of place to me.

If you have some broken rods or rod sections laying around you could make bushings that can be bonded to the seat and slipped onto the blank.

I have used broken rod sections to extend blank length and make sleeves to increase the blank diameter to install grips.

It would be a tedious job but may be worth the effort.

Otherwise use the thread approach as Michael suggests.

Have fun.

John

Masking tape is ideal for gaps of the type you describe. I have used them many times. I have no experience with the thread. Wrap the tape until you get just a little play between the seat bore and the blank. You want a film of epoxy, but not a lot. Wrap it tightly, mash it down well, and when you epoxy (I would use paste-less messy, very reliable, but different strokes) it make sure to cover the tape completely so no water can touch it. Two wraps (or three if you prefer) of 1/4 in tape under each piece should provide good structure. Be sure to scrub the area on the blank and seat bore that will touch the epoxy with a ScotchBrite pad to make sure the bond will be as strong as it can be.

I'm not sure how to treat the gap, but one way that I think will work well is to build a small filet of liquid epoxy (wrap epoxy will work) between the seat and the blank. Be sure the area that will show through the clear epoxy is blackened and the filet will appear black. This will not only provide a pleasing transition, but will seal the gap as well.

Drywall tape is a mesh. It will fill the gaps you mentioned, and still allow epoxy to adhere to the blank. there are at least two different mesh sizes I've found. I have read that there three, but have never seen a third size.

I over-wrap mine with a thread spiral, with thread spacing about the same as the mesh spacing.

Hey guys, i appreciate the suggestions, but I'm not dead set on either component.. I could look into other blanks.. With a slightly larger ID.. The style of that minima reel seat is what im going after.. Not that bubble look like the fuji SKSS seat... My mind is open for suggestions on both.. Im looking to make one the way they were designed to work, ive never installed a split seat so maybe putting an epoxy dam is correct, i dont know.. But i dont want to "make it work," if you know what i mean..

I do agree that using tape for this application is fine, i like the dyed poor epoxy idea, except im very limited in space.. Would be pretty difficult keeping it upright with my current work area.. That will be changing soon..

Anthony,
A different approach that would be perfect and still be very light would be to use a skeletal reel seat. Then, just glue and arbor in the front seat and an arbor in the rear seat, ream each arbor to size and glue the seat in place.

But, for myself, I really, really, really dislike the use a the complete split reel seat with nothing in between the front and rear parts of the reel seat. So,s along with the skeletal reel seat, I would put 3 cork rings to provide and space and I would glue them together and then turn them down to the size of the reel seat and you would have a great reel seat.

But, of course your choice.

Incidentally, if you were going to go with the reel seat that you are considering, I would certainly go with the tape arbor. I would use two or three arbors made of 1/4 inch wide tape and then insure that there was epoxy that both coated and tape and went down to the blank on each side of the tape. That way the tape is encapsulated in a thin layer of epoxy which will insure that the arbor will last as long as the rod.

I have built some rods using a tape arbor composed of rows of tape with a thin separation between the rows and have no issue at all with any of these rods, some of which are over 20 years old.

Anthony,
If you are going with the look of the Minima reel seat, use a minima reel seat with a short rear grip and a separated butt cap and you will have a great, very comfortable rod. No need for a fore grip on the minima reel seat.

When given a choice, my clients tend to choose the minima reel seat and short rear grip - time after time.

Since the size 17 reel seat is now available, I would use the size 17 reel seat, since it is more comfortable in my hands when fishing.

Good luck

Honestly guys i was contemplating a plate seat.. But im pretty sure they are waaay to wide for such a small area.. My brother has a Fenwick HMX with a split seat... I kind of like it.... I wouldnt put it on a river rod.. But for a quick visit to my local stream it would be awesome..

Anthony,
Another very nice grip is just to use a 6 inch Tennessee grip made of cork, EVA, or Texaluminum. Put on a separate butt grip on the rod and when you want to go fishing, just take a roll of tape and put a double wrap of tape on the rear reel foot and a double wrap of tape on the front reel foot - toss the tape in your tackle bag in case you need to replace the tape and go fishing.

Ultra simple, ultra light, effective and it looks nice as well.

When i say minimalist i mean minimalist.. I honestly dont even want to put a split seat on it.. If i could figure out a way to put the reel directly onto the blank with nothing, but still be able to remlve it, i would.. I really dont want any grips at all.. Or atleast as little as possible.. I threw the idea around of dipping the butt in rubber to create a slight teardrop buttcap, just enough to protect the blank...

Anthony,
To each their own, but I'm not a fan of either of your selections. A fishing rod is a tool like an other and to subject my small hands to the cramped position of either one of your choices for any length of time is not my idea of pleasure, my accuracy also suffers. Take a suggestion from the hand tools around you, none have a small grip, nor are they shaped anything like your reel seat suggestions.

Well, what is your perfect super light ultralight setup? The plan here is to go as light as possible.. No bigger then 6'6" your target fish are extremly skitish 4"-6" brook and native trout on a stream no wider then 13' and the deepest hole in the area is maybe 3 1/2' deep during heavy flow.. giant slabs of shale, verticle and horizontal so the fish have lots of places to hide, small waterfalls everywhere.. Tree branchs almost hitting the water in spots..

No weight, just a size 10 hook, (if that) and a worm.. Or my fly rod with a nymph...

I think the lightest of all , given that the ergonomics of no seat at all are too bad to consider, would be a rigid foam polyurethane seat shim epoxied to the blank and topped with epoxy to prevent it from shredding, then tape the reel to it. It would have decent feel/ergonomics, good transmission of bites, would secure the reel well, and would weigh very little.

Anthony, I understand your minimalist approach, but put me in the same camp as Spencer. Personally I wouldn't use a split seat on a spinning rod. When you grip a spinning rod you're gripping the reel seat. For me personally that means I want it smooth, and I want it to fit my hand. While the Pac Bay Minima seats aren't as bad as the Fuji SK2s, their is still a difference from the blank to the seat components that, coupled with the small diameter you're talking about, you may find uncomfortable. You say if you could, you wouldn't even want a reel seat on it. Tape a reel to a rod and try and fish with it for an extended period of time. My guess is after you do, you're going to want something with a larger diameter in your hand.

I use a Forecast 17 mm skeleton seat with an woven graphite insert on my spinning rod builds. It's comfortable, attractive, and pretty light.

As far as rear grip goes, I'd go with the split rear grip that's been suggested. There are plenty of options in EVA fighting butts that would work nicely, and for the rear grip behind the seat you might want to consider using a 2" tapered EVA foregrip and just mount it backwards. That's what I do for spinning rods. You don't need a long rear grip on spinning rods because of the way you actually grip the rod. For me personally, when I do a spinning rod I mount the reel seat, down locking. I do this for a couple of reasons. For one I don't like to feel the threaded barrel against the heel of my hand. It's uncomfortable. And secondly. with it mounted down locking I can cut the thread barrel down to where it just has enough threads left (+2) for the hood/nut combination. I don't use a foregrip, instead I use a little 1/2" thick EVA nub that I turn down the OD so it matches the OD of the thread barrel.

When I take the reel off, the nut will pass over the little EVA nub. With it that short it's very easy to reach the blank with my finger tip.

But if you're set on using the Minima, you could use the suggestion that Roger made concerning a skeleton reel seat. Use a foam arbor cut to length, glue them in the respective pieces, and ream to fit. When you go to glue them on, just tint your rod bond, or whatever type of epoxy you use, and tint it black,

A single layer wrap of Pro Wrap size C nylon with a light coat of finish increases blank dia. by 1mm. If you were to coat the thread with a light coat of rod bond instead of finish that should get you pretty close. Size E or EE even closer. If the Rod Bond is a little too thick after drying you can sand it down until you have a good fit. A Minima seat I have here only surrounds the blank for a distance of about 5/8"

I like the PacBay Minima casting reel seat, but dislike their spinning reel seat. It really feels strange when gripping the reel, and this is especially true with a small diameter blank. The seat becomes more tolerable with larger diameter blanks, but still not a good hand feel. As far as weight is concerned the Minima reel seat actually weighs more that the standard size16 Fuji DPSM reel seat, and the smaller the ID the heavier it is.
Norm

I agree with Norman 100%. I used a Minima spin seat on 1 rod and now wish I hadn't, not comfortable at all. Any size 16 spin seat with excess threads cut off on graphite arbors is as least as light. I have a 6'5"med light trout rod built this way that weighs 2.6 oz. 1.5" rear grip 2.25" fighting butt

Well.. Looks aren't everything... Functionality is more important... Im acually puting that project on hold.. I have 9 rods to work on that appeared today.. Cool and yet ironic that my wife got me a blue daiwa 212 ACG 6 1/2' rod made in the USA today on a whim.. Needs alot of work.. But its basically the red daiwas brother i just finished.. Ill get with you guys when the build is a go 100%

For light weight reel seat option I used a skeleton seat with a cork insert on one of my trout rods. I believe Pacbay offers a cork insert for their skeleton reel seats. Been awhile since I built that rod. Was on a UL fleaflicker blank from Clemens. Sweet little rod. Was a little to slow action though for me. Last rod I built replaced that one.

Went with a NFC FW602-1. About perfect action for worm fishing trout. I went with a skeleton seat and had planned to go cork again for the insert. I went with a split grip rear grip of 4" foregrip of 2". 1.5" butt. For the overall grip length I wanted balance was terrible. Needed some weight in the butt. Using a laminated wood insert in the reel seat solved my balance issue. Still old school and like the look of some cork ahead and behind of the reel seat.

Don't get too hung up on weight. Yes light as possible is a great goal to shoot for. But a heavier balanced rod will be better than a light unbalanced rod. I want the rod to feel as if it is nearly floating in my hand with a slight slack line when drifting a worm for trout.

I would suggest the NFC blank without hesitation. Run minima guides and use reel seat and grip of your choice. As I said I think the blank is perfect for stream trout bait rod. For further weight reduction keep the reel in mind. I found the Pflueger President XT size 20x to be a phenomenal reel and the lightest in it's class..