I'm looking for rigid arbors that is as light possible for maximum sensitivity - to mate between the blank and reel seats. Any recommendations?
Thanks!

Probably the Fuji hard foam arbors.

I don't think any human could feel the difference between different RIGID foam arbors. They all weigh next to nothing. Probably the harder the better.

x 3.

Hi Mo..yes, you want light rigid arbors but maybe more important you want to use a full length reel seat arbor..this way the arbor is in contact with more of the rod and the arbor picks up more vibration which is passed to more of the reel seat then to your hand..leaving gabs or air in the handle will not transfer much vibration unless your fly fishing which is really expensive handline fishing anyway..lol.

I like the CFX arbors from mud hole.

The white poly arbors work very well and are much easier to sand than the much denser and harder Fuji arbors.

10-4 in the comment about using a full length arbor for the full length of the reel seat to transmit the maximum amount of vibration to the hand.

Be safe

Full length seat arbors won't transmit more vibration nor make the rod more sensitive than if you used less than a full length arbor. Use the shortest and fewest you can and still property support the seat. Less weight means a higher stiffness to weight ratio and that's what makes a rod more sensitive. Granted, as light as these brick-foam arbors are, we'd be talking a miniscule amount.

..............

Never used an arbor but thats probably because i build surf rods which have much more substantial butt sections which makes it easy to get the seats solidly snug without them . I suppose arbors would be pretty much standard fare for most everything other than surf and heavier duty rods.

Often, yes. You want the seat to fit your hand, not the rod blank. This usually entails having a seat with a larger ID than the blank's OD so some sort of arbor or shim is usually necessary.

...........

One avenue to consider is to turn your own arbors. Several years ago, I bought a box of scrap sign foam material (30# sign board scraps) from Atlas Signs and Plaques. This material turns really easily, can be reamed very easily, and can be made into any size you need. I checked (on-line) and they still offer the box of material for $10.00 plus shipping. There is more than enough material in the box to make several arbors.

Greetings Everyone- THANKS for all the responses. As usual, much much grateful!

Question - what is a 'brick foam' arbor that Tom Kirkman mentioned? And what are 'composite' arbors? Are there arbors hard to the touch like plastic/carbon fiber or are the more like dense foam? Can you tell - I've never used an arbor before....:)

hi Mo..you probably don,t need an arbor because you don,t use a reel seat and because you want a very light rod..maybe taping the reel to the handle which makes sense..plus that,s your M.O....lol.

Brick Foam are the common foam type arbors sold by Fuji, Pac Bay and others. Urethane types, such as those sold by Flex Coat, are just as good.

............

Anyone tried the Pac Bay Omni Arbor???

Those are very clever.

...........

i never tried the omni arbors but after pouring in all that epoxy they appear to be much heavier than a full length urothane arbor..but i need to try them to see..

Ben,
You do realize that you don't fill the arbor with epoxy don't you.
A layer of epoxy on the blank and a layer on the inside of the reel seat, push together and you are done.

[www.youtube.com]

Good luck



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/23/2019 12:55PM by roger wilson.

hi Roger..it looks like you need to fill the whole reel seat to have any strength..if you do as you say the seat will eventually work loose..the surface of the arbors is so small, they are just dams for the epoxy.. in the video he is skimpy on the epoxy for some reason.

Ben,
They designed the arbors and the video is their recommended installation procedure.

It would certainly seem like a reasonable idea to try out their instruction technique and see how it all works out.

I do agree with your thoughts on needing more epoxy, but if the designer says its enough, one should at least try one test rod to prove or disprove his statement.

Be safe