What's the safest/most reliable method for removing blank exposed type reel seats from rods for rebuild?

A careful spiral cut-split. Be wary of using heat - you can easily damage the rod blank.

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i only ever did one with a hacksaw..i got it off but never again..too risky.

Nathan,
As Mr. Kirkman said the spiral cut will work well.

When I do it, I tend to use a dremal tool with an abrasive cut off wheel to cut almost through the reel seat on two sides of the reel seat. Then, I insert a wide bladed screwdriver into the slots that have just been cut. Then, the screwdriver is twisted and the reel seat will just pop off of the rod blank.

The process of using the wide bladed screwdriver and giving it a twist when it is in the slot develops a great deal of force that will easily break the glue bond.


Take care

"The process of using the wide bladed screwdriver and giving it a twist when it is in the slot develops a great deal of force that will easily break the glue bond. "

This is very true and also why you do not need to cut all the way down the rod blank. Just get close. Work slowly and carefully. Should be able to remove the seat in about 15 minutes or less.

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What do you do when you need to save the seat but it has to come off?

Dennis J. Danku
(Sayreville,NJ)

I doubt if a exposed type reel seat can be removed and saved without sacrificing a section of the blank.

There is no space between the seat and the blank to use a tool to break the adhesive bond and if heat is used there is risk of damaging the blank.

If the seat is irreplaceable sacrifice the blank if not then remove the seat as described above.

Nathan,
As stated earlier, you need to decide which is more important; the seat or the rod! Rarely can one have his cake and eat it too. After you determine such, proceed with the veteran advise above. If the old seat is sacrificed, be prepared to build-up the blank at the seat location to accommodate for it being smaller than the butt of the blank when installing from the rear (unless you are removing the guides in front of the seat).

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

If you want to sacrifice the blank but keep the reel seat, chop the blank on each side of the reel seat and then just use a drill to drill the blank out of the inside of the reel seat. As you drill, the blank will heat up and you will come to a point where the heat from the drill will have heated the adhesive enough to let the blank remnants slip out of the reel seat.

If you are removing the rear grip I have had good luck using a piece of PVC tubing to remove reel seats. Basically, a 3/4” PVC pipe will fit over the butt end of most freshwater blanks. Need a length of pipe that is several inches longer than the butt to the reel seat. With the pipe snugged up against the reel seat and you holding the blank above the reel seat, hit the PVC pipe with a hammer. This is usually enough to break the epoxy bond to enable removal. If the bond doesn’t break after several minutes heat the reel seat with a heat gun or boiling water, and try again. I have removed a lot of reel seats this way without damaging either the seat or the blank. There have been a couple of time I could not remove the seat this way, and had to cut it off.
Norm

Nathan, I posted a 'Homemade Boiling Tower' I made for safely heating Handle/Reel Seats for removal. I posted some pictures of it in Grips and Handles. I have removed many reel seats from rods with this tool. I wrap a long rubber innertube strand grip around the rod blank and I have a ring circle of wire just above the the tube to keep the rod centered so it doesn't touch the hot sides of the top of the tube while it is submerged. I only submerge to the seat! I use thick leather gloves when I lift the rod out. You don't want to twist much when you attempt to remove seat. PULL is the trick.