Hi,
Did you ever wonder how thin you can ream a rigid foam bushing??

I am building an 8'6" #6 CTS Glass "Turbo Taper" rod for my own light salt water use. Can also be used for fresh water though.

The "Turbo Taper" model has a finer tip and a beefier butt. So, it's a faster blank.

I am installing an REC RSLS reel seat.
I reamed the bushing to 0.028" to fit on the blank leaving enough room for a 1.5" fighting butt.

That's pretty thin. Walls are flexable - but sound.

Regards,
Herb
CTS Rep



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/06/2022 03:04PM by Herb Ladenheim.

Herb,
I have done them very thin also because I never use masking tape. I believe once you get the epoxy (I use a paste) on it and the bushing just centers the reel seat on the blank, there is enough structural integrity in the set epoxy. Never had an issue with one coming loose.
Lance

I can get them down to about a 1/32nd inch wall thickness. This is much easier to do if you have a good lathe, but you could do it on a reamer as well. You'd need a reamer that is less agressive in cutting grit for best results.

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I find it much easier to glue the foam bushing into the reel seat, then ream or drill to fit the blank. Don’t have to worry about splitting or crushing the bushing.
Norm

Norman Miller Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I find it much easier to glue the foam bushing
> into the reel seat, then ream or drill to fit the
> blank. Don’t have to worry about splitting or
> crushing the bushing.
> Norm

Issue with doing it that way is that it
is more difficult to ream the bushing concentric to the seat and therefore the blank.
I use the principal of the intragral calculus - I cut the bushing into 4 equal pieces. Then ream each piece to fit exactly on the blank where I want it to sit.
It's much easier and more accurate to do it that way.
Then I bush the bushing with thread to make a tight connection between the seat and bushing.
Check your shouders of your finished cork grips to see if you have to change your method.
Uneven shoulders mean your bushing / seat is not concentric to the blank.
Herb

I'm with Norm !

Rog

Norman Miller Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I find it much easier to glue the foam bushing
> into the reel seat, then ream or drill to fit the
> blank. Don’t have to worry about splitting or
> crushing the bushing.
> Norm


X2 that is exactly how I do it as well. Sometimes it is super thin

Sorry Herb, I bond the arbors into the seat as Norman and Tom W. and would not be surprised to learn that most others do the same. After set, I would think the arbor(s) could be reamed to less than .010in if needed simply because they are solidly mounted within the seat. But there is no correct or wrong way to do it; it is all personal preference.

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

Exactly Mark. By coating the entire arbor, and I use 5 minute liquid epoxy, it is secure in the seat. Depending on the size of the reel seat and then the size of the blank, with the taper, you could have little to nothing at the base end and a thin shim at the front. They work great and I've been using them more many years.

Tom



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/06/2022 10:36PM by Tom Wewerka.

For whatever it might be worth - [www.youtube.com]

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Thanks for the video. Are only 2 arbors of that length needed for that size seat. I have always used a full length arbor. Maybe overkill on my part.
Steve

Steve,
There are really only two differences between Tom's video and my method.
1. I use arbors under the entire seat.
There are too many reports of loose seats to do otherwise.
2. I eliminate the lathe or drill and to directly to the reamer.
As stated previously - it's important to cut the longer arbor into 4 sections to facilitate reaming accuracy for a perfectly concentric seat.
Herb
PS It's also important to use a reamer shown in Tom's video. I.e. abrasive flakes instead of would sandpaper.
The hills and valleys on a sandpaper reamer renders it inaccurate.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/07/2022 04:21PM by Herb Ladenheim.

These type arbors don't weigh much so you can use a full length if you want, or if the rod is a very heavy saltwater model. But if you prepare your surfaces properly, two 1-inch arbors aren't ever going to come loose or fail. Just isn't going to happen.

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Thank You Tom and Herb. I have always done it Norms way and will admit not always successfully.