I'm starting to realize it was probably a bad idea to tell anyone that I've gotten into rod building. As of this writing, I have 3 repair jobs and two rod builds on the bench. It's not my intention to get involved in builds or repairs, but I kind of got talked into it. Anyway, I'm a little over my head on one of the repair jobs. Two are simple guide replacements, but the third is a bit more involved. The nut on the reel seat is cracked and the reel can't be locked into the reel seat. The customer knows I'm new to all this and it's not a big deal if I can't repair it. Another, and the only actual professional rod builder (I am not one) around here, quoted him more than the rod is worth to fix it. Anyway, here is my plan, but would like assurance that this is a plausible plan of action.

My plan is to remove the guide (stripper guide?) closest to the reel seat. I'm relatively confident the nut will fit over the rest of the guides. The only one that might be an issue is the next guide forward. But, it's a single foot guide so I think I could probably bend it slightly to get the nut over it in the event it won't go without bending it. After that, it seems to be a pretty straight forward repair. My biggest challenge after is to figure out what size the reel seat is. But, I have calipers so should be able to determine the size. The only reservation I have is it is definitely not a typical 16-17 mm reel seat. I haven't put the calipers on it yet, but I can eyeball it and tell it's smaller. My concern is can I find a replacement nut for it. I don't want to do disassemble the rod until I know I can find a replacement nut.

Anyway, does my plan sound good to you experienced guys? I'm a bit nervous because a pro builder declined to mess with it. Makes me think he knows something I don't.

The experienced builder's price may be high because he would repair it like I would, taking the whole seat off, the grip off, and install new. Using masking tape for arbors will allow you to create a set of arbors for the seat and grip that are all the same size so the new parts may be slipped on from the rear after reaming the grip to the right diameter. Be sure to totally encapsulate the arbors with epoxy to prevent deterioration if water gets in. This can all be done from the rear so the guides won't be affected.

If it's a baitcaster get the right seat based on the diameter of the blank. If a spin, I would go with a size 17 for better ergonomics.

Keep in mind that you don't have to become the rod repairer for the community. It's up to you.

Thank you Michael for your input. If it comes down to taking the entire grip and handle off, I’ll likely take a pass. That’s too involved for my liking. I think I’ll just tell him I’d rather not mess with it. Like you said, I don’t have to be the community repair guy. I’m retired and just started building rods for my own purposes. I have no intention of turning it into a business.

Daryl,
What is your geographic location. Perhaps there are other unknown rod builders in the area.

However, seeing your situation, I would do the following.

Take a dremel tool with an abrasive cut off wheel and cut through the nut and remove it.

Then, buy a roll of black electrical tape and give it to the customer.

Just let him know that when he wants to put a reel in place do it. Then, after the reel is in place take the tape and put about 5 tight wraps on the reel seat to secure the reel.

If the reel ever gets loose, remove the tape and repeat.

If he wants to change the reel, remove the tape, remove the reel and repeat.

People have been securing reels to fishing rods forever. It simply works and works very well.

The other really nice thing about using tape, is that the tape is thin and simply blends in well with the grip, reel seat and a persons hand. i.e. one does not feel a bulge from a securing nut in the palm of the hand when using tape.

Also, for ice fishing rods, it is the only type of attachment that I have ever used. plastic, metal and other objects are cold. But, the tape over a cork grip is nice and cozy and does not pull heat out of your hand as some other types of reel seats and grips may do.



Best wishes.

I’ve repaired a bunch of rods with broken reel seat hoods, and what you have described is a valid and easy way to go. However, if needed I would remove the second guide rather than bend it. Wrapping guides back onto the rod is no big deal. You are correct in that some manufacturers use reel seats that are slightly different from what a custom builder can get. However, in spite of this, many commercial casting rods use size 16 seats and many size 16 reel seat hoods are interchangeable, but again some aren’t. What brand of rod you are repairing? A picture of the reel seat might also be helpful. I have a lot of different salvaged reel seat hoods and one of them might fit.

Norm

The rod is a Berkley Lightning casting rod.

Roger's repair is the most economical and still functional way to handle this task. I would not even remove the nut, just tighten the reelseat and tape over it. If the owner is not emotionally attached to this rod you can cut the reelseat clean through in half. The rod is now in two pieces. Remove the scrap reelseat. Using a new reelseat and arbors or sleeve, glue everything back togeather. When you give back the rod, the owner will ask How did you get the egg in the bottle? Just smile.

Dennis J. Danku
(Sayreville,NJ)

Another option is to use castration bands you buy at a farm and ranch store. Heavy duty. Cut the locking nut off as stated and add three or 4 castration bands over the butt of the rod and move forward add the reel pull the band back to the reel. We use these for ice fishing to reduce weight and move the reel on the handle to the persons liking.

Looks like the new Berkley casting lightening rods use SeaGuide components.
[www.berkley-fishing.com]
The barrel threads should accept many standard hoods, but the shape of the reel seat may preclude their use.
[rodbuilderswarehouse.com]
I don’t think I have the exact reel seat hood, but I’ll look. I’m sure I have some reel seat hoods that will fit the barrel threads, but not sure if they will work. You can call Rod Builders Warehouse and check if they can get you a hood.
Norm

Certainly is WAY overkill to remove and replace the entire handle assembly. If you can identify the reel seat size, pretty good chance a replacement nut could work - but the downside is you basically have to remove the bigger guides to test fit. But realistically, speaking, any repair is going to cost far more than the rod is worth - unless there is some sentimental attachment.... I like Roger's suggestion of electrical tape. On my ice rod builds, I use and recommend the self-fusing silicone tape that you can find in any good hardware store's plumbing section. It's great - very grippy, only sticks to itself, and leaves no residue. $10 a roll about. Ice manufacturers have started marketing it under their own labels over the last several years. I'd recommend NOT going with the castration bands noted above - they will slip and slide all over a plastic reel seat.

I told him the same thing the pro rod builder told him, that the rod isn’t worth repairing. I was going to use the nut off of one my practice rods I acquired, but the Berkley seat is too small in diameter and the donor won’t fit. Honestly, I’m liking that band, or tape idea.

Personally, I would go the route you described in your opening post, and I would do as Norman said to do and take off any guides that the new hood and nut wont pass over. I would not bend the guide as it may cause the ceramic ring to pop out. If that happens you're replacing a guide that you could have just re wrapped.

I just measured the thread barrel diameters of 4 different casting reel seats. 3 of them were size 16. One being a Fuji ECSM, one being a Pac Bay standard casting seat, with the remaining one of the three being an Alps MVT reel seat. All three of those had thread barrel diameters of 18.23 mm, or .718".

The one other seat was a size 17 Fuji TCSSD It has a thread barrel diameter of 19.83 mm or .780".

Measure the thread barrel diameter and see if its' number jives with any of the above numbers. If so, you will know the size nut and hood you need. One thing to check if getting a new nut (which is what I would do before anything else) is to look for a key slot cut into the thread barrel on the Lightning rod. It should have one on there, and my guess is that it will be on the bottom of the tube. If so and the measurements match up to any of those above, the nuts and hoods from those reel seats should work on the reel seat as the key in the hood will be properly located.

My guess is that it's a size 16 seat as I can't see it being any smaller than that ...... but who knows?

Whatever you choose to do, good luck. Oh and as far as the tape or wire tie remedies....... they'll work.......... but those are something the guy with the broken rod could do on his own. Not something you want to do for him. At least I wouldn't.

Over the years Berkley has changed the reel seats it uses. For example, I have one broken Berkley rod which has a very non-typical size reel seat with a small barrel diameter, and another one with a more standard size reel seat. A picture might help in finding a suitable hood for it. If I have the hood you need, I’ll give it to you. I am in agreement with David, I would not use tape to hold on a reel, it is not what I would call a proper repair. It’s a shame to trash a rod solely for a broken reel seat hood. I would either replace the hood or the reel seat itself, but that’s just me. I’ve made a lot of friends over the years repairing and building rods. They have paid me back with much more than money. For me it’s one of the things I love about this hobby. I can certainly understand why you may not want to under take such a repair because of a lack of experience. However, to gain experience you have do these types of repairs. They are great confidence builders, and you learn a lot.

Norm

The most important factor, if you don’t own a boat, is to do repairs for your fishing buddies who do!

Daryl Ferguson Wrote:
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> The nut on the reel seat is cracked and
> the reel can't be locked into the reel seat.

It is possible to repair a broken hood...obviously replacing it is better.
Can you upload a picture?

I’m afraid I’m not very “techie”. I don’t know how to add the pic in my post. I can take a picture with my phone, upload it to my Amazon account and post a link? You might have to click a link to my Amazon photos to see it at that point.

The reel seat (and hood) is clear. I can’t really even see how it was epoxied at the factory. I can’t see any thru the reel seat.

With the clear reel seat, you probably have the Berkley Lightning Shock rod.

On the Berkley website there is quite a few reviews for the shock rod where people have experienced locking nut failures. So even if you could get a replacement nut from Berkley you probably wouldn't want to use it if it's the clear one.

In the pictures it looks like the slot in the threads is on the side. Maybe someone here can give you recommendations on which replacement nut might work.

From the reviews it seems like the failures are the nut. But some only describe it as reel seat failure so it's not clear if there's also a problem with the seat itself. Take a look at the casting rod reviews. One of the pictures might be showing a crack in the reel seat itself where the reel foot engages the seat.

If it is a Berkley Lightening Shock rod, it may not be worth repairing after reading the all the negative comments concerning it at Tackle Warehouse. Sounds like breaking the reel seat hood is a very common problem.
[www.tacklewarehouse.com]
Norm

Yes Norman, that's the rod. I think you can buy one for $50-$60. A local professional rod builder quoted him more to fix it than the rod cost new and told him it wasn't worth fixing, in his opinion.

I agree, but it still seems a waste to trash the rod because of a cheap plastic reel seat. Looks like the reel seat is fitted to the blank using a size16 reel seat insert. Because of this it would take a little more effort to replace the reel seat with a new one. As you can see I have mixed emotions about repairing this rod, but I’m sure it’s not worth your time nor effort.

Norm