I received a Calstar 610 blank yesterday for a customer. I haven't built on a Calstar since the reorganization was accomplished, but I've built three rods on this blank in the past and they've all been wonderful. Talking with the supplier, he seemed confident that everything would be pretty much the same spec. wise. I already had the guides in stock and received the Fuji DPSH 26 that I've used in the past yesterday as well. When I dropped the seat down on the blank, the butt section is larger and the reel seat isn't going to be as far down the blank as it was in the past. This is a pretty beefy stick; what are the thoughts about sanding down the blank enough to accommodate mounting the reel seat where I have in the past? It would need to go about 3" - 4" lower on the blank.

I would hold the line at sanding the blanks and simply scrape the paint/finish from that area and see if that doesn't get you the distance you need. You might also consider reaming/sanding the interior of the reel seat to get a bit more. There shouldn't be much taper in the blank in that area so it might not take much to get the seat where you want it to go.

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What is the wall thickness of the area in question and how much is to be removed?

In this case luck is with you, removing material under the reel seat is a good place to remove material and maintain the integrity of the blank.. BUT that depends on how much material is removed.

Have fun

I'm with Tom on this:
Also depends on fishery and loading that will be on rod.
1. 3-4 inches is a lot.
2. There will not be room for a bushing.
3. The seat will be epoxied directly to the blank - creating a "hard spot" right at the fulcrum. Might break with pressure of large fish - IF that is the kind of load expected.
Herb

I'd ream the seat like Tom said. If you don't have a reamer large enough, then a piece of 3/8" dowel with a slit cut in the end. Slide a 1" wide piece of 100 or 120 grit sandpaper, 4 - 5 inches long into the slit cut in the end of the dowel. Put the other end in a drill, and go to town. If the 4 - 5 inch piece isn't pushing out enough pressure, then increase the length.

I've used the method to increase the ID of carbon tubes, reel seats, and aluminum winding checks. It can be slow, depending. But it works.

Here's the deal. I made a 610B, spiral wrapped, last year for a friend of the customer on a blank I had in stock. They go to Alaska every August and fish for halibut and other things. He borrowed the rod and just thought it was the best thing he'd ever seen and fished with, and asked his friend to have me make up one "just like it". I managed to locate a 610B in California and had it shipped in to me. I actually think the blank I just received is better than the older model I had, but it's got a larger butt. The build is predicated on a 10" Hypalon rear grip. If I use a 12" there's no problem. I don't think the 12" rear grip is overly long; my forearm is an average length and it seems just fine for me unless the guy is a gorilla. I'm going to bounce this off him and if he's good with it I'll have one less headache. I can give reaming the reel seat a try: It's a Fuji DPSH 26 and I'd have to remove almost a millimeter to get it down for a 10" grip and that would reduce the wall thickness on the bottom of the reel seat to just over a millimeter which is pretty thin, but since it's glued in place with Rod Bond it may be okay. The blank is pretty robust; the wall thickness at the bottom of the blank is 5mm and the blank isn't finished for the first 17".

Most Fuji seats have a ribbed interior. Sand those out and you'll get at least 1mm right there. Skin the paint from the blank in the area where you want the foregrip and seat. That might get you another .5mm, maybe.

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Before deciding which route to take with this, measure the outside diameter of the blank where you want the seat to be, and the point on the blank where the seat currently stops to get the seat's inside diameter.

This will answer how much material needs to be removed to get this seat to fit, if that's reasonable, and from what area the material should be removed if it is.

An inexpensive digital caliper pays for itself many times over for rod building.

Good luck!

Measure things. Your reel seat I.D. should be 24 mm. Confirm as maybe something isn't right with the seat. Then measure the blank and see how much you need to gain. I'd ream the seat.

FWIW I have reamed some Fuji reel seats a LOT simply because I wanted a trigger type casting seat on a composite salt water blank.

Have to say a 10" rear grip on a Halibut rod does strike me as rather short.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

Wouldn't just be better to get a larger seat?

I contacted the customer and he's fine with a 12" rear grip, so I can put all my anxiety to rest. I did check every reel seat manufacturer that I'm aware of and nobody has anything bigger than a 26. I do use a micrometer extensively; have for decades. With the 2" butt cap and a 12" piece of HD Hypalon, the reel seat has about 3/4" of free play, which is perfect. As usual, I can't thank all of you enough for your insights and advice, That's what makes this such a great forum.

Dave Sytsma

Have you tried Versitex for that seat? They had a Pac Bay last I needed one.

I would never sand a blank to get clearance. Period. Ream the seat, yes, get a bigger seat, yes, but sand the blank, no.

I like Dan's take on things. Use a caliper to figure out where you need to go. See if that reel seat can some opening up and leave the blank in factory condition.

The reel seat can always be replaced.