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Please bear with me on this question. Am I interpreting this correctly?
If the butt of a rod blank is .365 does that maen that the reel seat you order has to have a number larger than that to fit over it? For instance, reel seats in sizes .370, .380, .390, etc. to fit over the .365 butt?
Am I understanding this?
Thanks
You may get more experienced answers than mine, but I like to have my reel seats fit tight, rather than having to put tape under them, so try to get the same size, or little smaller, i.d. on the reel seat. You can ream them a little bigger to fit right.
Not everyone that sells reel seats offer very many choices in reel seat I.D. Some, like REC, do however and you can custom order a reel seat to the ID that is appropriate for your needs. Reaming to a larger size so that you do not need tape or anything to shim with is ideal, just be careful that when you do ream, that you go slowly as the insert can crack as a result of the efforts.
I like a snug fit of the reel seat to the rod blank, but not so snug as there is no room for the glue that I use. Its a little tougher with graphite or fiberglass as there is only one element that you can impact and that is the insert itself. With bamboo, one can also do some work on the butt of the rod to bet a good fit.
If you go to REC.com, click on the reel seats and you can see some of the sizes that they can custom machine the id of the inserts.
I love it when people talk around the question and act like they answered it. Three hundred sixty-five thousands of an inch (.365) is smaller than .370in. by five(5) thousands of an inch. I Finally learned fractions and now everybody uses metrics & decimals now. The .370 appears to be the best choice in this case for a really snug fit. If you need to shim the fore end of the insert, wrap a layer of #A thread on the blank under that end of the insert. With this tight a fit, though, you likely won't need a shim. FRom what I've read and from my limited experience a thinner layer of epoxy makes a stronger bond than a thicker layer.
Yes you want a reel seat bigger then the blank, But if its close you can ream out the wood insert alittle but I try not having to do that often.
I have got 2 reel seats from REC and was very pleased with them.I want mine to be big enough to get PLENTY of epoxy in them.I did use a very small amount of tape in mine ,but I dont think it will go anywhere since it is covered with epoxy.
I, too, bought a Rec Reel Seat and put it on the blank Sunday morning. There was just a little wobble between the insert and the blank so I didn't feel the need to use any tape for bushings. I hope I made the right decision.