Need some help ...

[Betty Hiner]

Got one of the 763 Diamond Glass blanks from Ron at Hook and Hackle, and it is a beauty. The butt end measures OD .445, and I'm having a problem finding a reel seat to fit it. (Problem compounded by wanting a sliding ring, down-locking reel seat!) Can find some really pretty ones through REC, but even custom boring only goes to .438. Is it much of a trick to use a round file and enlarge the bore? Is there a company I have yet to hear about that produces a sliding ring, down-locking reel seat with a larger standard bore?

[Host Ray]

Betty for a difference of only .007 I'd ream it to a perfect fit.

[Erik Osterby]

A couple of passes with a rat tail file will probably be plenty. You may want to get a large enough file to really minimize the work and keep it as round as possible.

Erik

[JohnScott]

Betty -

Struble does a lot of reel seats with a .460 ID. Don't know if they would have a sliding ring down locking reel seat in that dimension.

I'm with Ray on reaming the one you want for the perfect mechanical fit.

John

[ET custom flyrods]

Slide Riing? Down lock?....... Get the tail tail file out deary..........Ed


Might also look here........http://www.strublemfg.com/product/?tag=seat

Larger I.D.'s are available up to .460

[MontanaMoose]

Hello Betty, careful if you go Struble D2 and start rattailing...it's shipped .375 for a reason and though I did some work on one and made it a bit larger in the I.D., no way would I trust one hogged out to .445 (plus what you'll need for glue clearance)...the mortise is the reason it won't go much larger in the I.D. and there just isn't enough wood left under the mortise so support the clamping forces required to keep your fly reel in place.

What would happen at .445 I.D. would be smiles and 'ohhh pretty' from you upon accomplishing the modification but an 'ohhhhh noooooo' when you tried keep a reel on since the mortise would likely split or collapse.

That being said and guessing how badly you want a dl slide band, you might have one made
which wouldn't be a big deal and I bet you...I just bet you...someone right here in FAOL is going to offer such. Hopefully short of that, you'll find a dl slideband seat with the I.D. you need.

Cheers,

MontanaMoose

Got one of the 763 Diamond Glass blanks from Ron at Hook and Hackle, and it is a beauty. The butt end measures OD .445, and I'm having a problem finding a reel seat to fit it. (Problem compounded by wanting a sliding ring, down-locking reel seat!) Can find some really pretty ones through REC, but even custom boring only goes to .438. Is it much of a trick to use a round file and enlarge the bore? Is there a company I have yet to hear about that produces a sliding ring, down-locking reel seat with a larger standard bore?

[Kaboom1]

Betty
I made a sliding band reel seat for my tricked out Tadpole and the butt diameter is .485. It was a tight fit, but it worked. Just get a rat tail file, go SLOW and you will be OK.

Brad

[jgestar]

Betty,

That Dglass has a pretty steep taper, so you will only need to take a little material out of one end of an REC insert. REC makes most of their inserts with stabilized wood, so splitting is less likely.

Another option is a cork insert instead of wood. That lightens the rod even more. But cork inserts eventually get dented up if the sliding ring doesn't have an internal taper. Rings with an internal taper hold great on cork. Cork can be worked fairly thin without splitting.

The hardest option, but most versatile, is to cut off the last 4 inches of the rod butt and insert a plug of dowel or graphite rod into the remaining blank. The OD of the plug is sized to fit into the reelseat. This allows using any reelseat you desire. Tom Morgan's upcoming line of glass blanks will come with a plug dowel and trimming instructions for just that purpose (see the 9th paragraph on the page).


Tom

[Betty Hiner]

You guys are the best!! Thank you! Will post up on this rod as it progresses!

[RS1]

Sent you a pm.