How Do I Fix This?

[Salmon Man]

Hey all,
This saturday was a sad day, i droped my first fly rod and broke the reel seat off in two pieces. The reel seat was plastic and the rod has a foam grip. It's a black beauty if that helps. I was wondering if this if fixable or if i will have to hang it up for good. I will only be using it for small trout about 8-14 inches. Mabey this will have to be a professional job.

Thanks for any suggestions.

[2 Bead Pupa]

That could be a Heddon Black Beauty ( bamboo rod ) . If it is , the grip should be cork . You might have to replace the seat , but that's not a big deal .

[kengore]

Installing a new reel seat is an easy project. You can buy a new wood one (more common) or perhaps a graphite one is a better match. You can find reel seats and other parts at Jann's Netcraft or Hook and Hackle. You can easily purchase just a reel seat insert, but if you need a butt plug or other pieces for the reel lock you might be better off getting whole handle kit.

http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/Content.aspx?src=home.htm
http://www.hookhack.com/

Parts needed..
- new reel seat of your choice
- epoxy adhesive (longer setting time is better, don't use the 5 minute stuff)
- 1/2" masking tape
- new butt plug, unless the old one is salvagable

Remove the old reel seat, butt piece and any residual adhesive, being careful not to nick or otherwise damage the rod blank. You can break the bond on most epoxy based adhesives by applying heat witha heat gun. Some times it take takes several cycles of heating/cooling to break the bond. I like to use a piece of scrap hardwood as a scaper, metal might scratch the blank and cause a weak point, although very little bending stress occurs in the reel seat area and a small nick probably wouldn't be an issue.

The new reel seat should have a diameter slightly larger than the rod blank. If it is not large enough to slide over the rod blank you will need to ream it out. This can easily be done by hand with a rat tail file or a small dowel wrapped with sand paper. Rotate the wood as you ream to insure the hole stays centered.

Next yopu need to make some kind of spacer to fill in the gap between the reel seat bore and the rod blank. I like to use 1/2" wide masking tape. I wind a strip of tape around the blank untill it matches the inside diameter of the reel seat. I use 3 or more bands of tape with a 3/4" gap in between them. Use just enough tape that the reel seat will slide on easily but firmly. When gluing the epoxy will fill the gap areas, this unsures that the reel seat is held on by a direct bond to the rod, not depending on the masking tape. The making tape just forms a sort of mold for the epoxy. Dry fit everything, making sure the tape does't interfere with the butt plug. Mix you epoxy by squirting equal amounts in to the corner of a plastic baggy, use extra material just in case. For a real professional job I would add some epoxy filler. The filler will thicken the epoxy and improve its adhesive properties. Epoxy fillers can be purchased at hobby stores that cater to the R/C airplane crowd, I like a product called 'micro-balloons'.

Twist the plastic bag to trap the adhesive in the corner an knead between fingers untill well mixed. Mask off the surround rod and handle areas with masking tape and plastic wrap. Snip off the corner of your platic bag and squeeze the epoxy on to the joint as you slide the new reel seat on, making an effort to fill the gap areas betweent the tape completely. Clean up any spilled epoxy with paper towels soaked in household vinegar. Rotate the rod slowly for a few minutes to insure good distribution of the epoxy.

[darrell]

Salmon Man - SouthBend Black Beauty ???

What wt ?

I had an older 8wt (I think - it may be a 7/ that fit your description (plastic seat, foam grip) ...... sorry to say, I bust it up and tossed it in the landfill 2 weeks back (enuf clutter in my limited FFing room). Now I listen and learn .... Maybe I'll stick the bits and pieces in the floor joist spaces ......

It sounds fixable - don't fret.


darrell,

if anyone needs the butt section of a Berkley Enforcer - let me know. I kinda ..... had a mishap with the tip section ......... so the butt is just being abused for practicing wraps and wrap patterns .........

[Salmon Man]

Hey all,
The rod is a South Bend Black Beauty 6/7 wt, and as i have absoluty no knowledge about fixing this problem im thinking about biring it to a rod repairer in my area. Any idea how much this might cost? Thanks a million for the info it made me feel much better I really like this rod its my favorite next to my sage xp.
Thanks