Need help removing a reel seat.

[kypapaw]

I have an old Pfleuger fiberglass flyrod and the cork grip has broken apart and is missing chunks.I would like to remove the reel seat and replace it and the cork.Eventually I will replace the guides and re-do the entire rod but I have never built a rod or replaced these pieces on one.Does anyone have any advice on how to remove these pieces without damaging the rod?The seat appears to be fastened with some type of epoxy and it seems to be thick.The cork handle will spin on the rod so It should slip off once the seat is removed.There are alot of great rod builders on this site and any advice you can give me will be appreciated.Thanks.
-Steve

[Lotech]

Heat usually loosens the epoxy enough to remove a reel seat. I've heard of some folks putting the butt section in a baggy and bringing it to a boil. Then grab the reel seat with pliers or vice grips and yank away. Of course the reel seat is then pretty much no good. I had an old bamboo rod with an aluminum reel seat with a cap. I removed the cap and heated the reel seat with a heat gun. Then using a small socket extension, I pounded the rod out of the seat. It worked like a charm, but the reel seat was toast afterward.
Good luck on what ever you try.

[rainbowchaser]

I recently removed a reel seat that was damaged by holding the reel seat in a pot of boiling water and checking often to see it it was loosened. I used only dish towel to pull it off with so the reel seat suffered no further damage. The blank still had glue residue to clean off but that shouldn't present any major problems.

[Betty Hiner]

Had a funny with the last reel seat I removed from an old fiberglass rod. The shimming was done with cardboard, and by getting it wet, and letting it set for a few minutes, it totally dissolved and the reel seat fell off. If you don't want to mess around with trying to save the reel seat, the easiest way to remove it is CAREFULLY using a Dremel tool to cut through the seat (WITHOUT TOUCHING THE BLANK), and taking off the chunks.

[ET custom flyrods]

As posted previous, there are basically 2 ways of removing a reel seat. 1. place it in a pot of boiling water and boil it loose. 2. Cut it off. The first is the easiest. The second is the toughest, taking great care not to damage the blank. Some reel seats can be a bugger to remove as they use bushings of wood (or other PITA material that wont allow a good heat transfer for removal)between the seat and the blank. Good luck and let us know how you make out.
PS.....once you have everything off , you can clean up the blank using a straight razor edge to get off the big pieces of junk left behind and sand the rest fairly smooth in preperation for your new seat and handle.

[dudley]

Careful with heat and Bakelite reels seat
They melt

[kypapaw]

Thanks everyone for all the help.I did place it in boiling water and got it off.Had to boil for a little while but worked great.I should be able to clean her up and replace the cork now.This is a great bunch of people on this site.Thanks alot.
-Steve

[Lotech]

Glad it worked. Now you know we are definitely going to need pictures don't you?