Has anyone made wood reel seats that could give me advise?
Yes and and my advise is get ready for a lot of work. You will be working with small pieces of wood and you ordinary lathe will not work. I converted my drill press to make it work. you will also need a set of dial calipers. Oh yes also seeing as you are tying flies, building rods, now wood reel seats, next cork handles you had better go get two part time jobs to support your hobby ROTFLMAO. Naw not that expensive just my advise is start with one and practice, practice, practice and then move on to the other. Any help I can be just ask I am so far into the dark side that I will never see the light of day again. Oh almost forgot when will you start furling leaders? BOB
Any wood lathe will work, all you need is a mandrel between two centers and start turning exotic reel seats BILL
it’s easy. go for it.
Opinion poll:
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Who makes the best mandrel for reel seats?
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What fingernail bit are you using for reel seat mortise?
You can make your own very servicable mandrels out of threaded rod and a couple of nuts, just use the right size drill bit to drill the hole in the insert for the size rod you use, which in turn is determined byut the size of the blank where the reel seat will be mounted. The bit I use is C1215 from Grizzly, I just made a big plastic base plate for an old flat head Black and Decker router I’ve had forever, it will stand on it’s head on the workbech so I don’t even need a router tabel A small board and a couple of spring clamps make a fence and another threaded rod with a block of wood on either end make a fixture to rout the mortice, it takes some adjustment and some practice inserts to get it set right.
john
John,
allthread rod works, in fact if you wrap it with teflon tape you can glue up on the same rod. What do you use on the dead/live center end to support the allthread rod?
I thought maybe someone made a mandrel that provide extra functionality.
Thanks for the bit info.
I strongly suggest the DVD titled … “The Wood Lathe in Rodbuilding with Andy Dear”.
As far as mandrels, I don’t suggest threaded rod. I have yet to see one that is actually anwhere close to true. To work effectively on hard woods, speeds of 3000+ rpms are common. Folks can get away with cheap threaded rod for low speed cork turning, but on harder materials … it is a definite “no-no”.
You wouldn’t catch me using a mandrel with any measurable amount of runout OR one that isn’t designed from carbon steel (resists flexing). Buy properly designed tools, live a little longer.
Above all BE CAREFUL … wear safety gear, know your materials AND always pay attention.
I have turned reel seats for many years. My lathe is an older model from Carba-Tec.
Also have a duplicator for this lathe and both 3 & 4 jaw check sets.
I also turn wood pens. The outfit I get my supplies from has some of the best mandrels one can obtain. I have enjoyed turning for many years.
www.pennstateind.com , Penn State Industries out in Philadelphia, PA
They also carry and sell many different kinds of woods (cut to reel seat sizes) and lots of different blanks. You can get them pre-drilled or not.
Personally I do not like the holes drilled much larger than my rod blanks. Do not like tape on a blank to make a poor fit, worse. Just my thoughts.
I have several different diameter mandrels that work fine.
Happy turning
Denny
I use Andy Dear mandrels. They can be bought just about anywhere. Mudhole now sells them, I think.
Buy good ones–thats a given. I still use a pen mandrel from time to time. This is made to make the bodies of a wooden pen.
Randy
Andy Dear quit the business last year and sold his concepts and business to another reseller.
Mud Hole is selling mandrels of their own design.
Hands down, the best mandrels are designed/crafted by Lynn Williams at Backlash Tools. His work is immaculate and there isn’t a similar design on the market. The concept was developed by Tom Kirkman, the publisher of RodMaker magazine.
I own mandrels from all three of the above vendors and a few others … and would only consider Backlash for any replacements.
Lynn’s prices are silly inexpensive … less than $23 plus shipping will get you the very finest set of two mandrels … one 1/4" and one 5/16", both 14" long. Between those two sizes, you should have more than adequate coverage for fly rods. Each mandrel features a shouldered end for chuck use and a 60 degree cone with a chamfered edge on the opposite end. The polish is exceptional and they release beautifully.
You can reach him via e-mail at lynn@backlashtools.com.
To reduce weight on my inserts I overbore the blank, turn round between centers and fill with epoxy fluffed with microballoons. After the epoxy cures I redrill to very near the blank OD at the large end and outside turn to desired OD. This leaves a relatively lightweight insert made quickly and easily with a perfectly aligned center… Tape need not apply…