Hi all,
I am going to try my hand at wrapping an old rod first, then work on a blank I bought. My question is, on the old rod, a South Bend, 6 1/2’ fiberglass, there is a plastic reel seat. Can I remove that and replace it with a better looking metal one? Or will I just mess up what is now a useable rod?
Thanks,
Mike
Sure you can remove it. Place the reel seat in a plastic bag and then place the bag in a pot of boiling water. Give it a few minutes and then see if it will come off. If this does not work, it can always be cut off with a abrasive disk on a Dremel tool as a last resort. My question is does it really need to be removed, or just a new skill you want to aquire? Either way, sounds like a fun project.
Brad
If you don’t get it off with the boiling water, try having a bowl of ice next to the water and alternate them back and forth, a few minutes of each 2 or 3 times.
You may have to submerse it in the boiling water several time to get it to come loose.
be sure to pull on the seat and never twist it.
Thanks all!! Keep those thoughts coming! Kabbom1, I want to work on this rod to see what skills I can get. The old seat is plastic, would be fine to fish with but I want to try things out. One of my TU Chapter members has lent me a rod building rack and turning motor and now all I have to do is hoe off the work bench to get going! I’ll post the results when I have tried it. This is exciting!
Mike
Mike
You are headed down a slippery slope, and there is no hope or cure after you work on your first one! Good luck with thw rebuild. If you need anything else, just ask.
Brad
OH NOOOOOO!! Thanks Brad for the warning! Goes along with fly tying, fly fishing, breathing:D!!
I’ll be sure to let you all know how it goes!
Thanks,
Mike
Okay, success at removing the reel seat! I left the butt end in the boiling water for about 6 minutes, took it out, nada. So, I’m sitting here and I gently poked around the base of the seat, nearest the cork, with a needle. A little twist and boom! One removed reel seat. I now have a rod that is inserted into the cork. A friend of mine has some reel seats I will ask to try to see for looks etc. Now, how best to clean, polish generally make the blank look better? Then, on to new guides and wraps!
YAHOOOO! First steps are the hardest! Thanks for the support.
Mike
Great! Does your South Bend have the indent for your thumb and the little grooves cut in it? I have a SB bamboo that I am going to semi restore/rework. It probably has the same ugly reel seat yours did, but I love the grips on those old South Bend rods. 
Hi Kevin,
No grooves, just plain old cork. But it’s off and now I can move forward.
Mike
Too bad. Those “Comficient” grips are cool! Comficient is made up of two words, comfortable and efficient. They look distinctive and I think they are quite comfortable to hold.