Rod building – simple tips you never see in print #1
by Mark Waldin Flycatcher Custom Fly Rods 12/1/08 – There are a number of small gotcha’s when you build a fly rod. They are often the result of ‘boy was I stupid’ actions. Trouble is they are easy to do, hard to fix, and nobody warns you of them! So, here is the first one: Forgot to align the reel seat arbor in the reel seat assembly. If you’ve ever done this, you will remember it. Most things in building a fly rod can be fairly easily fixed. This one is one of the hardest.
Many reel seats come with an arbor that has a cut-out notch along it’s length. This cut out is where the reel nestles into the reel seat steadying it. It is not so hard to epoxy the reel seat in place and forget to align the cut out with the reel pocket on the reel seat. Once the reel seat epoxy hardens it is next to impossible to remove the reel seat. About the only way to do it is to cut off the reel seat with a hacksaw (very carefully). If you can avoid damaging a $300 rod blank you will still have destroyed a reel seat that probably costs $30 to $50.
Geez I hate that. My advice is to create a checklist for assembly of your rod and add a visual check for this in the checklist. Have you ever done this? How did you fix it?
