A question for the rod builders

[Bondar]

I recently purchased a 11'6 IMX love the rod but i hate the reel seat location

i'm wondering how much work is involved in removing the old seat and cork and have sliding rings and new cork installed

I know its possible just not sure how to go about it

 

 

If there are any rod builders in the Niagara region that would like to take on this job please PM me i'll post a couple pics of the rod in a minute

Edited November 10, 2009 by Wiser

[BillM]

Shouldn't be to hard, I just had the same thing done to my Loomis IM6.

[MJL]

Stripping down a handle and rebuilding it can be pretty labour intensive at times (Especially if you can't remove the reel seat from the butt end). I'd rather watch epoxy dry and hand turn a rod than scrape cork residue and hardened epoxy off a blank

 

There was one rod builder in the Niagara region who posted here (CCRods)...Think he might've gotten out of the business though...Worth shooting him a PM.

 

Also

- John Collina (JC tackle Calendonia)

- Randy (Natural Sports in Kitchener)

- Phil Ptak (Not sure if he's still building but he's not far from you in Buffalo...He fishes up in Hamilton for carp sometimes)

 

Spiel might be able to do it for you too.

Edited November 10, 2009 by MJL

[jace]

I recently purchased a 11'6 IMX love the rod but i hate the reel seat location

i'm wondering how much work is involved in removing the old seat and cork and having a new one install

I know its possible just not sure how to go about it

 

 

If there are any rod builders in the Niagara region that would like to take on this job please PM me i'll post a couple pics of the rod in a minute

 

 

On a float rod, it's pretty easy to do it from the handle end up becasue the diameter barely changes from the butt to the foregrip. There will be a slight gap in the bored out grip but your other option is to remove the guides and come down from the ferrule end. On a magnum taper bass blank, it's a different story because the diameter change from the butt to the foregrip can be huge. It's not impossible to do these from the butt end but the job won't be as clean unless it's an EVA grip or cork with big winding checks.

[Bondar]

[steelhead197]

I build rod's and my advice is "Leave it the way it is"!!!

Looks good now and Its alot of work!!

My 2

[kemper]

Ive never pulled one off but I have built a rod and I gotta say I don't think its gonna be too easy to get the handle assembly off without damaging the blank. That said I know people can do it so I guess you just have to talk to the right person.

 

That reel seat would be too far back for me too

[BillM]

A decent rod builder should have no issues with this at all.

[silvio]

The cork is easy to get off the reel seat is going to be a bit of a pain. I think you have no idea about what you getting yourself into bud but to redo a handle cost top dollars cork is very expensive and a wood seat and butt cap like you got there will cost about $100 its self give or take. nothing will be salvaged from the original handle so here is roughly what it will cost.

 

if a rod builder is getting the material and building it your looking at

2.00 a ring at 30 rings needed = $60

cork accents = $10

wood reel seat= $50-70

but cap= $15-30

labour to strip re glue and shape = 60-100 I am guessing depending who it is.

 

plus you run the risk of damaging the blank so do you really want to do it?

[Bondar]

sorry i should have said i'm going to sliding rings not another reel seat

as for the stuff thats on there i dont care if it gets ruined

 

and the rod is really no good to me if its uncomfortable

so its either for sale or getting removed

[Guest steel'n'esox]

You really only have to remove from the reel seat back, the fore grip can stay, the first ring is usually a tapered shape to keep the ring from sliding up the blank, but tape them anyways and that wont be an issue, I hate to see a good burlwood reelseat and butt cap get the dremel, but its all about the feel, I have a Loomis Gl3 11.5 ft with rings and would prefer the reel seat, that job is really not that difficult, but must be done with utmost care as to not damage the blank, further more if that is a factory rod altering it will void the lifetime warranty, if its a custom built rod apparently your ok, ran into this issue on a 13 ft 1562 IMX, and thats the way it was explained to me by GTA rod builder

[Billy Bob]

I have built about 10-12 rods over the years and what you want is labor intense.......the cost will depend on how much the rod builder wants the work....if he's busy, get out your check book...if not he may cut you a break.

[MJL]

You really only have to remove from the reel seat back, the fore grip can stay, the first ring is usually a tapered shape to keep the ring from sliding up the blank, but tape them anyways and that wont be an issue, I hate to see a good burlwood reelseat and butt cap get the dremel, but its all about the feel, I have a Loomis Gl3 11.5 ft with rings and would prefer the reel seat, that job is really not that difficult, but must be done with utmost care as to not damage the blank, further more if that is a factory rod altering it will void the lifetime warranty, if its a custom built rod apparently your ok, ran into this issue on a 13 ft 1562 IMX, and thats the way it was explained to me by GTA rod builder

 

Yes this is the way to do it

 

Here’s what I’ve done in the past: Take a hair dryer or heat gun to remove the wood butt cap depending on what adhesive the builder used to stick it on – with enough heat, 5 min epoxy softens up (try not to cook the blank though). Alternatively, carefully cut it off with a dremel tool and scrap it. Carefully take a sharp razor to the cork on the butt grip and remove as much as you can – Clean residue with a combo of light heat from a hair dryer and methyl hydrate or acetone (AngSpec sells a solvent which cleans it up even better - Acetone has done some weird things to rod blanks in my experience...I don't recommend using it). A lot of the custom turned wooden reel seats I’ve used on float rods didn’t slide off the bottom section because the internal diameter was drilled out narrow so you didn’t have to shim it much with tape (or graphite shims) to get a snug fit – take a dremel cutting tool to that. Once you’ve got the cork and reel seat off and cleaned off most of the cork, tape and epoxy residue from the blank, you can start to rebuild the cork handle from the bottom end. As said a couple times before, the utmost care must be taken as to not damage the blank in the process. Also not one of the most enjoyable things to do when fresh steel is going up the rivers.LOL

 

From what I’ve been told recently by a rep, with G. Loomis rods should you require warranty service, all you have to do is cut off the decal on butt section of the blank (just above the fore grip) and ship it in. Doesn’t matter if you’ve done custom stuff (like change the guides or add a reel seat). A lot of guys who run the newer GLX float rods, switch the recoil guides to SIC (or other ceramic rings) and put in a reel seat. The owners of the newer 13’ IMX float rods are switching up the guide spacing from the current 9 (I believe) to 14. Those running the older GL3 and IMX have the same deal (I think)…You just gotta ship in the decal + $75 and you get either the new GLX or the new IMX. That's what I've been told when I inquired about getting a new float rod for myself... It's best to call Shimano Canada's customer service hotline and confirm.

Edited November 11, 2009 by MJL

[HTHM]

Sell the rod, and get what you want instead. Easy peasy....

[Spiel]

Sure it can be done, I could even do it, done it many times but you wouldn't like the cost.

Personally I think you have a better handle now then the one you're wanting.

[Jet]

Many of the new float rods I want only have sliding rings and I thought it wouldn't be to hard and expensive to have a reel seat retrofitted. Thanks for the enlightening discussion.

[kemper]

Many of the new float rods I want only have sliding rings and I thought it wouldn't be to hard and expensive to have a reel seat retrofitted. Thanks for the enlightening discussion.

 

 

easier to remove cork and fit a seat then recork the back half then to remove a reel seat

[Jet]

Sure it can be done, I could even do it, done it many times but you wouldn't like the cost.

Personally I think you have a better handle now then the one you're wanting.

 

 

Spiel,

 

What would you charge to have a reel seat retrofitted onto an existing factory rod with sliding rings with a decent wood seat and mid-grade cork?

 

-j

[Spiel]

Spiel,

 

What would you charge to have a reel seat retrofitted onto an existing factory rod with sliding rings with a decent wood seat and mid-grade cork?

 

-j

 

It's hard to say what costs would be for this type of work. Variables can be extensive in time needed to remove the old handle, whether or not it can be done from the back or whether the guides will have to be removed. Cork costs are through the roof and can run upwards of several dollars per inch. Then of course fitting, glueing and lathing the grips followed by instalation on the now cleaned up blank......

 

Then of course you can add custom cork burls to pimp it out, I could go on.

 

Pre fab handles are definitely cheaper but quality is not as great and of course you lose out on uniqueness.

 

Wood seats also vary in price depending on many factors but will typically run 2 to 3 times more than conventional seats.

 

Bottom line is if you want quality components and quality work it's gonna cost.