First thing to do starting the project is to put a few wraps of masking tape around the ferrule. That will give it a little strength until the wraps get put on, just in case. We certainly don’t want to damage the graphite during construction, and that is probably the weakest part of the blank at this point.
Then we need to find the spine. The blanks are made by wrapping graphite around a mandrel. This always results in one spot where there is a little bit of overlap. This is called the spine, and it is a little bit stiffer than the rest of the blank.
Find the spine of each piece by putting the fat end on a table, with the other end in your hand, and with your other hand put a little pressure in the middle of the blank, slightly bending it. Then slowly roll the section across the table. There will be a little “bump”, or discontinuity, when you roll over the spine. It is fairly subtle, especially on a thin two weight like this one. When you find it put a mark on the tape. I then repeat the process with my eyes closed, to see if I can come up with the same spot again. It is easy, but subtle.
We will use the spine to locate the reel seat and the guides. We want the stiffest part of the blank to be directly under or directly over the guides. One way gives a little extra casting power, and the other way gives a little extra fish fighting power. But I can’t remember which is which. And the effect is probable so small that it doesn’t make any difference to someone like me. So I will just line up the reel seat and guides with the spine on the bottom for this rod. The only mistake you can make here is to put the spine off to one side or the other. This will affect casting accuracy in that the rod will tend to flex away from (toward?) the spine during the casting stroke, thus causing your line not to go straight. Or so they say.
Now to assemble the reel seat. It is fairly simple, but best to dry fit before adding the epoxy. Basically there is a metal skeleton with threads on one end. The wood insert goes in there (inserted). On the back end there is the cap, nut, and sliding hood (to go over the reel seat). To the front is the fixed hood to accept the other end of the reel seat. In this case the fixed hood is recessed into the cork handle. This gives a nice look, especially on a small rod like this one. This type of arrangement is called “uplocking”, since you tighten the nut “up” the rod to lock on the reel. There are also “downlocking” reel seats, but of course they cannot by recessed.
Anyway I got all this together. Mix up a small batch of epoxy. I use Flex Coat Rod Builders Epoxy Glue. It has about a 15 minute set time. It says it is for reel seats, but I really think it is a little too thin. Maybe I’ll try something else next time. I don’t think it has to be too specific, just have enough working time.
Before gluing put a layer of masking tape over everything and have some acetone and a cloth standing by. I know you won’t need to clean up any spills or drips, but just do it anyway.
Glue the insert into the skeleton. Remember when I said that it goes together really simply and to dry fit it first. This time I came within two minutes of having this thing stuck together wrong, basically because sometimes I am a moron. Anyway, I saw that it didn’t look right with that gap in the back, probably due to the low cost components. Only to realize, hey wait a second, it goes in the other way and there is no gap. All’s well that ends well, and I got it together right.
While waiting for this to set, scuff up the rod a little with 100 grit sandpaper to allow the epoxy to get a better grip. Then clean it off with some alcohol.
Now to fit the reel seat on the rod. The ID of the seat is .400. The OD of the rod is .255 (pretty thin for the thick end, no?). I’ve got to get this centered in the reel seat.
I do this by making two bushing out of masking tape. This sounds really cheap and chintzy, but in fact it is really cheap and effective. Just wrap the tape around the blank until you get a friction fit in the reel seat. It is very easy to add a little more or take a little off to get a good fit. Make two of them equally spaced.
Now mix up a bigger batch of the same epoxy. Put a coating all around the blank where it will go in the reel seat. No need to put any on the tape since it will just be scraped off when inserting due to the friction fit. This is where I wish I had a stiffer epoxy, because this brand is a little runny and hard to keep on the blank until I get it in the seat. Insert the blank all the way down to the end, then put on the cap. Here is where it is important to line it up with the spine. I am putting my guides on the spine, so of course the reel will go in line with it too, so that is how I lined up the seat.
I ended up putting some more epoxy in the end before putting on the cap, and then putting more epoxy at the other end around the blank, since I couldn’t get a good enough build up around the blank with the runny stuff. That should keep it together so it never comes apart, no matter how hard those native brookies pound it!
Now I will just prop it straight up in a corner and threaten everyone in earshot that if they touch it they will be sorry. I am not sure the dogs understand. While this is curing I will try some preseason fishing on the special regulations area on the Bushkill. It looks like a nice day developing.