QuestionI was lucky enough to find 5 bamboo fly rods for a very reasonable price. They were inexpensive to begin with (I'm sure). I'd like to rebuild 1 or 2 and replace the grips and reel seats with nicer ones. How is the old grip and reel seat removed without damaging the rod?
AnswerHi Eric,
Two things....first, don't assume they are inexpensive because you got them at a reasonable price; and second, if you are interested, send me some information about each of the rods and I'll tell you what you have to work with and what they might be worth. Send to
[email protected] along with some pictures if they are available.
The reel seats and handles are glued in place and, depending on the brand and model, the reel seats may also have pins holding them in place in addition to the glue.
You can try the following on the reel seat...look for any pins that may be securing the seat. If you find one, or more, take a thin punch and hammer and drive the pin(s) gently into the rod...just enough to clear the wall thickness of the reel seat itself. If the pin(s) happens to be sticking out far enough to grasp it with a pliers, then grab it and pull it out instead of driving it inward. Once you have the pin(s) out of the way, or if there are no pins present, go on to the next step.
Using a heat gun set on its low setting, heat the reel seat while tugging on the seat with a pliers. What you are trying to do is loosen the glue enough to cause the seat to slide off the end of the rod. Low heat only and go slow, check frequently to make sure you are doing no harm to the rod shaft itself. If this does not loosen the seat, then use a Dremel tool with a cutoff wheel and split the seat lengthwise. Once split, use a screwdriver or other pry tools to separate the seat from the rod shaft or bushing on which it sits. The seat may be glued directly to the rod shaft or it may sit on a bushing of some sort (wood, cork, tape, etc) that is glued directly to the rod shaft. If a bushing is present, you may not want to remove it as you will need some sort of bushing to support the new reel seat. If you do remove it, you will need to reinstall it on the rod or replace it with a new one to support the new reel seat.
The cork grip can be split and pried away from the rod shaft. It is likely glued directly to the shaft, but it may also have a bushing of some sort between it and the rod shaft. The Dremel tool with a cutting wheel will do a good job of spliting the cork as well. Be careful and remove the cork in pieces so you can see what is going on as you make your cuts.
Once you have the cork and reel seat and any bushings removed you can scrape the remaining glue away from the rod shaft. If necessary, you can lightly sand tough spots to get the rod shaft as clear and clean as possible...be careful not to cut into the enamel of the bamboo.
With the rod shaft clear and clean you can proceed to install the new reel seat and then the new handle. You will be able to install the reel seat from the butt end of the rod. The new handle will need to be reamed to match the taper of the rod shaft and will need to be installed from the tip end of the butt section. This may necessitate the removal of guides, winding check and hookkeeper from the shaft to allow you to slide the handle down into place.
As you get into this project feel free to ask me questions. If you need to learn how to do this, consider attending my new Rod Builders Institute...sorry couldn't resist a shameless plug for the new school...but you do need to have some basic skills and understanding of what is involved.
I'm happy to answer your questions as you get started and run into problems. It's mostly common sense and being careful about what you are doing. On the vintage rods, the components and materials are somewhat different than those used on modern rods and knowing the difference and how to deal with those differences makes the job easier.
Good luck. Let me know if/when you need help.
Thanks, Joe
