Beautiful reel seat and I like the grip! What color(s) are you doing for the wraps now?

Looking great guys. It’s bittersweet to see this thread getting action again. Typically means that summer and the peak fishing season is behind us.

Penzzz and Preast, great work on those inserts. Just curious if you wouldn’t mind sharing what you use to finish the inserts. I have been messing around turning wood this summer for non fly rod related projects but have turned a couple inserts recently. I’m going back and forth about what I want to use to finish them.

Rob

cool idea Tom. That one looks great.

I just finished an Epic 6pc graphite spey rod - first rod for myself in a while! Really nice blank and cool to have a full Spey rod that packs into a tube the same size as a 9ft 4pc.



Next up are a couple quick replacement handle for a few local guys, then a cue of glass rebuilds that includes FF756 and 858 Fenwicks, a System 10, and something else I can’t think of at the moment....

That insert looks great -- well done!

Lots of cool stuff here guys. That ebonite is interesting.

Rob, I just use plain old TruOil, at least 5 coats usually. A better look at some...

I'm stuck in rut when it comes to burls and reel seats, absolutely love the one on the right!

Lookin' good!

Man That's a beauty! I'm not even a spey guy, but I'd have to find a place to use that! I'd like to see those Fenwick rebuilds when you're done!

Nice looking build!

Great looking thread colors.

Since posting (#1619) in August I’ve been able to build out the middle and tip sections, and turn the grip for this ********* 864-3. But completing the project was stalled due to unavailability of the reel seat skeleton I wanted. No fault of the manufacturer, bad timing on my part as the parts needed to be sent out in a batch for dark nickel plating.

Yesterday the skeleton arrived so I was able to make some progress. With the reel seat in hand I measured and cut the base of the butt section and installed a stint. This allowed me to reduce the base of the butt section from .430 to .368, thereby eliminating the need to ream out my wood insert.

With most components now in hand I can get the bottom end bonded onto the blank. My agate guide maker is unavailable right now so there will be a slight delay before I can wrap the butt section. Not a problem, it’s unlikely this rod will see action before Spring.

Hello
All the reel seat work in the previous posts is just stunning !
Nice !
Makes me feel Like my simple rod project contribution is pale in comparison.

Promised more posts of the process of our project as it is progressing,Managed to get a few of my poor quality pictures up.

Thus far all the guides have been placed,static deflection was used to determine placement,guide size leans towards the large end of the spectrum,the smallest guide is a Recoil #2,The rod is going to be an ice fishing rod of sorts as the fellow fishes through the winter in a place known for temperatures that get to 20 below zero.I Know because I Lived there for many years myself.
So Guide Icing Was A Consideration In Our Guide Choices.

One of the fellows favorite fishing spots is my old fishing spot that I turned him onto.

The red silk tipping has also been finished ,so far 52 individual wraps.
We have another color yet, gold silk for another 20 or so accent wraps,we also have some intermediate wraps on the butt section to get done,these will be used for our incremental markings /scale to measure the fish caught.

Color preserver was applied to all the thread work yesterday 2 coats one mid day and a second coat around 11PM.Everything looks good this morning.
This will help hold the delicate silk wraps in place while I add more silk embellishments.

When the gold accents are finished the thread work will all get another 2 or 3 coats of CP before I start building the final finish.

Tight Lines And What's On Your Bench Loops
Andy M