I am building my first fly rod from components from Mudhole. I have have the cork all reamed out and the reel seat shimmed up with a little tape. My question is i have a metal butt cap that goes in the back of the reel seat. Do i just epoxy that in place? Do i run my blank out flush with the reel seat end or end of the interior arbor in the reel seat?

Any help appreciated!

Matt

Epoxy the cork and reel seat first, using plenty of epoxy, fully encapsulating the shims, setting them up to allow the metal cap to go on the end without interference. Make sure the ID of the seat and the OD of the cap are clean, dry, and burnished with a mild abrasive, like an abrasive pad. Do not use any fluid on it or the ID of the seat. Just glue it in. Don't be alarmed if you have some epoxy leaking out, just clean it off with a paper towel and alcohol. Keep watching for a while to detect any leakage while it is still fluid enough to be cleaned up with alcohol.

I set it up to have the end of the blank just inside the seat so it doesn't interfere with the cap's installation.

That sounds good to me! I have it ready to go then!

Thanks!

Matt

If the metal butt cap has a threaded hole in the middle it is for a fighting butt extension - a great aid in fighting large fish. Take care not to let any Rod-Bond or epoxy get inside that threaded hole.

Good advice from Michael. On a side note.. I have had the butt caps not want to go on because of trapped air wanting to push the butt cap back off . PITB...