First Prototype Reel Seat

This week i got to play around with the design of the reel seats for the bamboo spey rods as well as experimenting with ferrules.
using gun blue is really fun also but its a real chore to get them super clean so they wont resist the blueing agent.
I started off with just some scrap maple to turn into some prototypes. My target diameter for the finished insert needs to be 31/32 of and inch and then the mortise can be made.












The carriage for the insert took about ten minutes to make and then the setup with the shaper was pretty easy. In all it took about 1 hour to make the prototype including the Brass Hood, lock ring and base ring for the bottom handle.
all in all an easy and very user friendly design thanks to having a good working metal lathe.