For the hardware you need:
1) a piece of tube, IMHO 22cm out, 20 in. You can choose it in brass, copper, carbon, plastic or what you like. My preferred is in aluminium because it's easy to find, cheap, very light, nice. And you can find it even colored.
2) a tube cutter (from 4 euros) tu cut perfect rings (like this
http://g01.a.alicdn.com/kf/HTB11Wz9NFXX ... m-22mm.jpg );
3) a small metal file, to avoid that the ring cut your fingers or the line
;
4) sand paper 1000 for metal, if you like the matt aluminium.
The cork insert
To do it I copied the procedure here (
http://www.pipam.it/index.php?option=co ... &Itemid=94) But anyway it's easy to do if you have a drill, threaded rod, some nuts and washer, corks (even bottle corks), wooden files and wooden sand paper.
You can make it 80mm long and 19,5cm diameter. The flat part can be made with a file and sand paper and must be a little larger that the foot of the reel.
This is the result:
3 different solutions:
A) the Orvis style reel seat.
I cut 2 rings 7 mm large, exactly like the rings on my Ultrafine Orvis 792.
The result:
B) Downlocking retainer
Instead of cut 2 rings 7mm you cut one 7mm and the other 15mm and you glue the 15mm at the end of the reel seat. Then you glue a metal circle in the back to finish it. Or you use simply a coin. In this examples I used 2 different coins on a 7mm ring to show how it can look: an italma (magnesium-aluminium very light alloy) 5 lire and 5 euro cents.
C) Uplocking retainer
Take a look here: there I used 20mm out and 18mm in (because the rod butt was smaller).
viewtopic.php?f=71&t=7738&hilit=uplockingWhat is better? A, B or C?
IMHO
Depends, for me there is not "a winner":
- the B solution maybe is better if the rod is longer and heavier for the balancement, the reel is solid and doesn't move at all;
- the C solution is better with lighter and shorter rods, the reel is solid and doesn't move at all, but the reel is really close to your hand and could be annoying;
- the A solution is a compromise between B and C and you can move a little the reel more close to the hand or more close to the back, but the reel is less solid like in the other 2 solutions.
All the 3 solutions are equally light, very light, pretty easy to make and really cheaps.
Enjoy
Roberto