Delaware Valley Tackle

You're asking for trouble with the cardboard tubes. The shipping isn't that much more. Use pvc

There's no right or wrong. Take the rod and mount a few reels to see what feels good. IMO the whole balance thing is way over thought and obsessed on. St Croix uses great blanks and tend toward the shorter side on handle length. If you decide adding weight is an absolute must don't do it with the reel. Go the cap and washer route.

If the cap is too tight the spool shaft hits it keeping the spool itself from seating properly. Glad I could help. Merry Christmas.

You're flirting with disaster. It requires a special tool to press out the pin. There are a couple different ones, a plier or a mini press. Could the reel benefit from cleaning? If so send it in along with the bearings and I'll install them for you.

First thing I'd check is yo pull the spool, loosen the cast control cap and reinstall the spool. If that doesn't do it contact me offline and I'll troubleshoot with you. Mike

I service them all the time still. They are a workhorse all around caster.

A swept handle puts the knobs on plane with the drive shaft and tend to be a tad shorter than some straight handles. Any mechanical advantage is slight but the same can be said about a lot of reel features. The subtle refinements are where it's at nowadays.

Your rod is a much more efficient tool for moving fish. You only need to reel enough to keep up with the rod and avoid giving slack line.

I like a little a mod fast action for those since they're often being popped off the weeds. Power dictated by lure weight and cover.

1/2 - 1.5 is a wide range. With 1/2 oz as the low end casting weight I'd expect more tip than on some other "heavy" labeled rods.

Hard to tell without seeing it. The drag shouldn't come loose enough to allow anything to come out of alignment.

Shimano uses an AR assembly with larger rollers contained in a sturdy housing and uses a solid actuating switch. All self contained, no pins falling out, no micro springs taking flight, little to no back play

That's right. Btw if you use a greased drag, they require actual drag grease like cals or Shimano and either of them can double as gear grease.

There nothing special about reel grease except for the label. Super lube is a good synthetic. Marine grease like yamalube works well too.

The AR in spinning reels in general are touchy. Shimano has the best system hands down IMO. But the AR alone doesn't make the reel.

There's nothing particularly unique about either of those casting applications that any good quality reel can't handle. Some folks are put off by the t wing when pitching or flipping as the line may not fall back into the groove. It's not the end of the world though.

Pam cooking spray helps. I've experimented with RainX and early results look promising. There's no magic though.

Do some research into the actual process before buying a whole kit. Most of what you need can be fabricated at home to start out. Rod building is a rewarding craft but not for everyone. Go slow and see where it takes you.

The incompatibility of lubricants is WAY over dramatized. The soaps (thickeners) used in greases can react but it's not a given. Brush the worm gear clean and oil it up. You'll be fine.

Are you looking for a schematic?

As far as I'm aware naturally occurring temperatures will not have any negative affect on a graphite rod.

The microwave system is nice if you change reels often plus it's initial layout is next to foolproof

In my experience I do not consider bass line shy. A wire leaders weight would have a negative affect on many popular baits. There's no need for a leader unless you're fishing pike waters. Long story short, adjust your tackle to conditions.

You'd have to strip the entire rod to mount the new seat in addition to getting the old one off. You'd be way ahead of the game to build new rods.

When compared to stock bearings that have been flushed and properly lubed, the gains of a bearing swap are less significant. Typically the two spool bearings are what's changed. The Carbontex drag is a good upgrade and fairly inexpensive. Max drag will increase but better still they're smoother and consistent. I'd have to see the handle or a schematic to see what the options are. A lot of what you're looking at here is getting into the enthusiast realm and won't do a lot on the Water as far as fish catching. That's fine as long as that fits your goals and expectations. There's a lot of hype around reel tuning that, probably to my own detriment, I shy away from. Anyone wanting to discuss specific scenarios feel free to give me a shout.