On Jan 14, 12:44 am, wrote:
I have to admit, I'm a little nervous about boiling my (relatively)
expensive rod. Is this pretty safe, and is gluing the rod back
together fairly straightforward?

Two suggestions:

First, ask around among the local fishermen and see if there is someone
in your area that repairs and/or builds rods. Nearly every area where
there is decent fishing will have one or two.

Second, how badly is the ring bent? If you can get a small brass
hammer, you might be able to tap it back into shape, at least well
enough to engage the threads and lock the reel. I'm assuming the reel
seat is uplocking, so the ring is at the rear, away from the rod.