A few years ago I built a light spinning rod with a skeleton reel seat that I hated once I started using it.  It had a cork butt and fighting butt.  I have a couple of rods with the palm swell seat that I like so I cut the skeleton off and installed the palm swell from the butt end of the rod.  I had to use eva for the grips to slip on the butt and it worked fine.  I used drywall mesh for bushings which worked OK too.  The rod is, to me, much more comfortable to use.  I'm sure people have done this before me. 

Good reminder of the importance of ergonomics.  Unfortunately it's hard to evaluate from a catalog or website picture.  At least rod builders can fix the situation!

I havent had to cut off too many reel seats....but I have installed grips from the back...and used drywall tape.

Skeleton seats are horrible especially on spinning rods. Any weight savings is negligible and in the least impactful location.