Have built 2 other rods, but those handle kits simply had a plastic butt end that was glued on. The St. Croix handle kit has several shaped plugs. In order to do a decent job, do you ream from the top so you really avoid doing any reaming through the butt end hole? I am just worried about reaming through the butt end and creating a hole that isn't plugged well with one of the provided plugs.

Thanks

Hi Andre: Don't worry about over reaming the end hole. Ream in your normal fashion, from the butt, to match your rod's taper. The rubberized cork on the end of the handle makes reaming a little tougher; you'll see what I mean, but its not bad. When you've reamed it out to fit your rod, let about an 1/8- 1/4 inch of the handle extend past the butt of the blank. After the epoxy has dried in the cork, mix a little five minute epoxy, put a thin coat on the plug, and jam it in. Use a size that will leave part of the plug sticking out. Hold it in place while its drying, so it doesn't back out. After the epoxy has dried fully, cut this flush to the butt (I use a cheap fillet knife), then sand smooth. Good luck!

That is a great idea. Thank you so much for the suggestion. I had just never seen the end plugs on handles before.

Andre

On the cork & ring spinning seats this is the only way to have a smooth rounded all cork butt. I go to the hardware store for bottle corks in various sizes to fit these. I often trim the small end of the bottle corks and/or sand to make them fit right. Ralph

If the approach above works and fits, that's all you need to do. But often the provided plug or plugs are too small for the final end hole. There are various ways to finish the end off. Three that have worked for me, and I'm sure there are many other ways, are (1) Get bottle top corks, tapered, of various sizes, from a craft store, so as to be sure of having something that fits, with or without final sanding of any protruding cork. The resulting look (a cork insert lighter than the rubberized cork but the same as the main cork) is different but perfectly fine. (2) Go to a sewing store and buy some "shank buttons" (those without holes in the button body). A wide variety are avaiable, I like the plain black plastic ones. With some improvisation, you can epoxy these snugly and securely to the end. I often coat them with epoxy before doing this. (3) Same with coins, especially vintage coins, or ones with the date the same as the angler's birth year. Use superglue to attach a suitable small plug (cork or whatever) to the reverse side. Coat the exposed side with an epoxy layer as with the buttons. Etc., etc., but the bottom line is I ream from the bottom without worrying about it and then take it from there.