First off, the new layout looks great!

So, my problem is that I made the fighting butt on my 10ft 8wt FT too short. I was trying to come up with some way of converting the rod to a switcher without rebuilding the whole handle/seat. The big problem is that the tube I have for the rod fits it really well, so i would have to rig up somekind of removable butt in order to not buy a new tube. There is only about a quarter of an inch of spare room.

The reel seat is a Pac Bay A8 w/ the double lock nuts. The current butt is a wooden one from Les Freilborg, which came w/ the matching insert. I believe the butt fit about half an inch into the seat. I'm not sure if I could fit one of those removable-butt-reelseat-cap things (no idea of the proper name) all of the way in, and I'm also not sure if the little thin aluminum mandrels in the commercially made fighting butts are strong enough for switch casting.

Also, I don't have a lathe, but do have a drill and good set of rollers.

Anyway, I was just hoping some of you guys would have some ideas on refitting the rod w/ a removable butt so that I don't have to buy a new tube and rebuild the whole thing?

Thanks in advance,
Ray

i used a pac bay seat on my 10' 6wt switch rod. i beleive it was the A8. i used the plug and removable fighting butt. i bought a 5" fighting butt for this seat and stripped off the cork. there is a 5" aluminum rod inside this butt and if i remember it is 3/8 diameter. i found some 3/8 inside diameter aluminum tubing and cut it to 8". i epoxied this onto the aluminum rod. on this i built my cork extenstion handle. so far so good. i am not sure if this is strong enough for a heavier rod. i understand that the fighting butt mandrel is available without the cork but i don't know where to get it.