I recently purchased a handle / reel seat combo for a fly rod I'm going to build. While dry fitting the components I found that hole in the handle is larger than the blank. I have never encountered this before. I have always fit the handle to the blank by reaming out either the handle or cork rings. My question is, how do you deal with this? Do you build up the blank in the same way you would for the reel seat? There is about a 1/16" to 1/8" gap around the handle. I thought I would be saving a little time by using a handle kit. Thanks for any advice.
Joe Luebeck

I had a few brick foam arbors laying around. I turned them down on my drill press to fit the handle, then reamed them out to fit the blank. It was only my third rod, and I didn't know any other way to do it other than the tape method. It took some time, but it sure turned out great.

joe if i was you id order another handle there's really no sense in tryin to make it fit plus y'd be adding weight just my opinion good luck

Joe,
There are a variety of ways of dealing with this gap. If it is only 1/8 inch or less you can use foam arbors, dry wall tape or masking tape to fill the gap just like you do under the reel seat. If you choose to use masking tape you might take a little extra care to insure that the ends of the tape are well covered with epoxy so that moisture does not get in under the cork or reel seat.
.

Joe, you must be building a one to three weight. Are you using an ultra fine grip? The bore on these are 5/16. They are available from most suppliers. Hope this helps.

Joe, you must be building a one to three weight. Are you using an ultra fine grip? The bore on these are 5/16. They are available from most suppliers. Hope this helps.