Good news - I put a small bit of "Knot sense" on the male end and it tightened it enough for the larger female to fit fairly tight, so I'll just find a rough piece to mount that female on and I should be set without chopping up the old butt. If it loosens up later, I can add a little more knot sense on the fly - that's great stuff! I use it for mending my garden hose, sewer hose on the RV, and lots of stuff.
You might get luck and find some tubing that fits. Go to a hobby store where they stock 16" sections of brass and alum. tubing and see if you can find a fit. If you own a drill press you might be able to drill out some tubing that a little under sized. Note: mount the tubing in the drill chuck and place the bit in a vice, this makes it self centering.
I'm not sure the masking tape or epoxy will be strong enough and it might gum up the works so you couldn't seperate the handle. If you are looking for 'shim' material I would try the metal tape sold for sealing air ducts (Home Depot) or some thin sheets of brass sold as shim stock (hobby store)
If you find a fit thats close, you can compress a female tube/ferrule a few 1/1000" using a pipe cutter. Remove the cutting wheel and replace it with a smooth metal bushing. Place the rollers on the ferrule and run the cutter round and round while slowly tightening the handle.
By the way, if you trash the old butt section to get the ferrule you have no reason to make the handle removable. Why not just mount the handle in the conventional way. Then you will end up with a two piece rod where both sections are the same length and fit onto a rod sock and tube more easily.
Kengore, I was going to do that, but when somebody suggested the handle on a separate piece, I thought it would be because mounting it on the mid section would make it another 10 inches or so shorter - would that make it stiffer, lighter, or both? Also the folks that have chimed in about me chopping up the butt section would be equally horrified about altering the mid section, but that is a thought.
By the way, I have been meaning to ask - this rod has marks across the rod - parallel straight lines like you might make by gripping the rod in a tool of something, but they are on the entire butt and mid section, here and there - any ideas what could cause that?
Shorter usually means stiffer,although I'm not sure that 10" will make a huge difference. At least not at much a difference as changing the rod from 3pc to 2pc.
It's easy enough to test it as a 2pc. wrap a little plastic wrap over the end of the mid section (to protect it) and make a temporary handle/reel seat by wrapping layers of masking tape and cardboard. Tape on your favorite reel and do a little lawn casting.
One of my banty projects turned out nice and pretty, but I soon found I had little use for a 6ft 2pc 6wt rod. Wish I had test casted the rod prior to all the work.
I did test cast it, put the reel in my pocket and just held the rod - it seemed like it might be OK with a 4 wt line - guess I'll just have to try it. Can I get 2 ton epoxy to come loose if I give up on it and want to use the handle elsewhere?
It worked! I got a short piece of rod and mounted the handle on it, and just came in from casting it - it feels nice and light with a 4 wt line and flings it pretty easy - now to catch a fish.
I love it when a plan comes together.
"I envy not him that eats better meat than I do, nor him that is richer, or that wears better clothes than I do; I envy nobody but him, and him only that catches more fish than I do." Izaak Walton
God Bless and Tight Lines ----*<(((>< ~ ~ ~
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