the purists won't like it

[Gilbert]

............But i have recently aquired a 500 in good basic condition that i will rebuild . no real faults unless you call a bit of black stain a fault . it is straight and true with a bit of steel in the spine . the only small problem was that the handle had "blown" . the ally butt has got wet - probably quite often , and the water caused the ally to oxidise and expand producing swelling in the cork. so much so the reel bands were stuck fast . i rubbed it down and all is well and i will fill the holes in the cork with pit paste to stop a recurrence. is this a common thing ?
anyway , 500s are not a rare thing , so i don't feel bad about making some changes. the lack of rings is to me a bit of a concern and i would like more (don't we all)? .....and i like the Stoney ledgerstrike . -- but not the 28" handle -- so the plan is a Ledgerstrike 8 ring pattern , probably to my own settings to bring the tip more in to play , and the LS intermediate wrap pattern , more fussy , but it will look nice so why not ? i do a lot of swingtipping and the 24" handle is what you need for tipping - in fact if i had a ledgerstrike i would be likely to shorten the handle!
both the LS and the 500 are 1lb test although this rod feels as if it will pull more , but the end result will i think be the rod Chapmans should have made , but never did.
it will have green ring wraps , a small gap , then black tippet , another small gap followed by a burgundy tippet and then the burgundy for the intermediates - a bit like some Hardy rods . i will use CP so the colours will stay true .
it sounds good to me - any thoughts ??
pics to follow when the job is done

I love these rods and this is what I did with the last couple I had. One had just your problems.
https://traditionalfisherman.com/viewto ... 00#p370930

i saw that post - very nice Fredline

[Gilbert]

' tis done - nearly . i took a couple of pics before the final coat of varnish.
i ended up using red for the wraps and inters for no better reason than i have 400 yds to use up. green tippets . the butt came up like new after a bit of cork removal and the application of pit paste and cork seal.
7 rings proved sufficient -Seymo 616 , so no standoffs but i prefer low riders on a bottom rod. i took off the copper wrapping on the butt ring and ferrule. something i may rue in the future as i think this is a very early rod , but i wanted the butt ring further up the blank. anyway , what's done is done . the important thing is that it is a good useable rod . i will probably try to find another 500 with no faults to do a proper restoration .

[Pallenpool]

Nice job Sir? - just caught up with this thread

[Gilbert]

thank 'ee kindly

[Fredline]

That looks so good I thought it was one of mine.
Only joking, it looks great. Well done.

[Gilbert]

thanks . cane makes a nice change from beachcasters

[Santiago]

Great job. Real shame though, that you forgot to put the reel rings back on the butt !

[Gilbert]

Great job. Real shame though, that you forgot to put the reel rings back on the butt !

they're down the other end , silly boy lol

[Santiago]

Sorry, I always fish with mine at the top of the butt.

[Gilbert]

there you go