Had a couple of hours yesterday so the handle & reel seat are now glued :z
I wasn't sure of the Sage spacings due to reading observations on the net, the fact that the distances are to the extremity of the lower foot of an American snake (maybe getting too anal but I'm using different rings) and because I also moved the stripper ring slightly closer to hand so I decided to use an online calculator to re-adjust the spacings. I then threaded a line through them, gave it a bend and checked the transition of the line - looks fine to me
Today I whipped the section which butts up against the winding check, wrote on my personalised schpeel - whipped either side of that and added a metalic trim at a point 20" from the butt.
Probably whip all the rings on next
Iain