I think the epoxy is the ticket. A hole drilled through and pinned may cause the rod to break when under heavy load. No offence intended fishhead.
No offense taken. It could be an issue but ...
If the rod blank is drilled through, the pin is epoxied in place, and it's not a salt water rod that has extreme stress on the reel seat it will work.
The reason why is the real seat (no matter what type) adds extra strength to that area. If you were drilling a hole in only the rod blank it would be an issue but the rod blank is wrapped by the reel seat and everything is held together by epoxy.
If you're worried about creating a stress point then drill through, and pin, only half of the rod blank.
