Here is how i do the rewind trick, on regular mowers:
Remove the starter housing. Have locking pliers handy, or some means of holding the starter wheel in position after you wind it up. Having it upside down in your lap makes the job easier. Turn the inner wheel to your left, about 8 turns, maybe a few more. Have the new rope, with the burned end, and poke that end into the hole in the housing and thru the hole in the wheel. then pull enough rope thru until you can tie a knot in the end, then pull the rope out to seat the knot. Carefully release the clamp holding the wheel from turning, then allow it to pull the rope into the housing. Leave enough rope out of the housing so you can insert it into the handle and out, tie a knot in that end after pulling out just enough rope to attach the handle, then allow it to pull the rope back in, attach the housing to the engine, and it should be ok.
A feller stopped one day and asked me why the starter wouldn't pull the new rope back in----HUH? (He didn't rewind the starter pulley first!)

Thanks for the reply. I got it done but had to completely disassemble the blower to remove the spool from the housing to access its underside to tie and insert the knotted end of the rope. The rewind spring actually popped out once and that was a pain to get back in, I don't recommend it. I then did what you said about winding the spool six or seven times to "load" the spring and I also used clamping pliers to secure the rope once loaded onto the spool. I think I missed a trade secret somewhere along the line though because I then had to "push" the rope up through the guides to the ouside of the housing in order to attach the handle. "Push a rope"? Again, not a good idea but it got done. When you only do this once in a lifetime there is a lot more trial and error. Thanks for the advice.