I'll pipe in, after all I did start the post.

I don't build for myself very often, so when I do I pull the stops (I also keep rods a long time). For starters I always save up to get the blank I really want, not just one I think I'd be happy with. Also it doesn't bother me to spend some extra dough to dress up a rod. In a few years I'll never miss that extra $25 I spent on a seat or the $30 I spent on an agate stripper. Plus the best part-- as much as I can possibly spend on compontents, I still end up spending less than a premium factory rod.

But of course the downside-- this spring when I'm standing in small creek runnoff water I'll sure be wishing I had a 7'6 5wt to depth-charge bh-stonefly nymphs. Maybe next year.

My current build: 8'0 3wt CTS Maxim, all blued NS hardware from goldenwitch, agate, gossamer, cg2 flor rings. mmmm, she'll be a beauty.