Quote Originally Posted by Smernsky View Post
To answer 2 questions that have come up on this post so far,

First:
I did not make the blank. I had it made for me. I am a "Rodbuilder" not a "blank maker".
Be it cane , or graphite the cost of making quality blanks money wise,is out of my reach to tool up for. As long as quality blanks are offered I will continue to build on them and mark them appropriatley as to origin.

Second:
The cost of this particular rod ..material wise was over $300. Which does not include any labor.
You can definitely make quality blanks for short cash. You're not too far from me so if you're interested I have a set of wooden forms you can have(you just have to come get them). The only tools you would really need are a plane, a dial indicator, and some way to tension the thread for binding. You can use a pipe and a torch to temper the bamboo and ferrules are not hard to fit. You already have the rest of the stuff to take it from there. Not including the cost of the bamboo itself(Demarest sells 3 packs for $160 shipped, that's enough for at least 6 rods), you're looking at under $100 in tools. Ferrules are from about $40 a set(good ones anyways). All of the other tools make certain aspects easier but really aren't needed to get started.