Hey Brad,
Well, I can only say that it would be really difficult to make a decent PMQ as a first rod if you lacked basic hand tool skills and attempted it without help. Others have commented on the care needed to straighten sections which I have verified is a challenge.
If a kit of pre-planed parts was available it might be a possibility but there is a LOT that can be underestimated in making a decent PMQ.
No free lunch out there, is there? 
Bob
No free lunch for sure. To make any type of bamboo rod…PMQ, hex, true quad, is an achievement and takes a bit of skill for sure. Say nothing of the specialized tools that make the job less of a chore.
By the way, the rod of mine that you cast was straightened with a regular clothes iron on a flat surface. Try it sometime…it may surprise you!!
Brad
The little 2-strip quad in action on the Ausable River in the Adirondacks…
Another very short video look at the 2-strip quad on the Ausable River near The Hungry Trout:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RL0lXH8vX7g
I was really curious about the accuracy of a 2-strip rod. Many have mentioned the tendency for them to twist during casting which impairs accuracy - hence the butt cross-section has been widened incrementally along its length to compensate.
Here’s how it turned out…
Now that the shop is cleared from the early summer rod making, it is time to determine what to make for other family members… that would be our son-in-law, daughter and my wife.
Joining us was my good friend and mentor Mark, his wife and daughter. Mark will be making their daughter a rod, too.
To do that we held a “Castorama” - a cookout with a lawn-casting session with about a dozen bamboo fly rods. Everyone cast all they wanted until they found their ‘sweet spot’.
That turned out to be a Driggs for SIL, Gillum 7’, 3-pc, 4/5 wt for both of our daughters and a Digger Degere “Big Eddy” 6’ 4", 2-pc 4 wt for my wife.
Here are a few photos highlighting our event:
The rod queue is beginning to stack up!
My oldest brother Tom, a fly fisherman for over 50 years now, would like a rod. A Midge, 6’ 3", 2-piece, 4 weight, and he would like it flamed as dark as I can get it. Well, I know what that does to the bamboo, thanks to Bob Milward and Dr. Wolfram Schott, but for Tom, I’ll give it a try.
The little video here shows my first flaming attempt. You can interpret that several ways - they’re probably fitting whichever you choose:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvBFE1Q7ZTc
And yes, we wet down the dry grass before I started flaming. And no, we didn’t for my friend’s flaming when we started… that was more interesting but not a good time to be videoing. Glad it was his yard.
Bob
You need one of these…
http://www.harborfreight.com/propane-torch-with-push-button-igniter-91037.html
Brad
Hey Brad - yeah, Mark had one there today when he flamed his. Compared to my little lighter that thing is a bonafide flame thrower! It does the job quickly… just couldn’t trust myself to HF for that little item, though.
I just sent a Midge out to my brother Tom in Pennsylvania and he gave it a shot - on the Yellow Breeches near Carlisle:
Lucky family to have you building rods for them! Great stuff, keep up the good work.
