Could someone tell me the difference between a surf blank and a salmon/steelhead blank that are rated with the same spec's.

I think that generally the surf blanks is going to have more gutts and be designed for harder casts with the same weight. In other words, I think that a steelhead blank rated for 2oz will not be as heavily constructed as a surf blank rated for 2oz. What kind of surf fishing are you looking to do? Where I live the surf and the fish are both generally light so I build almost all of my surf rods on steelhead blanks.

The person I am building the rod for wants a light surf rod for small stripers and bluefish. A Salmon/Steelhead blank may be just right.
Thanks

I don't think there is a difference, the blank does not know the difference between surf and steelhead. Most of the fishing I do is Fresh water surf fishing for steelhead, and I have built rods that were designated surf and steelhead for the same application. If the specs are identical there is no difference.

For that I would definitely look at a steelhead blank. I don't know exactly how much weight he wants to throw, but the Rainshadow 1264 is a really nice blank. The steelhead blank is also going to be lighter in the hand than the surf blank and the fight from the fish will be more fun.
What length rod? Conventional or spinning? Throwing what kind of tackle?

for the surf fishing that we do in Southern California, using 6 to 8 Lb. line and 1/2 to 3/4 weight, we use steelhead rods.

A Rainshadow SU1266 or 1267 would be perfect for this.

"If the specs are identical there is no difference."

That depends on what the specs specify.
If the URRS values are identical, the blanks will be very close.
The most important values are TP and PR.

I would not choose the SU1266 or 1267 for small blues and stripers - way too much stick.

Bruce in socal,
what size and kind of blanks do you use? by this i mean specs. I'm new to the custom thing and have always fished with whatever long, lighter, fast action rod I could find at the shop. All the acronyms and codes are confusing!! Another question, what does 'power' mean? If you are given the line strength rating and the 'action', where does power fit in?
Steve in socal