David: Thank you for sharing about the Expo. That is an excellent lead! Now I have one more activity to try to work into my schedule. I wish it was being held closer to California.

Tom Wilson
"If fishing is like religion, then fly-fishing is high church." ~Tom Brokaw~

We have an excellent crowd that travels in from California to the Expo each year - there's just nothing else like it.

....................

I've never heard of Tradition blanks.

Who makes them and do they have a website?

What's the url?


Eric



Thomas Wilson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I've heard of Tiger Eye, Forecast, and Tradition
> blanks Fly Rod Blanks. Are there other Fly Rod
> Blanks that are decent quality inexpensive blanks
> I should no about. I am building on a very nice
> blank right now, but I want to get a lot of
> practice building in hope that I can get good
> enough to eventually begin a custom fly rod
> building business without braking the bank.
>
> Tom

Tradition blanks are Pac Bay

Bill - willierods.com

David Spence Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> You need to come to the Expo next February-better
> prices and bargains than any @#$%& site or any
> other source. Plus you'll be supporting this
> board's sponsors as they offer most all the
> bargain blanks. There are literally thousands of
> blanks for $10.00 dollars or less. Show up Sunday
> toward the end of the show and you might well get
> them for less. I don't recollect the exact amount
> but I came home with 40-50 blanks for less than
> $300.00. Each blank cost me about half the price
> of shipping it. I can build on these blanks and
> charge $200.00 per finished rod. As you can see,
> my net profit on each of these is about $170.00.
> The show has similar incredible prices on
> components also. The ability to stock up on
> blanks and components for several years; to deduct
> your expenses, (assuming you qualify); to see the
> newest "bells and whistles; to see the best rod
> building work in the world and talk one- on-one to
> builders and suppliers- all for a ridiculously low
> ticket price simply can't be beaten. I don't know
> a single person who has attended the Expo and
> found it to be the ultimate rod building
> experience. Click the Expo link on the sidebar
> for information and be sure to hit the link for
> "Comments" to get an idea of how good this event
> is.

I agree that it is a great show and supporting you sponsors is a great way of keeping a good thing going.. I'm curious about your numbers.
40-50 for $300, $6-8 per blank, it's a great deal. Are they under $10 because they are seconds, blemished? If so, do you tell your $200 rod customer this, and does he approve? assume the blank is decent quality, why then do blanks cost $40-50 reatail on most websites for Asian imports? Assuming of course that they are generally less than domestic's at maybe $50-100 or more. I buy about 1,000 blanks per year from Amtak, Batson, and Calstar. I have never seen pricing like this from any of them. What "sponsors" offer these deals?

Sorry, one other question, about how many dealers had these under $10 blanks. What brands?
thanks

Kevin
Unhide your email or drop me a line "off-board"

I have built a few rod on his blanks, I have not got a bad blank from him, they are stright good quality .