I recently purchased a a new 6'8" M/F spinning blank and just before starting on the handle I was locating the spine and noticed that the blank is not perfectly round. I can't see it looking at the cross section at the butt, but it is easy to feel when rolling in your hand and it causes the blank to snap into place at opposite edges where it is slightly oblong when locating the spine. I can feel the out-of-round only from the butt to about half way up the blank. The blank is perfectly straight and I see no other issues. Would you build on this blank? I know that it wouldnt be noticeable when complete but I'm worried about this causing a failure.

Thanks!
Joe

I happily build on blanks that are slightly out of true (straight), but personally i wouldn't use a blank that was noticeably out of round.
Unless the mandrel is also out of round there has been a defect during production, and i'd question the quality control of any supplier using suspect mandrels!

W.V.A. Custom Rods
UK

I measured the blank and found the worst spot, about 1ft. from the butt of the blank, to be .01 out of round (max-min OD). This was closer to .005 as I went middle forward on the blank. It almost feels like there is a slight ridge on one side vs. the blank being ovalized.

Joe

Not sure what's going on there but it could be that something was missed during the sanding process. Talk to the manufacturer and see what they have to say about it.

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I would likely give the blank a full range of a 90 degree deflection, running from the butt to the tip of the rod. If the blank does not break, I would likely use it.

If the blank breaks during this test, return it and request a new blank.

Be safe

Thanks for the input. The manufacturer is replacing the blank as they want to inspect it themselves.

Joe