just out of curiosity how are you guys testing a new rod before it goes out the door to your customers? I usually put a reel on and toss around some weight but I don't get real carried away. I just a client rod snap and I'm wondering if I missed something.

Other than a careful visual inspection for flaws or mistakes you have done all you can the rest is customer satisfaction.

After the customer receives the rod you may coach them on the importance of care, cleaning and storage to insure many years of service.

Have fun

Mark,
When I build a rod, the first thing that I do is to give the blank a deep 90 degree flex to insure that there are no obvious flaws in the blank.

I lay out the guides, and tape them in place and run the line through the guides to be sure that the line flow is correct.

If it is correct, I build it and deliver it to the customer. I normally don't use the rod at all after I have finished building the rod. No complaints in all of the years that I have been building rods.

Like Roger, when I receive the blank, I put it together and flex it 9o degrees to make sure there no defects or shipping damage. After that i build and deliver. I do include a document I put together on care of the rod.