I started building my own rods in 1972. You could build a rod for half the cost of a store-bought one in those days when the blanks and components were all US manufactured. I've made around 30 rods or thereabouts. I don't keep track. I've only made one spinning and two casting rods that I can recall. All the rest were fly rods, including a few Spey rods. The last two rods were a Sage Z-Axis 7136-4 because I got the blank on a close out, but it was still an expensive build. And the other one was a Rainshadow 8 1/2' 5 wt, 4-piece that's really a nice rod and cost effective because the blanks are offshore sourced.

I haven't used CTS blanks, but have cast a few because that's where Meiser gets his Spey rod blanks from. He produces high quality rods.

I don't build many rods any longer for two reasons. I have more rods than I can ever use, and there are so many high quality offshore sourced rods at very reasonable prices, I can't save any money by building my own. Which was a main reason I started building rods in the first place.