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as far as blanks there is a gator glass bs---- cant rember the # but it should be the only bs series blank that is 8ft shouldnt cost over $25 makes a decent king rod u should be able to build it with pack bay guides and reel seat for around $60 there are better action blanks around these days for $40 to $60 but most are considerably thinner and wont last as long the gator blanks are almost bulletproof so they are foregiving to new rod builders as at first u can tend to wrap a rod to tight with a thiner blank that can cause it to colapse and break over time and i dont sell gator blanks just stating what most people know about their quality but they are heavy
with components your best bet is contact a friend that knows a little more than u or go to the rod room and ask advise i would steer clear of the book as it tends to over complicate building a simple rod i mean its not rocket science u find i friends rod u like buy the same blank find the spline then copy the reel seat and guide placement it should be about the same action rod and im not beliteling the guys who do the fancy stuff and all that is close to rocket science but there are simple ways to start and build a nice rod good luck

 

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foregot to mention if u need any components u cant find localy check out the mud hole in orlando shipping is crazy on blanks unles u get over 10 but components are reasonable and their staff knows their sh-- if u ever hit orlando u can get probobly 25 good blanks for around 200 lots of great cutrate stuff always shop local for components if u can that keeps them in stock but u can find what u need here if local places are out

 

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where in miss it might be worth making a trip to orange beach to get some help at the rod room never been there i live in ft walton but i have friends that say they are good people and do good buisness
as far as flexcoating that is realy the most likely way u will dissapoint yourself when u start out its very tedius to do it correctly i still have trouble with it sometimes and im no expert but i have built probobly 35 rods in 20 years nothing worse than wraping a nice rod and having bubles all over the finish or worse
humidity matters most serious rod builders use a dehumidifier but u can do fine on a cool dry day with a space heater in a dustfree area then an absolute must is some sort of rotisere to keep your rod turning alowing the clearcoat to dry evenly then u will need to learn how to lightly heat the coat with a torch just enough to make the bubbles go away but not enough to smoke the clearcoat u have to see this done or u can mess up bad best bet might be find an independent rod builder they shouldnt charge more than 15 or 20 for a king/cobia rod and u could probobly watch them and learn some pm me i may be able to help u some more with guide spacing or whatever i can just remember u build rods to make a better rod not a cheaper 1 so it all costs also may look into the gulf port billuxi area there used to be a good shop there dont know now

 

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maybe the book would help depends on what kind of person u are to me how to books are just extended instruction manuals which never work for me either so thats my issue with how to books rodworks seems to have way more experience than i do so u might try his advise i was just trying to explain how its a realy simple process to build a verry nice functional rod without putting hours of homework into it pretty butwraps are cool and look great but u could build the same rod black on black with a few checks and it will look good and catch fish as well as the best of them if u do the spacing corectly