Thanks everyone. The reamer idea sounds like the ticket. Don't know why we didn't think of it... Threads are lots of work, and they get loose and rattle. I can also get seamless St35Bk non-stainless for just a little bit more money, which is way more dimensional. Thinking about it, but stainless is already in all of the press stuff, so if I change to carbon steel then customers might think I'm cheating. Marking the floor? Good question. Many bassists and cellists prefer a point, both for stability, and some say better sound. Some stages allow it, some strictly forbid it! The reason I can't insert the point myself is that since the rods are interchangeable, there is no way to know which rod will get the point until after the player has experimented a bit. I suppose that if I make it so the player can hammer it on himself, but won't be able to remove it, then that should be good enough.