I have not had that problem yet. I used 5/8 dia aluminum for the rods. Thats what some other guys had on the PRO models.
I am working on a price for all the parts today. And there will be $5.00 charge on each sale going to CDC. I know that don't sound like much but I am trying to keep the cost down and the materials are expensive.

What size of conduit did you use? 1/2?
As far as how much time. I am not a 100% sure yet. Mine were the first ones and I had fixtures to build to hold stuff and programs to adjust.
The biggest expence will be the material. The base is stainless and the rest is aluminum.