i think last time i bought it was $0.45 cdn per inch for the higher class .500" (there are two classes available), cut to lengh. i didn't mean to imply that it was cheaper than drill rod, only that as the right choice for the task at hand, it was not a lot of money. got mine from canadian belting, but any industrial supplier would do.
its not so much that its more precise (although it is) its more that the tolerance is only - whereas dr is +- |