Quote: by the time you get it balanced and finished you will have spent enough for a forged crank..
EXACTLY........
Few years back i broke a cast 4 inch stroker crank. I had upgraded my combo from high 10's to 10.30's and it broke after about 50 passes, and ruined the rest of my season. I learned the hard way to do it right the first time.
Like i love saying, spend the extra 500 bucks and get the good piece the first time. In the whole scheme of building a motor, 500 bucks is just a small fraction of the total build, so why scrimp, just wait till you can do it right, then you wont ever have to wonder
but some have to learn the hard way.