I have been making, or i should say experimenting with them. I got a few cores in from CSUSA along with a couple of bushing. I made a acrylic one by CSUSA instructions, it went well but i got to much epoxy inside of the core and scratched it trying to get it off. They are not the two piece type. I want to wrap it around the core like you do with bentwood rings. I feel like that should solve the problem of having to have to use stabilized wood. I can make my own veneers. I made some bentwood rings and was very impressed on how strong they were for not much thicker than a wooden match stick. So with a metal core, they should be very strong. Carl