Thanks guys. Mike, don't quit just yet. I still need to find a way to make these things where it doesn't take me 3 months!
Wayne, the wood choice is a great way to extend the limited run issue. I was wondering what might happen if the pens were to ever sell well and the limit was fast approaching. Offering different woods is a great way to overcome that should it ever become necessary. I could also envision an all wood, acrylic, or marble version as being possible.
Jim, I certainly appreciate your modest consulting fees. [
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Eagle, the lathe I have comes close to programming itself. You get the arc and line coordinates from CAD and essentially draw it in the machine's program. It figures out the necessary roughing and finishing passes based on the material and cutters. You can override all its assumptions. That part is not as bad as it seems. You can learn that part in a week. The tough part is in the setup and tooling. I'll need to take a picture of it cutting the middle wood ring. There's a drill above the chuck and one below the chuck. They miss the chuck by around a quarter inch while extending past it by a good 3" or so. They narrowly miss the back wall of the lathe. It's scary to watch. [:0]
I haven't considered temperature extremes. The titanium itself won't move much and the wood is soaked in thin CA, so that will help it become a rigid matrix. Do you think the wood might pop out? I waxed the wood with RW since total sealing with CA is not possible since it needs to be sanded back down to the metal.