[Twistedvegas]

I did a lot of searching for a capable machine shop with a C&C and heat treating capability that, a) I could trust, and b) was willing to put in the time with me to develop this correctly and would not blow me off because they were looking to build off of someone elses CAD work. There are tons of manufacturing shops here in Dallas/Fort Worth because of all of the military contracts that are held in this area. It's really quite unique from what I can tell. The company I went with is owned buy a guy who builds custom jet boat parts as a hobby for his buddies. He was excited when I told him about the project and had a blast working with him. I never knew how to work CAD or been around a C&C or messed with the science around heat treating but he explained everything he was doing with the reasons and theory behind it. I'm not claiming that I could do all that by myself next time by any means. Hell, from what I've heard about C&C machines, I'm sure I was standing next to a multi-million dollar machine that he has had thousands of hours of experience with. I know just enough to really appreciate the R&D process and how it is done.