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btboone

btboone

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Dec 5, 2004
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Roswell, GA, USA.
Yowzers. I've got 86 rings in the works today. That's the most I've had going at once. I have a job for 61 class rings for a college and a bunch of other ones going. My lathe hasn't had a break all day and I still have about 20 to cut!
 
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Ha! sounds like a gloat to me!![}:)]
Bruce, I've been to your site loads of times and just drool. If I could just figure out how you get a wood ring around the Ti body...

You have loads of dosh invested in your machinery, I'm glad that it appears to be paying for itself.

When are we going to see another cool pen from you??????[:D]
 
Skiprat, I haven't been able to even think about pens lately. For the amount of time they take, they can't compete with the rings. Add 3 more rings to the pile! It's been a crazy week. On one of the days before Valentines Day, I had 8 tension sets going, some of which were the most complex ones I make. The machinery has tended to pay off. I'm always telling people to buy more machine than you think you need. On 3 separate days last week, I earned more than I did in a year when I was putting myself through college. It's a lot of work, but I'm not complaining (too much.[:D])
 
Hey Bruce.....could you post a picture of your college class rings, please? The rings that are posted on your web site don't strike me as being the traditional design for a class ring. Have you been keeping a secret from us??[;)]
 
Hi Randy,
Here's what they look like. These have the college logo either in laser ceramic like this one or carved in and anodized.


20072204228_olinlaser.jpg
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20072204254_olincarved.jpg
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Randy, most are engraved on the inside. They were able to choose what to engrave and what font to use. I can't cost effectively do sculpted rings like you normally think of a class ring because these are all machined. I am toying with the idea of getting another machine with a 50,000 rpm spindle that would make carved rings more cost effective though.

After a couple more orders, I finally finished cutting at midnight. Here's what they looked like about an hour before that.


2007220132651_ringbatch.jpg
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Randy, the second shelf is rings that either cut to a size that was out of spec or something moved or slipped during machining. A lot of them could be remachined if necessary, but it's usually easier just to start over. I find that the number system I have here works pretty well. I use my machining center's steel enclosure walls as a place to hold my paper order pages with magnets so I can see at a glance what I have to work on. It helps make order out of the chaos.

Gloat or pile of work? A little of both I guess. I've never had this many rings running at one time before. They get up to around 40 or so in the summer months, but this is a lot for me.
 
Becca, I only use gold for inlays. I get square wire and inlay it into titanium rings. I don't make all gold rings, which are normally cast. These are all machined from bar stock.
 
I sure wish I wore silver color in my jewelry wardrobe, your rings are gorgeous. Next time someone I know is getting engaged I'm sending them your website, simple, elegant, modern. I love them!
 
Thanks guys. It's funny, orders seem to come in waves. I remember back when I made bike parts, I went to the shop to find a fax that was strewn all the way across the floor. It was an order from Japan for $30,000 worth of stuff. It was a mixture of elation and sheer terror!
 
They look like they should do well Dan. I tried a Foredom mounted to my machining center and just found that the bearings can't take it. I got a Haas brochure in the mail yesterday showing a small machining center that takes up only 3 x 4 feet and only has a 10 x 10" travel, but has a 50,000 rpm spindle. It has a toolchanger and coolant and all the plusses of a real machining center. It's about $35K, which isn't too bad for a good tool, but I don't yet know all the stuff I would do with such a thing yet. I assume it could kick butt on some 4th axis stuff like the carved out design on the ring I showed. I need to cut very slow to keep from breaking the .020" cutter with only around 2000 rpm on my table top mill. As you can see, there's some backlash, and part of that is due to tool deflection. I need to extend my 1/8" shank tool around 1/2" to clear my chuck. I'm looking into making a new toolholder that will clear and grip the tool closer to the part. Something to do in my "spare" time. [:eek:)]
 
Yeah, I forget that you are machining titanium. I was going to hook up a foredom style grinder but for cutting wood and sterling silver.

But as an aside did you ever look at the wax rings (and other things) they machine at artcam? I gotta say that is some very cool modeling and cutting!

Look at the Showcase forum...

http://forum.artcam.com/
 
Very cool stuff there Dan. There are some very talented people doing that stuff. I'm afraid that going for work like that will eat all available time for me. I had checked into getting casting equipment and a kiln, but realized that compared to the stuff I'm doing, it would eat up more hours with the learning curve and all the steps need to do everything. I always try to keep options open, but I think it might be a backward step for profitability compared to the way I do them now. It might be an option should I get another machine with the high speed spindle, but I still wonder if that type of product would be more work than it's worth. Something like sculpted pen bodies would be a good thing because they don't vary, but rings come in all different sizes and widths, so a sculpted one, like a skull would have to be remodeled each and every time.
 
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