St. Paul, MN–based programmer Joe Hoover, came up with an innovative idea in custom pen manufacturing that lets anybody create a one-of-a-kind machined pen on his Web site, www.bellisi.me. "The Web site has a widget that works like a mini-CAD system. It lets users design a pen with easy-to-use parameters," he explains. To get the word out, Joe's launched a campaign on Kickstarter, the popular crowd-funding platform.

Boss and Sons, LLC is a small machine shop in Deforest, WI, focusing on prototyping and custom machined parts.  Owner Ariel Bolanos was nice enough to let us visit for a day and see what he's up to with his PCNC 1100 mill.

Although only twenty-two years old, Will Moon has been working with metal, tools, and CNC for nearly his entire life. Over the past few years, Moon focused his efforts into Will Moon Custom Knives, where he uses a Tormach PCNC 1100 to create high-end custom knives and scales.

The Chatmajians quite literally grew up inside their father's California metal stamping and deep draw manufacturing shop, so it's no surprise Troy and Gary have a natural affinity for CNC. They began working full-time in the family business from an early age and apprenticed multiple trades within the metal working field.

Mechanical engineer by trade, Max Jensen used his personal PCNC 1100 to make a custom license plate bracket for a Suzuki GSXR600 motorcycle.

David Scarbro of Nagahara Flutes, www.nagaharaflutes.com, recently shared with us some details of a very cool setup with a PCNC 1100 at their Massachusetts workshop. Nagahara Flutes makes custom, one-of-kind flutes for professional and amateur players worldwide, including Sir James Galway, Alberto Almarza, and Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull.