I have made cones on my CNC router- by cutting out step-sided discs and stacking them up over a central tube and then glassing.
A 7.5" Cherokee cone took about 2 hours of design, calculation, drawing and toolpathing. On my newer large router I could probably cut all the peices for a cone like that in one go, so maybe another hour of cutting/set-up. Then an hour to glue the thing together. I glassed it by doing it in 4 hemispheres with 7ish oz glass. Each piece took about 45 minutes to apply, so there's another 3 hours of work. It's slow glassing because each piece must go to leather/green before the next one can be done BUT the end result is ready for filler and some sanding, it ends up being very smooth and tight at the tip.
So, 6 hours without materials.... that's $180, I use cheap blue foam from Home Depot (actually from Geneseo Lumber, but it's the same stuff, Dow 2" x 2' x 8'). Add on the center tube and a piece of coupler, a yard of fabric. This is a decent way to make a one off. I think there's a better way given that I have a CNC router, we'll have to see in the future. No, it's not a 4th axis...
I think your pricing is really fair. The cones I've made have been kits- you get a box of loose discs.... cost is lower, but the time is the same, or more, depending on the customers glassing experience.
The hardest part for me is non-standard cones-- like the Cherokee. Sure, there's an equation for the curve but in the case of the Cherokee there is a variable that shifts it from being a straight taper cone to a regular ogive.... have to guess the amount of curve you want and hope it looks right afterwards. I have a customer who wants a set of Delta IV cones...... what the heck are they!?
Nat Kinsey
UpscaleCNC
