Showcase: 5-axis milled titanium bike stem, 42 g lighter than stock

Finished a small run of Ti-6Al-4V stems for a local bike brand. 5-axis, bead-blasted, then laser-etched logo.

Lessons learned:

1. Titanium loves sharp tools — swap early.
2. Leave 0.2 mm for the finishing pass on load-bearing faces.
3. Bead blast hides tool marks but not chatter. Fix chatter at the source.