Making progress! My productivity took a halt as I tried to work out the best way to proceed. For such a tiny project, you'd think I'd have this done by now...

1) Switching to a ball-nosed mill eliminated any chatter, cuts are smooth
2) Takes 30 minutes to mill each tube
3) For whatever reason, I was having a terrible time making perpendicular cuts in these tubes. I purchased a small miter box (Zona brand) with a narrow kerf - plus a high TPI saw. No matter what I did, I could not keep the cuts straight. Using a jewelers saw with a #0 blade (in the same guide) and the blade wandered. I ended up designing a jig using angle iron and some 3D printed parts:

IMG_0433_resized.jpg

After cleaning up the end of the angle iron with a file, I was able to get square enough cuts.

Anyhow, I have to cut some discs for the top, dome them, then I can move onto soldering then polishing, lacquer.