Ranb, the questions I'm about to ask could no doubt be answered by many people, however you've just proven that you're quite knowledgeable of the subject, therefore I feel fairly confident that any answers you provide would be of great value to me.
I would appreciate if you could elaborate on certain aspects of your designs -
Why conical baffles? It's an obvious question, with an obvious answer, but the details in which I am interested in. What are the factors influencing your decision to use a conical baffle, and what is the proportion regarding spacer length, and the size of the baffle?
What is the ID of the smallest end of the conical baffle, and why did you choose to make it that size? (A somewhat educated guess from myself is that it's approximately .02" wider than the bullet going through it.)
What type of metal do you prefer for your silencers?
A question regarding the basic fundamentals of threading-
What do the numbers in 1/2-28, and 13/16-20 pertain to?
I'm inclined to believe that 1/2 is indicative of a rate of twist, but what specifically does that mean, and what mathematical formulas, if any, would be used to elaborate on this subject?
The 28 may pertain to the amount of threads per inch, but I am unsure of this.
Also, some personal history would be much appreciated, as I hope to one day have my own machine shop in my garage or basement if I ever have one, just because that's what makes me happy. I love making things, and I love even more the idea that I can make things really well.
What tools do you use, and how did you go about acquiring them?
Additionally, my questions can most definitely be viewed more as a general machining question, as opposed to anything specific, such as the manufacture of silencers. Though I do love shooting when it's not so loud, I don't really care about the noise that much since earmuffs are something I carry around all the time, because most of what I do is loud - not just shooting)
Thank you for your time, sir, and I hope you'll fill in the details I'm obviously not quite grasping at this moment.
Bonus question - What are the names for the branches of math that you utilize most often? (trigonometry, algebra, etc)