Dan Price Porous castings Bad bad bad

[Sparky]

Originally Posted by gz

I have known Dan for years and he is a very knowledgable person and has always been very helpful. Suppliers like Dan who produce these esoteric products in very limited numbers are not getting rich by any means, they are really helping the hobby more than they are helping themselves. I recently needed a head gasket made for a "Brand X" car. The only custom head gasket manufacturer that would take on the project quoted me 1,500.00 for the first head gasket and 200.00 each for additional head gaskets if I purchased 20 of them.

Is there something unusual about the material or design? It seems like it would be a cinch to make a gasket using a water-jet machine. I'm not a gasket expert, but I have had prototype parts made by water jet and the cost was nowhere near $1500.