Still no quote, and I've sent emails to about three other local shops.
But, I did speak to a reasonable-sounding guy who said he could get a pretty full set of quotes by the end of today (that is, both full hand, and classic, both full kits, but in both metals) -- only problem is that shop doesn't have a laser anymore.
How do you guys feel about waterjet?
I suppose the costs could be offset by using a thicker metal, but that would defeat my goal of a keyswitch layer exactly as thick as Cherry called for. Of course, I've got my own case so this is for you guys.
For those put off by the costs of waterjet cutting I really am trying to make lasercutting happen, I'm just getting impatient and calling the competition -- only to be ignored by them so maybe that's the deal with this industry.
Dorkvader: thanks for the pictures! and yes, it looks good.
Edit: Well! Just got an email from a 'nearby' shop that they will respond to my inquiry
Okay, short story: I looked in the yellow pages for local shops, found one with an actual web page that says they focus on smaller, more personal machining -- call them up, he says no laser but if he were to have something cut, he'd cross the state line and go to this other shop. Call them up (hours ago) and say hey I've submitted to your web page can you acknowledge you've received it?
...that's the shop that just wrote to say they'd help me out. Way cool, as it almost comes with a recommendation.