Because it works really well with the theme of my show, I'm going to be using 11.5g clay casino chips for my coin effects. I'm working gaffless right now, which is fine, but I'd love to have:

"copper-silver"
expanded shell
steel core
flipper

Of course, they will have to match the set of chips I have, so I probably need to make them myself. I'm sure some of these are just pipe-dreams. Has anyone worked with these who can offer me some advice?

With the right tools, you could make your own gaffs. Some of the 11.5 gram chips out there are full of composite materials and as a result, make them very brittle. There is also a metal weight disc in the center to work with/around. I'm surprised there are not already gaffed poker chips out there.

Not all the clay type chips have a metal core, only the cheeper composite ones do to add weight. You can check yours with a magnet to see. I make several different chip sets and have been for years selling to a small market of core users. Good luck on making your own. As muzicman pointed out, they are brittle. But that's only cold. When you heat them up they get pretty flexible. If you want to end up with a small stack of gaffed chips then start with a very large stack of ungaffed chips!!
-=tabman

Glad to hear from you, tabman. Your poker chip merchandise is what kicked me in this direction. I know I want one of your turnover boxes at least. Your chips will probably not match the 500 that I have, so I'm not sure how much of the other stuff I can use.

I'm pretty sure I can figure out the copper-silver. Any tips on making an expanded shell?

500 chips is a good start if you're working on making an expanded shell. I have a couple of prototypes sitting here now but they took me several hundred tries and I'm still not sure how I did it . Once I have a solid method I will be making them too. Hopefully soon.

When you get ready to order up a turnover box, order the rosewood ones. The rosewood I'm getting these days is from South America and some of the most beautiful I've run across in over a decade. Also, the chip makers haven't zeroed in an exact diameter so send me one of your chips when you do so I can turn the chamber to the right size.

-=tabman

Will do. And when you get a method for the shells, I'll send you a bunch if you can make one that matches!