Since FIRST says you can't machine parts off site, then you CAN't machine parts off site. It doesn't matter whether DEKA did it or some small local machine shop.

We would have liked to machine a hook for our robot - but we didn't. We did what we could with the resources that we had.

If you can bend rules "a little," what are rules for? Who can draw the line? FIRST can, and they did - and that's why they prohibit teams from using a machine shop off-site at a regional.