gingery tools

please delete

 

Gee, I knew times were tough, but "can't afford the books"? I realize that based on that statement that you obviously can't afford the solution, but if you can buy, borrow or steal a lathe, you can build one. I believe that a lathe is the only machine tool that can duplicate itself. With a lot of thought, imagination, and, of course, fabricating skill, it can lead to a lathe of your own.
By the way, you should compose a proper introduction. What you posted as an intro is one of the worst. Otherwise, you won't be taken seriously by many of us.

 

How many threads you gonna start about this? If you can't afford the books how are you gonna afford the parts necessary to build anything?

 

Don't sugar coat it guys.

 

HaHa, you summed it up right there mate, Im a turner machinest by trade and I rekon theres no possible way to make a lathe without a lathe, and as for the cant afford a book but I can afford to build a lathe, what sort of ******** is that, To at least sound like a creditable sort of guy for **** sakes at least offer somthing for the books. Nothing comes for nothing!!

 

The Gingery Lathe book sells for $9.95 at Lindsey Technical Books,
plus shipping. Pretty cheap. But it is not a real simple build. Your
time has to be free and you have to be able to melt some aluminum.
Plan on several months to complete the lathe. Then learn to use it.
It will work. But it is a little peculiar.
Matt

 

In another of your posts you write:

So, are you broke or flush or have a split personality?

 

Take all the time that you'll spend building a half-***ed lathe from the Gingery plans, go to work, do tune-ups and oil changes on the side.

Take the money you made from doing that and buy a good, used lathe.

You can find a decent lathe for under $500 that will do FAR more than the one in those books. My Southbend only set me back $400 and I've done a ton of work with it.

You'll still have to buy the really expensive part whether you buy a lathe or build a one, it's called "the tooling".

Shawn

 

As inexpensive as those books are, I'd have to be dead honest in saying that if you couldn't afford the book you will have a hard time getting a lathe put together.
http://www.amazon.com/Metal-Lathe-B...=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323319507&sr=1-1

It looks like the first step is getting the charcoal foundry book.

 

Okay, the Gingery stuff was vaguely useful years and years ago before inexpensive import machine tools became available, and when used American stuff was still valuable. (IE, before hundreds of plants closed and dumped still-good tools on the market.)

When your only choice was paying a grand for an old Southbend or several grand for a bigger machine, and ***uming you already had a big pile of s**** to pull from, a Gingery machine was at least a useful step until you could get something better.

But today, you can buy a pretty damned decent benchtop lathe from Jet, Grizzly or Harbor Freight for between $500 and $900. That may sound like a lot, and it kind of is, but unless you already have the aforementioned stack of junk, and between 100 and 400 hours of free time, the Gingery will cost you very nearly as much.

And, when you're done, you'll still have a barely usable makeshift lathe pieced together with band-aids and baling wire.

Do yourself a favor, and spend the time you'd end up wasting on the Gingery stuff, instead raising money to buy a real machine, even if it is a cheap import.

Doc.

 

Lathes are so big and heavy most used ones sold are pick up only, so you can get one cheap if you can drive. My friend just bought a good used floor stand lathe for $400. Just about fitted in the back of his Voyager.