Hi Tim,
No I do NOT. I bought the entire Gingery book set years ago before I had any machines...great reading.
My favourite quote (about hand scraping):
"Call it an art if you want to , but then the guy that runs the road grader is an artist too."
It made me laugh.
I have done a little aluminum casting, but nothing as grand as those Gingery machine castings.
Although I do have a pile of scrap aluminum behind the shed.
Shapers look like very interesting machines, but I really do NOT have the space. My shop is in a ~20x20 attached garage, with the table saw, three bandsaws, two milling machines, two lathes, the power hacksaw, welding bench, drill press, sheet metal shear and brake, hydraulic press, etc. I don't know that I could have one.
A friend gave me some china made HHS tool bits, have you tried any?
Luckily, I have a local used tool store that has a bin of used tool bits. I believe it was $2.50 each or 5 for $10.
There was everything in that bin; HSS form tools, threading tools, boring bits, and many were old Canada and US made M42 cobalt, etc.
Sometimes I even found new, never ground 3" long bits , in 1/4" and 3/8" square profile.
I picked up many that looked useful and also got some more in their $10 "grab boxes" of assorted stuff.
I likely have enough for my lifetime.....but don't tell my wife!
Let me know if you'd like a couple and I can send some along.
(Send your snail-mail address by PM if interested. No charge!)
That was the only store I went to weekly.....and now I am missing it bad!
It is a small business, so I hope they survive...
No. I hope they thrive, and I promise to do my part by spending money as soon as they open again!
Actually, that store had an old shaper a little over a year ago that needed a bunch of cleanup.
I might have taken it, if I did not already have too much on the go.
I could see doing that in retirement...cleaning up machines for re-sale if the price was right.
I'm not greedy, if I got my cost + a case of beer out of each, I'd be happy!
-brino