The Home Machinist!

The guy who posted that video, the late and sorely missed Grant Sarver, was a friend of mine. These machines are as different from Gas Forges as a Jet is from the wright brothers airplane. They are amazing, quick, and localized, which means you can do all kinds of forging with one that is impossible...

Most manufacturing wages went up 20% this year alone in China. China is getting more expensive yearly, and its only natural that they will raise their prices. Plus, shipping prices are based on oil, and it hasnt exactly gone down much lately. A lot of Grizzly stuff comes from Taiwan- a heavily union...

Park Manufacturing was in Grant Park, Illinois.
They made low to mid range tool boxes and tackle boxes.
I believe they may have done some contract manufacturing for Sears, as well.

Dont know how long they have been out of business, but its been a while.

A punch press is a mechanical or hydraulic press, which can take a wide variety of dies- usually custom made for its intended use. A punch is different- its for punching holes. A punch press CAN punch holes, but doesnt come with dies to do so- you would need to get them to fit your particular punch ...

Obviously, only you can decide how bad the rust is. But there are Jet mills, and then there are Jet mills. I wouldnt buy one unless it has the big black M on the column, under the head- that means Meehanite, and unless its newer than 5 years old or so, it means it was made in taiwan, as opposed to C...

A lot of these older machines had pretty basic manuals. Anyway, there is a lot of good Gorton info here, on a site run by a Gorton family member. http://gorton-machine.org:8080/ Not sure if this one covers your machine, but if not, there are others there, free for downloading. http://gorton-machine....

There is a really great short story about a Babbage Analytical Engine- its Science Fiction, and very well written-

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/s/cha ... y-mind.htm

It has been my experience that 300 series stainless can become magnetic thru work hardening. Forging, in particular, but also cold working processes like extreme bending or rolling, can make 300 series stainless steels more magnetic. Usually not "strongly magnetic", though. So it is vaguel...

Me, I just fake it. Formulas? We dont need no stinking formulas. It just needs to feel right. I do a lot of ornamental fluting on the mill. I have a rotary table in the vertical mode, and I put a chuck on it, then I use a tailstock with a dead center in it. With a rotab, you have 360 degrees of poss...

straight argon.

I tig braze all the time. Its great for certain situations. For example, I used to make a product that required attaching a 26 gage steel stamping to a piece of 3/8" hot rolled round bar. Trying to actually tig WELD such a connection is possible, but very very tricky. I can do it, if I have to....

I bend stainless steel hot most every day. Mostly 304. And it doesnt hurt it a bit. It is true that if you get it really really hot, and dont quench it in water, you can affect its resistance to rusting. This is more about actually burning off some of the chromium on the surface, I have found. In re...