Important Points to Remember. . . .

Though very convenient, appealing, and doubtlessly worth the price, you can probably produce a practical alternate for most commercial products at a fraction of the going price. Buy exotic equipment if you can, but don't be stopped just because you lack cash to do so.

Practically any machine function can be done manually, though not as quickly as with a machine. Machines are for mass production, but people can produce finished products too.

Knowledge comes from study, and skill is developed by repetition. You can learn what you need to know, and you can practice. Each skill you acquire enhances your overall ability to acquire new skills. (It actually gets easier as you go along!)

The best information is usually found in older manuals because newer texts often assume knowledge of fundamental facts, and they are left out. Even though the new technology was built on the old, it is often beyond the scope of individuals because it requires exotic equipment. Some of it is deliberately disguised, and in most cases worthless for such basic projects as we are concerned with anyway.

You probably already have much of what you need to get started on your project. The rest is merely a matter of concentration and application.

Just in case you think you have it tough, I'd like to point out that it took more work and time to write this column than it did to produce my first casting. Be smart. Let others do the writing while you spend your hours happily busting your knuckles in your shop.