First off welcome aboard! Please realize my perspective is a bit different than many hear as I work in industry and have yet to have the time to build much of anything for myself.
As to your use of steel that can be doable as can aluminum extrusions. However in each case I'd like to point out one thing that has yet to be said. Hollow square tubes ring or vibrate which is not good for machine tools. That can be addressed however by using an epoxy concrete type fill. Under the right conditions epoxy concrete in a steel tube can be better than cast iron.
Speaking of which cast iron is in many ways the ideal machine tool building material as it is not prone to vibrations. Aluminum isn't to bad and frankly is a lot safer to cast.
A few guys have already pointed out some pitfalls associated with steel tubing. It can be less than flat and straight. That doesn't stop it from being used in industry though. A large right angle grinder and hard scraping can allow a DIY selfer to correct minor problems. Scraping mild steel is not impossible but you really need to be bull headed and have sharp tools. However if major corrections are required plan on excessively long sessions with a scraper. In industry though the approach is to weld on pads and machine them flat and square if needed. If the part is a serious component, stress relieving may be in order.
This is great if you have access to a mill and a welder or know somebody with such machinery. If not your manual work would likely be even worst. This due to the distortion from welding.
Many people consider the lathe bed to be a weak link in Gingeries design. One must remember his goals here, the idea is to build a lathe pouring 1 quart or so of metal at a time. Obviously that puts limits on some parts. One thing to consider is a foundry that allows you to pour more which allows you to build a more robust bed. The other option as you brought up here is to find an alternative solution to the bed. Which one is best is up to you. There are extra issues associated with steel, especially vibrations, but those can be dealt with. Further it should be noted that welding your ways on has advantages and disadvantages, it is something to consider though if you have access to a mill. A common intermediate approach is to wel on a pad to the beam, machine it and then to bolt whatever you are using for ways to it. In this case the welded pad allows for machining and stock for screw threads.
In any event the possible approaches are endless. You just need to settle on one. In the end a casting has it's good points too. I just think the Gingery lathe needs a more substantial bed. After all the lathe bed is the foundation for everything else.
David A Frantz
websterindustro4at4mac.com
Sent from my iPhone.
On Jan 26, 2011, at 12:25 PM, anthony <ima_cute_dork@yahoo.com> wrote:
> hello everyone im new here and wanted to know about the Gingery lathe...i wanted to know if instead of casting the bed if i could use steel square tubing and if i can what type would be good and where i can get it...
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> also the ways what type of steel would i need? i've been googling steel plate and i go to sites and im not sure what steel is right for what i want it for...i havent finished my foundry yet...im using an old air compressor tank...got the bottom and lid done all i need is the refractory not sure where to get it though...
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> did anyone mix there own or did anyone buy it already made and if so where did u buy it? thanks guys i really like this group and all projects and pictures are really nice!!
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