Re: real granite machines!

Marcus & Eva wrote:

>
> Hi All:
>
> I wonder if a stone cutting company (someone who makes gravestones??) could
> chop out a nice "L" shaped chunk of granite for a machine base??
> How expensive are gravestones, anyway?? Might end up cheaper than
> patterns,castings and machining.

I think a granite slab would make a great slide for a machine. Bolting and
gluing several slabs together would be a lot easier than making monolithic
complex shapes.

I have had in the back of my mind a lathe with a huge air bearing spindle
and air bearing slides made out of granite slabs. Sometimes, if you manage
to be in the right place at the right time, you come across huge surface
plates and optical tables that have been damaged on one corner. These
could be sliced up with a wire saw into some very stout and vibration-free
lathe beds and gantry bed mill slides. Getting them flat and parallel enough
for air bearing use would be a BIG job, however. You would probably
end up building custom machinery for the purpose.

Jon