"mongke" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

I'm having difficulty getting cold rolled steel for the ways. Someone told
me stainless steel plate is as flat as cold rolled. It this true?
Another suggestion I got was to get a slab of 1" thick of hot rolled and
have it milled on both sides down to 1/2" or so.
At one place I can get a plate of 24"x2.5"x1/4", which would be 1/2" less
than Gingery specifies. Would that affect the capabilites of the lathe?
And how to tell it's actually CR? Any other material suitable for ways?

Any advice thanked in advance.

Regards,

Mongke

Cold-rolled is your best bet. Ordinary stainless has problems as a bearing
material; it galls and drags. Hot-rolled won't be as hard as CR after you
mill off the scale. It's inferior as a bearing material.

Tool steels are an option but they're very expensive.

What's the problem with getting CR? Are your suppliers out of stock, or are
you having trouble finding anyone who stocks it at all?

Ed Huntress