Gingery shaper questions

[sk1nner]

I'm thinking about one day building the Gingery shaper. Before I even start I have a few questions. When they say it's a 6 inch shaper, is that referring to its ability to work a 6x6 piece of material or is that another dimension? When making it from aluminum as Gingery says how much does the finished machine weigh? I know exact numbers vary, just looking for a ball park weight. And finally is it actually usable for work (within its work envelope ), can it work steel at all or is it limited to very light work on aluminum?

 

[Ebel440]

I'm not done with mine yet but the 6 inch size refers to the stroke of the ram it travels 6 inches front to back. I believe it has more then 6 inches of travel side to side. The cutter has a travel of less then 3 inches up and down but work can be mounted to fit larger pieces. Mine is not done yet but weighs about 30 lbs so far and I used thinner sides on mine. I would guess at least 70 -80 lbs for a finished one without the motor. I have no idea what it's capable of yet. If you look up someone named Rick Sparber ? I think that's the correct name but not sure. He had a lot of stuff about his on the net may help get an idea of what it can do

 

[Ulma Doctor]

+1 on Ebel440's answer,
6" stroke