Recently someone said there was a design for an automated flame cutting machine in the book "The racer's guide to fabricating shop equipment" by John Block, which was published in 1985. I obtained a copy via interlibrary loan and read it today.
What a POS. The only design at *all* worth even considering is the flame cutter, and he is a terrible author. The piece on the flame cutter gives almost zero idea how the thing is to be used, moreover it is the same design that appeared in "Home Shop Machinist" in which a wheel driven by a DC motor follows a template, apparently by magic. Not at all what I was hoping for.
I heartily recommend passing on this book, it isn't worth crossing the street for.
GWE