My 2 cents worth .... learn to walk before you try to compete in an Olympic marathon event!
It might just look like you can chuck a cylinder and bore it but in reality there is a LOT more to it than that .... especially if you want a precision result.
I'm sure it'll be fiiiiiiiine!
No, seriously, I plan to spend several months learning the thing before I attempt anything complicated or irreplacable. Whilst I wouldn't even dare attempt to bore/hone a block of, say, my racing car; or even a road car; I'm wondering if, with the precision available to me, I can get away with doing a Lister block... But, not yet.
As an aside, I'm sure I read somewhere that the lathe is the only tool in the workshop capable of replicating itself - only with human intervention, fortunately
Making a new crankshaft ..... yeah right ..... Sure it can be done but not by a novice!
No plans to make a new crankshaft, but the bearing surface is rusty on the one that's obviously been disassembled for years, and (one day) I'd like to have a go at repairing it myself (click picture for large image):
My guess is it'll need to be ground down by 10 thou (or more) to get past the rust & back into clean metal. Obviously, I won't be doing this until I'm confident I can get seriously good accuracy - not sure what level I'd need, would 0.001" be close enough?
The shaft I do need to make is the alternator shaft. I've not disassembled my alternator yet, but I'm guessing (OK, hoping) the shaft isn't that complicated.