On #4...that cesspool in phila only flows one way. I stepped in it once and the stink still lingers.

The are a few interesting benefits to acquiring construction details from a sample. One collects all the construction details. Since there was no way to protect the construction details, a lot were left off the prints. This was standard practice in many industries, and stuff like ISO900 and its ilk are doing wonders nulifying it.

On #1, that is indeed true. What I discovered when I copied a transformer with Heyboer was that NC machinery is a very effective cost cutter. Let alone the machine stacker...:) Besides, machines don't smoke too much pot and drop turns or some other foolishness.

Anyway, what you propose sounds good to me. I'll help in any way I can.
cheers,
Douglas