Geoff, Matt...thanks for your replies/keeping me from spending foolishly!!
Hadn't thought that when on stroke, that punch head is going all the way to end of travel, or something is gonna give. So that pretty much rules out using to do an initial packing, or shaping to billet dimensions....without an array of dies similar to what's seen in video of Granford Bruks type setups. Machines I'm researching are big (~10 feet tall/fly wheel ~3.5 feet), but not that big (and lotsa dies would break the bank). Could be useful for stamping in patterns if I can get it cheap, but guessing the scrap