I'm sure you can be, Brandt. I started out not knowing exactly how a metal lathe looked, or worked. I just followed the Gingery Foundry and Lathe books, and realized what all the parts did gradually as I was building it. I learned how to use a lathe by building it. At the time (2001-2002) there was little on the Internet to tell me what I was doing, or what it would look like in the end. I could kind of make out what it was by the cover photo. But other than building it, I'd had no experience in machining.
That's why I always recommend those books. There are plenty of more sophisticated ways to cast, scrape, machine all over the Web now. And better machines to buy, at reasonable cost. But for me I am extremely glad I started out that way, and I wouldn't trade that experience for anything. It was one of the most fascinating and liberating things I ever did. Making something like that from nothing. Some old pistons, some sand, some charcoal briquets, and a discarded file for a scraper. Changed me. Changed what I could do. Changed how I think.