Ahhh, my old pal the vertical mill. I was tutored on one of the huge Bridgeport mills that featured leather belts and steeped pulleys for speed adjustment. Once set all you had to do was mind the backlash on the veneer dials and keep your calculations straight! The old mills each had a characture of their own and once you learned their idiosyncrasies you could operate them with complete confidence in the results. I suppose that you will experience some of the more modern incarnations of this amazing machine tool. Dial speed selection, digital axis readout. and quick change collets. I got out of the trade around the time of paper tape controlled CNC machines. I still remember the excitement of a 4 head tracer ( hydrologically controlled) run amok due to metal chips or a leak. The best machinists were not just those who were competent operators, hell they were common enough. The masters were those who were good at setup. Its all in the setup. I once quit a machining job at AMOL BMW back in the day because I didn't agree with the foreman's prescribed setup for a piece. Ask a lot about proper setups & jigs, The operation part should be pretty straightforward to you judging from what you have produced on yer lathe so far!
Rich
