Dale and all,
    It's funny, up until a few years ago, I had never even SEEN a real metal
lathe, much less a mill. I never really figured I'd ever have much use for
one, I couldn't live without one now, and wonder how I ever got by up until
now. Now I regularly end up using one of FOUR lathes or one of three mills
(one not quite yet on line) without giving it a second thought. When the
monster 24x72" American Pacemaker was donated to the museum, I really
thought I had gone too far. I would NEVER have a use for anything THAT big
and powerful...WRONG!! That is the FIRST machine I turn to, and only go to
the smaller lathes if the part is too little to chuck in it. The bigger the
machine, the greater the accuracy.
    We also have a very nice TIG machine here. The old saying goes "gimme a
bunch of bananas and I can teach a monkey to fly" well, give the about five
bananas and I can teach him to TIG!! It really is SO much easier and more
controllable than oxy-acet. There is no better way to weld aluminum,
stainless or titanium. It even makes ME look like I know what I am doing on
4130;-) Mike C.