Are you a mill type machinist or a lathe type machinist.

Are you a mill machinist or a lathe machinist.


  • Total voters
    224
I voted for, I like and use the lathe the most
Ask me in a couple of month I may have changed my mind, I am presently looking at buying a mill.
 
Milling is my day job. And turning is my hobby. So if I would be able to vote I'd say I like to use both as much as I can.
More experience with milling though.:thumbzup:
 
Hi
I voted for both but prefer the lathe; I have both & am getting used to the mill as it seems sturdy enough & can take reasonable cuts so far.

George.
 
I like and use both, but my true favorite would have to be the legs! Too bad I couldn't select all three.
 
I have noo preference in operating but as an insrtructor I prefer teaching lathe operation. The kids seem to get more satisfaction out of learning to turn.
 
'I have noo preference in operating but as an insrtructor I prefer teaching lathe operation. The kids seem to get more satisfaction out of learning to turn.'

I too used to be an instructor for apprentices many moons ago; & looking back I preferrred teaching the basics of lathework as opposed to milling machine work as the basis of Mech Engineering apprenticeships required basic lathe work in the curriculum purely on the requirements of emergency repair work on a shift basis, & mill work being a more time consuming in depth work would have been referred to day shift specialist milling machine operators.
 
Use both, but would rather run a mill. To many years running 5 or 6 CNC lathes at a time kind of turned me off on lathes. I get tired of making stuff round I guess. I also find that when I stand 8 - 12 hours a day at an engine lathe, my back hurts as most are just a little to low for me. I still think that a lathe is the most important machine tool tho.
 
I learned in a screw macine shop (Mostly Brown & Sharp), then did a long stint on a few large CNC mills. One horizontal, and two vertical. After that, I worked HARD in a mill shop. Its been mills since. I m a lathe man! It's probably the romance of actually making a paycheck and enjoying the challenge a new career of creating tangible objects for my efforts. Oh-yeah I'm a butt guy. They always look better going away...heh heh.
 
I'm comfortable on both, but can easily get bored on either one depending on the job. In building dies and tooling, some require extensive mill work and others require extensive lathe work. Two weeks on either one straight, then I'm ready for a break and go to the other machine for awhile. The ideal job t me though is designing a tool, setting up the 3 axis, then go run the lathe while the three axis is running. The best satisfaction is assembling the final tool, die, fixture, or whatever it is.
 
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