On Fri, 19 May 2006 14:24:11 -0400, Robin S. wrote:

There's
basically no chance that a Bridgeport/knockoff can reliably hit .001" in a
production setting, and it has to be setup correctly to hit even .001".

I am so glad to see someone write this. I've been struggling to get
better than that on some finish work. Am I just expecting too much?
Everything seems adjusted right, but I'm getting movement
from....somewhere. Nature of the beast? Flex? Cosmic rays? What
makes that be the inherent limitation of a tool type?

I think a lot of people don't appreciate how far off things become when you
have the right tools to measure them. The way holes are curved, plates are
not flat, cylinders are not round or straight, etc.

Ah, kind of like measuring pollutants. Used to be that
parts-per-billion weren't measurable, now people panic because something
is there. Always was, we just didn't have a fine enough tool to see it
before.