Anthony wrote:
Kirk Gordon wrote in news:46B2A061.4020103@gordon-
eng2.com:


They do, however, suffer from having exactly one
cutting edge in play at any given time, and they create tangential
forces on the workpiece which, though not as bad as lateral forces, are
still a bitch, and serously limiting.



I seriously disagree here

I routinely have 3, 4, 5 or more tools (edges) in the cut at the same
time on lathes, and on quite a few machines, they are on the same slide.


Nothing to disagree about, except that you're talking machinery, and
I was talking basic processes. If you had a whole flock of drills going
at the same time, you'd remove more metal than with the same number of
turning/boring tools.

Of course, if we're going to bend the rules a bit, then the best
tool for removing metal is a chip conveyor.

KG