DoN,

According to Bill Schwab :
DoN,

[ ... ]

Why would you need a 12" cross travel on a 10" lathe?

[ ... ]

I tricked you by talking mills in the middle of a lathe post - sorry.
My point was simply that I am struggling with what to give up in buying
another mill. If I could find an 8x36 with a 12 inch cross travel, I
would probably stop struggling.

Hmm ... what is the '8' of the 8x36 then? And what you are
calling "cross-travel" I would have expected to be called "Y-axis" on a
milling machine.

Same thing. I have seen cross-travel more often than Y, but that might
just be the particular catalogs I have on hand.

The particular mill I am referencing is Enco's model 100-1525. 8x36 is
the table size; the travels are 23.5x9.45. Both numbers exceed what I
have now, and it should be a step up. I was going to insist on getting
to 12 inches in the Y direction, but shaving 1000 lb off the machine
might be worth something to me. Iggie built a Clausing in the back of
truck but won't touch a ton - that tells me something.

Unless my mill-drill explodes, I won't buy a mill very soon. But, an
upcoming shelving task dovetails with selection of a work positioner,
other work (plus curiosity) has me thinking about a lathe. Apart from
simply being a metal junkie, it seems smart to think about what my shop
might look like in a few years. Questions like "if you later buy that
mill, will you need or want that much lathe" come to mind.

I don't mind spending money on things that I will use to advantage; I
hate wasting it.

Thanks!

Bill