On Jan 10, 1:01*am, "Bob La Londe" wrote:
"TwoGuns" wrote in message
.... However is a large mill capable of doing small jobs with
accuracy?

I do not see why not?

If it doesn't have a DRO you may have trouble reaching the X handwheel
or bumping the Y one while leaning close with a magnifier to pick up a
scribed mark. The 24" table on my mill is a good size for following a
line by eye. For me a 9" x 48" (?) Bridgeport is too big for this, not
that I'd refuse one. That one is CNC anyway but I checked in case I
found a manual mill the same size.

A properly adjusted Bridgeport (a 9x42 with DRO) can be set within
0.0002" fairly easily. To change the last digit I tapped the crank
handle with the chip brush. I had to alternately tighten the slide
lock a bit and tap the handle to lock it at 0.0000.

Uneven wear on the dovetails makes this level of precision hard to
hold. A smaller second-hand machine isn't as likely to have seen as
much production use, but you have to check carefully.

jsw