On 2013-05-14, Lloyd E. Sponenburgh lloydspinsidemindspring.com wrote:

It was cutting profiled grooves in large slabs of bronze, when I saw it.

I have no idea what the parts were -- if they were bushings, it seems
like they'd have been better made on a lathe, even if they were clamshell
style bearings. I also cannot understand the advantage of cutting the
bottom-side surface, where it's impossible to check the profile, except
at the very end of the slab.

It really looked like a dumb idea, but it was sitting there stroking
along piling chips on the floor, so they obviously had some practical use
for it.

I suspect that one advantage of that setup is the clearing of
chips by pure gravity instead of either re-cutting the same chips, or
needing air or flood coolant to blow them away.

Depends on how difficult it is to get the chips out from under
the machine. Perhaps there is a conveyer to do it automatically?

Enjoy,
DoN.

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