wrote in message
oups.com...

My question(s): Does anyone ever actually use these non-standard
positions for the mill?

While I've seen it done, I've never had occation to do it myself.

Doesn't the rigidity get lost at such long
lever arm lengths away from the table?

Knee mills of this type aren't very sturdy anyway, no matter how close the
head is to the base/turret. There are too many joints between the cutter and
the table. It's pretty easy to run such a machine so hard as to knock it out
of square. This is agravating, but then there are always comprimises.

Quills are nice, but they also cause instability as well. Mills without
quills are very capable of ripping down blocks, but they are virtually
incapable of drilling a hole.

Regards,

Robin