Ran my old manual Bridgeport for 2 weeks while the Haas was down, and I kind of missed it
The VF-2 spindle drive blew out 3 weeks ago and the new one sat in a warehouse in Louisville for 9 days, so I cranked handles on the 1978 Bridgeport like I did at my first shop in 2004. Handwheels taught me to feel a cut in a way the servos never will, and I caught a chatter I would have missed on the screen. Any of you still keep a manual mill around for the feel, or is it just wasted floor space at this point?
Would you trust the Bridgeport for anything besides one-offs and quick fixes at this point? Mine earns its keep on slotting and those weird setups that take longer to program than just cut. Keep it oiled and it'll outlive us both.