Awesome! I have a South Bend model 420 toolmaker restoration in progress, I hope to finish this winter. Old lathes are great.

Right on. Before getting into tech I was a carpenter and I always wished I had an opportunity to try my hand at machining.

There's an interesting parallel when you get to the edge of your measurement resolution--with a chop saw or similar it might be 1/64" but with a lathe it's more like 0,0005"--where the "eye" takes over and you're doing it by feel. It's the same judgments and reactions, although the effects are magnified by 30x, it's really the same skillset--steady hands, careful judgment, and measure twice, cut once.