I agree ihbuilder
But I didn't find any ww1 lathe anywhere!
Seriously, I also think that the tool doesn't make the job by itself and a good builder can do incredible thing with very few tools. Many threads on this forum prove it.
Unfortunatly I never tried a manual milling, cnc is my first experience with milling
but I can understand what you mean by "crankink hand wheels" whe I'm using my manual lathe, and it's effectively a good feeling of working really on the stuff, more than via a computer! But cnc also help to make some shape easier, mostly for a newbie
Thanks a lot Big John!! I hope the results will worth it
Gaetan