Reasons to swing the head on round column mill?

Cadillac STS

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I'm probably missing something obvious here but can someone say why it would be necessary to swing the head around the round column? RF 30 or 31 for example.

People have added devices or alterations to make the head not swing like a square head. What are they giving up?

One good reason seems like is ease of production and ability to raise and lower like a drill press.
 
Sometimes an awkward piece may hang off the end of the table, or there isn't enough travel in the table to machine the entire part, so the swing may make that possible.
 
+1 on what 4ssss said. You can also clamp a long part to a angle plate and hang it vertically off the back of the table to work on the end. I've done it and it works great.
 
Not a rf round column owner yet but on the horizon. Could someone tell me if the headstock is swung 180 degrees to the back how much room is there from the spindle to the base. Have thought about building a rugged plate with travel,for height adjustment from the floor for those odd jobs like line boring or a part too big that may need a precision hole.
 
Ended up getting the jet jmd pfn18 with the power downfeed and extended column height (table to spindle distance of 26 inches. Really like it!
Here is a boring bar I was working on clamped to the side of the table.
 

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My drill press is a floor model and the table can be swung out of the way for drilling tall work sitting on the base. That is useful for tall but less fussy or heavy to cut work. A mill, like a mill with a rotating turret, or a round column mill, can do the same trick, usually with more power and better rigidity. Mounting the part for the job is where we must get creative. There are jobs that require thinking outside of the envelope from spindle to table, and even worse if you have true tunnel vision and only ever think from spindle to table mounted chuck (why do they make mill tables so long? Why does the turret rotate? Why does the ram move in and out?) Sometimes we need to think WAY outside the box to get the job done...
 
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