I have a lathe on board my boat and use it for a whole lot of things. Mostly because I built the boat myself and made most of the parts i need it to fix stuff if something breaks as I can't get things off the shelf.
Then come little side projects. Like getting this thing back up and running. Spare parts like worn shafts etc for these are realy expensive, so I made new ones for it out of stainless steel that will last longer as it gets used in water a fair bit.
the the little tool I made to re size rim-fire rounds to match the chambers of my guns and turn them into hollow points that will actually expand on impact.
Here is a pic of when I installed it on the boat.
Sitting pretty
Making parts for PCP air rifles for the target shooting folks is where it comes in handy as well.
Re crowning rifle barrels and the list goes on
The thing is that when you start working with lathes and mills. Get the best measuring tools and cutting tools that you can afford. I have easily more money in tooling and measuring stuff then what the lathe cost me.
ATB
Michael