Noob looking for little advice...

[magicniner]

Which confuses me as my digital readout on the lathe is X and Y. There again, the lathe functions perfectly well without a Z axis (do I hear a violin plaintively playing 'Hearts and Flowers'?)

That just means it's a generic 2 Axis readout that is not specifically made for a lathe and is thus incorrectly labelled for lathe use.
If it were a Lathe Specific model it would have lathe specific functions including Diameter and Radius display of X and a table of offsets for tools/holders, like this one-



That's my 0.75Kw, 20 year old Siemens Micromaster Vector on the left BTW ;-)

[cropwell]

That just means it's a generic 2 Axis readout

Yes I know, really it doesn't matter what letters you label an axis with, you could also call them Red, Green and Blue. I was just in a frivolous mood. I have the SINO SDS6 2V readout, it just seems to have more functions I have no clue how to use :(....... [sad old bugger dribbling].

Rob

[Neale]

That just means it's a generic 2 Axis readout that is not specifically made for a lathe and is thus incorrectly labelled for lathe use.
If it were a Lathe Specific model it would have lathe specific functions including Diameter and Radius display of X and a table of offsets for tools/holders, like this one-

I've just replaced a fairly ancient Anilam display on my lathe with a new Easson display, as well as swapping the old glass scales for new magnetic scales. The Easson display is switchable, lathe/mill. I was a little surprised when I set it to "lathe" mode and the 3-axis display became X and Y, as I was expecting X and Z. No big deal, just not the usual convention. It does have selectable Dia/Rad on the correct axis, and also has a tool offset table (although I'm not sure of the resetting accuracy of my quick-change toolpost).