Quote Originally Posted by PotatoMill View Post
If there is no forces there is no need for a big sturdy mill to cut steel for example.
Don't think I am getting at you, but have you actually tried turning the handles on a vertical milling machine?

It is very tempting to cut up hill and accept that the tool will bend in to the work piece rather than away, because cutting downhill it can run away with you. You are not so much pushing the tool as trying to stop it.
If there is any backlash everything has gone wrong before you get a chance to compensate.
You can try tightening the Gibb's to get something you can push against but that makes your arms ache. Perhaps that is the force you are thinking about?