I'll definitely agree that cnc has taken a lot of the labor out of the fraction but the old principles still remain . I've had times where I cut compound angles on 3 axis mills with stacked angle plates and a part mounted on top , I'd look at the drawing then look back at the machine with my head tilted to make sure I'm looking at things right lol . I'm sure your no stranger to that sort of thing on the manuals . Luckily I didn't have to do that too many times , It can still get ugly but it's just different .
Speaking of worn machines . I worked with a woman who was wicked on the manual lathe and the thing was shot , for the most part she always had that thing humming . The maintenance guy one day pulled the lathe apart with the intention of rebuilding it . The screw on the cross slide was shaped like an hour glass , and she still kept serious tolerances on big parts , she just knew her machine