I found this Ad, looks good, good price. Has anyone tried one?
http://www.microkinetics.com/express/?gclid=CLCOw_67vpUCFQZqswodsj4hQg
Thinking about one but would like to hear about it if anyone has one and how well it works.
Thanks
chollopeter

Pass on that for sure. Round column means limited Z travel without moving the whole head and reduced rigidity. Using the quill for Z travel is not good either; sloppy and less accurate than a standard setup (dovetails, linear rails) for milling. Overall this means the Z axis will not be repeatable or solid.

If you can save up some more, Tormach and Industrial Hobbies are much better options.

I agree, a Tormach is a much better mill in many ways. It would not take much more money than this to go that route either and in the end you would have a machine that is so much better its not even in the same class.

If you have the time to do a conversion the Industrial Hobbies mill is even better. Although it cost a bit more in a CNC package. But one could buy th emill and do the CNC conversion and have one very sweat setup.


I know its easy to say just spend more money when its not your own, but there wil be a hugh difference in what you get compaired ot this machine. The Tormach for instance would hit you for about another 12 to 15 hounder dollars ( its about $7480.00 ) and there would be a hugh difference compaired to this round column mill. The round column mill is more designed for wood working if I understand right, but even for that purpose the Tormach is going to out do it.

The Tormach is a very nice package that has been proven by many to hold up good, and be a acurate machine ( within expected limits). It is well deigned and for the money would be hard to duplicate or match. The only reason I would build a machine in this class is if the budget only allowed me to do parts of the build at a time, or I wanted a little bigger machine ( like the Industial Hobbies machine).


I am building a Enco dove tail machine. Its much like the one you listed but it has the dove tail Z column and a 2hp motor. The only reason I went this route is because I found a deal on a machine that was like new for cheap, and I can do the build in steps which will go along with my budget. This allows me to use the machine while still in manual config, and buy CNC parts that are better sooted for my application. This is really the only way I could afford to do it myself, so I am going to make the best of it so that I end up with as good a setup as I can. If the budget was there I would have bought a Tormach or a Industrial Hobbies.


The main thing is to take your time and do as much research as you can. If you plan to do any kinda metal machining this machine is limited in a lot of ways ( no pun intended) . Although there are guys on the board that have CNCed this exact machine, and they have learned to get around the limits and short comings of this type machine with good success. But there is no reason to spend money to go down this road if your starting from scratch. I would spend some time reading in the Tormach section of this forum, I thnk you will like what you see. If your budget is so tight that you could not reach the price of a Tormach I would suggest you go the route I have and find a good used machine and CNC it yourself. Its not that hard and you will end up with a better machine for cheaper. Plus the learning experance will be worth its weight in gold after your done. Or you might even look into the Seig X3 and X4 machines, they to would be better than going this route IMHO. Just spend a few weeks researching the different machines and there prices and capabilities and you will see what eeryone is talking about. I say weeks because it is a lot to take in and it gets very overwellming easy, so take your time and read alot. One thing is for sure, no matter what machine you end up with, you will always see a need tohave gone with a bigger machine.


Good Luck, Jess