Hello all!

I have been reading on this forum for quite a little while and decided to ask the many people in this forum about which benchtop mill to buy and how they bought theirs. Did you use cash, credit, a loan. I want to get one in the worst way. Any creative ideas will help. I will never be able to convince the wife that I can buy a $5000-$7000 "toy". How did you married guys pull it off? LOL!

Show her all the pretty things you can make for her with it :)

Grizzly X3 is a lot of mill for $1100 shipped:

http://grizzly.com/products/Mill-Drill/G0463

There are also kits available to CNC it.

CR.

This is the first thing I made on my mill. My wife now tolerates the mill.

I just got a catalog from Wholesale Tools today.
They are advertising a ZX40 that is only marginally smaller than this
http://www.wttool.com/product-exec/product_id/14840/nm/Geared_Head_Mill_Drill_Machine_with_Dovetail_Column
for $1295 plus freight. The stock number is 3006-0075. I would get this over an X-3 in a heartbeat. You will have to call them as it is not on their website yet.
Joe

I just got a catalog from Wholesale Tools today.
They are advertising a ZX40 that is only marginally smaller than this
http://www.wttool.com/product-exec/product_id/14840/nm/Geared_Head_Mill_Drill_Machine_with_Dovetail_Column
for $1295 plus freight. The stock number is 3006-0075. I would get this over an X-3 in a heartbeat. You will have to call them as it is not on their website yet.
Joe

the zx40 is a round column.
http://www.sabertools.com/images/ZX40.jpg

Round C= Bad.

Now if you want a good starter CNC mill, and it doesn't have to be huge--This $1700 Taig/Gecko is the most bang for a buck:

http://deepgroove1.com/cncmill.htm

CR.

Not the one in the sale catalog, it is listed as a dovetail column.

edit: Oops, my bad, looked at the wrong picture. ZX-40 is round column. So spend the extra money on the one I linked to. I would. That is, I did.

Joe

Not the one in the sale catalog, it is listed as a dovetail column.

Joe

does it have a photo? im more inclined to believe its a misprint unless theyve got more details.

That mill weighs 750 LBs. Hope he doesn't intend to set it up on Wifey's vanity.

CR.

Are you including tooling and measuring equipment, mounting accessories etc in your $5000-7000 estimate to the wife? lol I always lowball the wife on what it will cost and then add on as I go with any hobby, tell them the truth up front and get shot down quickly.

But really I see you new here and I don't know your background I just wanted to make you aware of the "incidentals costs" of owning a machine tool. Often they end up exceeding the cost of the tool itself so keep that in mind when you budget or you'll be looking at your mill wondering what you can cut now with your one endmill as you wait for the next one to come in ;)

As for now I have tiny stuff.. Sherline CNC I redid that was an old Spectralight and a Taig micro lathe. The way I plan to get around the wife and the cost is to wait out my daughter finishing school which will free up thousands for some real steel heavy tooling.

If you get the right piece of equipment and learn to use it well you can probably get some paying work at times to offset your costs but it will never cover them unless your doing big runs of parts which can pay for a machine with the right bid and then its all yours. Even big shops justify a whole machine for one job if that job will even payoff the machine for them.


Bo

I have most of everything else I need. I am the General manager of a large machine design and building company. I myself have aquired most of the tooling i need over the years. I was a machinist in a prior life. But to clear things up I realize all too well how much money is needed in tooling and support machines.

Wttool has the 3006-0075 listed, it looks like a round column model.


http://tinyurl.com/dyh2d6


Some of the guys here don't like the round column since it is difficult to index the head after moving it up or down.

Jeff...

That does look like a solid mill for the money. I have had my eye on the Syil X4 or the Seig KX3. But for a starter mill the Taig looks like it could do a little work. I just want a machine of my own because I miss making chips. I havent made anything in years. Being the General Manager I dont get the satisfaction of making anything anymore. I truly miss that.

The sale catalog listing for the drill/mill lists the specs and original price for the ZX45, mark it down to $1295, then picture the ZX40. Misleading ad. If I were in the market, I would call them to confirm it is not the ZX45 on sale.

Joe

Greatest advise I have ever heard.
"Its easier to ask for forgiveness, then it is to ask for permission"