Looking for a good mill for $5000 max

[coolboy499]

Hello everyone,
I am Sean and very new to this forum and I was wondering what would be a good 3 or 4 axis mill to get for gunsmithing that is at the max $5000-$6000.

[Stepper Monkey]

You will definitely want a rotary axis. An X3 variant with a good ballscrew CNC package and a rotary stage would fit just within that budget and work really well for the type of size, accuracy, and type of materials you would be cutting. We have a manual version of same in the engine shop for car and aircraft parts, and it's turned out more than one gun part in its time.

Larger or better quality mills are available, but might just be overkill for what you need and can run a lot more money unless you find a deal used. Something smaller likely wouldn't really be a good fit unless you are just focusing more on things like action tuning, jeweling, and making small internal parts and replacement screws. For that my local gunsmith is very happy with his little Sherline, but thats about all it can do - forget milling slides or anything.

[307startup]

Originally Posted by coolboy499 Hello everyone, I am Sean and very new to this forum and I was wondering what would be a good 3 or 4 axis mill to get for gunsmithing that is at the max $5000-$6000.

Sean,

Good 3 axis or 4 axis mill? Define good. Do you want it to be CNC ready? Do you mind a manual mill?

If you are interested in a good manual mill that will allow you to do a wide variety of gunsmithing projects, look into the manual mill from Industrial Hobbies. It goes out the door w/out shipping for about $2500.

If you are interested in a plug&play CNC mill w/4th axis capability, it would be hard to beat the Tormach PCNC 1100. Base price for the mill is $6800. Considering the work envelope is 50% bigger than the Syil X3 and is only $1000 more, that's my educated suggestion.

[Stepper Monkey]

Tormach would be a great choice in machine for gunsmithing if you can afford one. Base price $6800, but $10,000+ fully outfitted and with a rotary axis however. Still cheap by any measure for what it is, but maybe outside the price range you are looking at. It is certainly more machine, and very arguably a better value, but there is no $1000 difference or more people would own one - the difference starts at several thousand and works up from there. The difference in cost between the two is roughly double for comparable systems - whether starting right from base price or outfitted with identical accessories. Still a good option to consider maybe upping your budget for if you will be basing a business around it.

[307startup]

Originally Posted by Stepper Monkey Tormach would be a great choice in machine for gunsmithing if you can afford one. Base price $6800, but $10,000+ fully outfitted and with a rotary axis however. Still cheap by any measure for what it is, but maybe outside the price range you are looking at. It is certainly more machine, and very arguably a better value, but there is no $1000 difference or more people would own one - the difference starts at several thousand and works up from there. The difference in cost between the two is roughly double for comparable systems - whether starting right from base price or outfitted with identical accessories. Still a good option to consider maybe upping your budget for if you will be basing a business around it.

I apologize for misspeaking....quoting the Syil America website, the base X3 mill is $3995. The 4th axis add on is $595.

For my own purposes, there was absolutely no comparison between the Tormach and the X3.

But there are some pretty interesting options available for the X3 that are currently unavailable for the Tormach. The first to come to mind is the ZBot ATC & air-activated drawbar. Of course you're looking at a $1500 premium ($1700 after the introductory period is over) for that addition, but if you were wanting a pimped-out X3, that addition along with the spindle belt-drive upgrade ($120) (0-1700 rpm low range, 0-4300 rpm high range) would make one hell of a benchtop CNC mill.

[pzzamakr1980]

Hey Wyld, I think you are thinking of the x2. Those options are only available for the x2. The x3 does not have a plug and play atc available, nor a belt drive conversions available.

The x3 is a very nice machine, and the sx3 is a little better still. The sx3 is available from syil for 3995 cnc'd and with a fourth axis its 4500 plus shipping. I have a cnc x3, and am very happy with it. I did the conversion myself, but with the sx3 available already to go as a cnc mill I would just purchase that and save yourself the trouble of converting the mill yourself

As Wyld mentioned, if you only need a manual machine, purchase the Industrial Hobbies mill. Its huge compared to the x3 and it's ilk, and has more than double the travel in x and y than an x3. If you would like to cnc it later, Industrial Hobbies offers a kit that is nearly bolt on. Their stuff is amazing, and the mill is awesome. Its a special version (Hugely Beefed Up) version of the gear head mill available from grizzly.

The Tormach also seems to be a great choice, although I have no experience with it. And as Stepper Monkey pointed out, it is double the cost of the syil sx3.

If 5000 is your absolute ceiling, buy the syil sx3 for cnc, and buy a Industrial Hobbies for manual. If you need a 4th axis I have a nice one with a 4 jaw that I no longer need and am selling for cheap.

[cjdavis618]

Not knowing if you have a lathe or not. You might want to look at just the Tormach or IH mill. The reason why is for barrel work. The X3 table is to small for most barrel lengths and that will not give you enough room for the 4th axis and the tailstock to support a barrel for fluting etc.

Now, you may be looking at handguns and carbines only. In that case, The X3 would be ok depending on the carbine barrel length.