I have been looking to convert my EMCO Maximat round pillar mill attachment that came with my Maximat Super 11 lathe, into a table-top CNC milling machine. What's been making me hesitate, are the inherent drawbacks of the 80mm round pillar layout. Too much drag for z-axis stepper activation, and imprecision when the head's not clamped to the pillar before milling.

Then the local KMS Tools display of four or five woodworking square chisel mortisers caught my eye. For $350 to $500 you'll have a good cast iron baseplate with dovetail column to start off with. Better than starting off by hacking a small Chinese mill, which kicks off at $1600+

Has anyone done this before? I'd love to start exchanging ideas and solutions.
BTW I'm in North Vancouver BC