Please help, which Lathe+Mill should I buy

[luismat]

first of all, congratulations for a very active forum.
I'm a new member and I do appologize if this question has been asked/answered before.

I plan to build wood chess sets (eventually in the distant future some in Brass) , some Pen turning and some pipe work

my question is, and I've been searching the net, reading books and especially forums and I'm more confused than when I started

Which machines do you recommend for the above ?
1-Sherline CNC Lathe and CNC Mill
2-Sieg X1 or X2 (although I think its to big) + Sieg c1 lathe and then convert both to CNC
3-Taig (Peatol here in Europe) and convert to CNC
other ?

The parts are all around 2" diameter and max 5" in length..so quite small and most will be wood

I'm confused since every site I read says a different thing.
-Some say the sherline is too small and a toy, others say it is surprisingly efficient
-others defend Sieg, by price vs. performance
-others say nothing beats the Taig

Wood is soft to machine and the precision I require is not that high considering the objective...

I'm lost
Thanks in advance !!!

[luismat]

I understand this topic might be boring or recurrent... but due to my specific need, I would really appreciate any comments and opinions

regards

[luismat]

no replies yet

[fourperf]

this is indeed a very informative active community. I think you should post in the mini lathe forum. You might have better luck there

Mark