What mill to buy

[tc1cat]

After 25 years of running various CNC machines, I would get the biggest you have room for. I have 2 Sherline mills, 1 Taig mill, a Micromark larger mill, 2 Sherline lathes, and a South Bend lathe. The Sherlines have been worth every penny they cost. The Taig has been a BIG dissappoint for me- not as accurate as I thought it should/would be. The S. Bend lathe is a pre-WWII hobbyist machine with split bushings in the headstock not bearings but it is rather large- 9"X48". One of the Sherline mills is a CNC conversion by Microkenetics- I do not reccomend this company at all. I am presently changing it over to the Sherline system. Granted the Sherlines are smaller than a lot of the other machines and lighter by far. They will do the job if you are concious of their limitations. If I had to do everything all over again without the space limitations I have, I would get a floor model CNC mill and lathe.

Hope this helps?!?!?!

Lynn

[Peter B]

Thanks very much ,have never had a mill so all info is appreciated.

[Vanisle]

Have you checked out the BF 20/25 style mills. There are various versions but a popular one is the Grizzly G0704 (Grizzly sells out fast and always seems to be backordered). There is a fellow who is a bit of an "expert" on it and has created a DVD showing how to convert it to CNC (and also how to increase the spindle speed to 7200 rpm and to convert it to a Manual Auto Drawbar, etc.). Here is his website with lots of info on the G0704:

http://www.g0704.com/