bolton

[9W Monighan]

Take it from me don't buy small machines. They do have their place but for all around milling get a Bridgeport. You may find one for the same price as the mill you described. I paid $6000 for the one in my pictures with the 3 axis control. I did get lucky but just a manual version would be nice for you. You may ave to look for one that's not hammered like the one at my kids school they just scrapped.
Here's a link to my favorite shopping place for this stuff. I practically built my whole shop buying from this place. You just need to be patient for just the right deal to come along. One time I was going to buy another Taiwan knock offmill that was missing the head but what I really wanted was the cnc like mine only 2 axis but I him hahed too long and someone else bought it for $1000

http//www.hgrindustrialsurplus.com/

http://www.hgrindustrialsurplus.com/...Method=keyword

[ihbuilder]

yea I saw 1 go for under 4000 I wish i had the $ a week ago and yea like Steve said the little mill has its limits I'm looking @ a bp for under 1000 now but the guy said make an offer so well see pretty tight to .

IHSteve

[tracksntreadslou]

Hey henri..I have one of those cheap jap 3-1 ...1200 bucks at the time..Not alot of work done on it and things are not workig well and very difficult to hold work from moving when milling ...bearings are starting to make an awfull noise ...stay to the two seperate peices ......when i can aford it im changing over...I would rather sacrifice the room

[tc1cat]

Even though I have never used a 3 in 1, as a machinist I cannot recommend one to anybody. I would buy the lathe and then a mill if I was starting over on machines. A bridgeport mill is nice if you have the room for one. So is a floor model lathe but the same goes here-space! Table top equipment is great for the casual user when space is a problem. With most tabletop mills and with a BP you don't need to get a drill press. Just use the mill, most come with a drill chuck.