Milling machine

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Ive been poking around the web and was wondering if anyone has used or own one of these small machines.. Are they worth it?  http://www.taigtools.com/cmill.htmlhttp://www.microkinetics.com/http://www.cncmasters.com/CNC%20Jr%20Mill.htm (this one looks pretty big)http://www.sherline.com/8540pg.htmVarious GrindersVictor Journeyman torch200cf Acet. 250cf oxygenLincoln 175 plus/alpha2 gunLincoln v205t tigLincoln 350mpEsab 650 plasmaWhen you can get up in the morning, Its a good day.Live each day like its your last.
Reply:well to me  a cnc machine is a cnc machine..big or small..i used to program prototrax equipped bridgeports..(we dont have any where i am now) but the real question is does it come with the software to do the actual programming?..prototrax...that costs xtra..and its on a "A" drive to boot!if you never did programming then your in for one heck of a time.."x" axis.."Y" axis..."Z" axis..clockwise...counterclockwise..stop here and change cutters..what is the cutter size?are you cutting on the left or right of the line/radius/anglecircle pocket or frame?square pocket or frame?and if you program it incorrectly it will tell you...so be prepared..it can be the biggest mind fart you ever had!...zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:Got it.  I thought it make a cool addition to my little shop.  I dont have any experience with lathes or mills but do have computer knowlege.  Its why I asked the question..  Building a PC for a shop enviroment and then using it to control a milling machine and lathe sounds kinda fun to me albeit expensive...But.. what could I do with it?  Besides making interesting and cool looking shapes that is...Various GrindersVictor Journeyman torch200cf Acet. 250cf oxygenLincoln 175 plus/alpha2 gunLincoln v205t tigLincoln 350mpEsab 650 plasmaWhen you can get up in the morning, Its a good day.Live each day like its your last.
Reply:if you can program it it will make it..no matter what it is..and another thing better be real good at triganometry..you will need it for radius's and LOTS of other stuff.....zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:Is it easier just to do mechanical grinding?  Is the cnc just good for repeating parts?I remember a bit of my f(x) class.  took a semester of calculus too.  Its just been about 10 years...  I even took a drafting class (mechanical engineering), but the school I was attending did away with the program (I went to night school), and I never followed through.  I should try and find a book on all the ins and outs about this.  Any suggestions?Various GrindersVictor Journeyman torch200cf Acet. 250cf oxygenLincoln 175 plus/alpha2 gunLincoln v205t tigLincoln 350mpEsab 650 plasmaWhen you can get up in the morning, Its a good day.Live each day like its your last.
Reply:Hey Doolittle,No I'm not selling a thing, and have no axe to grind, one way or the other.If your interested in that sort of thing than perhaps you might want to check out Grissly.com they sell that sort of thing also.Washman
Reply:thanksVarious GrindersVictor Journeyman torch200cf Acet. 250cf oxygenLincoln 175 plus/alpha2 gunLincoln v205t tigLincoln 350mpEsab 650 plasmaWhen you can get up in the morning, Its a good day.Live each day like its your last.
Reply:Ordered a couple of books to read about the process, both mechanical and cnc.Various GrindersVictor Journeyman torch200cf Acet. 250cf oxygenLincoln 175 plus/alpha2 gunLincoln v205t tigLincoln 350mpEsab 650 plasmaWhen you can get up in the morning, Its a good day.Live each day like its your last.
Reply:I don't have any of the lathes you mentioned, (don't have one, but want something a bit bigger than those) but the Taig and the Sherline both seem to be well made small machines.  A lot of people working on scale model steam engines, etc. use them.  Can't say anything about the others.Check this site out http://www.cnczone.com for lots of stuff on CNC and various machine tools.CNC is attractive for lots of folks (even hobby types) because you can do things with a CNC program that would be really difficult or horribly slow to do manually even if you only want to make one.  Think about complex shapes, curves, etc. and how hard that would be to do with the X-Y handwheels on a mill.
Reply:For scale model 'things', like scale railroad stuff or small steam engines or other small things, the Taig and the Sherline mills and lathes are both supposed to be good machines.  They are capable of some pretty fine work, because remember that a lot of the outcome from a machine is due to the operator!The small/mini/micro mills are -NOT- production-type machines, with the power and rigidity to hog out big cuts fast in tough materials using carbide cutters.  They are smaller machine that can work quite well within their capabilities.Having the machine be CNC means that for repetive work or complex shapes, you can let the computer control the machine and do the motion(s).  Most of the time, for relatively simple one-offs you could manually finish the piece on the mill before you could finish the CNC-code programming.  The major benefit to CNC is in complex shapes or production of multiple duplicate parts.Just note there that the Sherline mill is about 40 pounds soaking wet and 1/3 HP, and your listed machine from CNCMasters is ~700 pounds and 2 HP.  It is a LOT bigger machine than the Sherline.  The CNCMasters mill is also 2x the price of the Sherline CNC mill.  You have ~$3000 for the Sherline or ~$6000 for the CNCMasters mill?  And remember that tooling and stuff will easily run a lot more (you'll often and quickly spend as much or more on the tooling and stuff for the machine as you did for the machine itself!)
Reply:Have you considered a 3 in 1? Check out http://www.shoptask.com  They have a unique design with an additional support that is supposed to give greater accuracy in milling.They also offer a choice of Acme thread or ball screw-type leadscrews (ball screws are preferable for CNC work.  Also, they offer servos or stepper motors.  Machines can be equipped from the factory with Digitial Readouts, CNC, etc. or they can be upgraded later.