rccarguy
Veteran
Location: Boston MA
My Posts This: Topic Forum | As far as combo machines go, this is really the only one worth considering, you'll need 10X the cost of a mini mill and a decent size garge for it though... http://www.shoptask.com/
For a small mill, these are pretty good, http://www.micromark.com/MICROLUX-B...-MILL,8102.html I have one to complement the 7 x 12 lathe in the garage. Both the small lathe and the mill are offered by a number of different vendors in the US, but they're all made in the same factory in China, just different colors and maybe slightly different knobs and buttons.
Couple things to keep in mind with any of the smaller oriental machines, don't expect a high degree of accuracy, and don't bother with their tool bits. I'd rather spend $15 on a good US made end mill that lasts for a while vs. a $4 Chinese made use it once and throw it away version.
The collet holder kit I bought for the mill had to be trued on the lathe before I could use it, you could see where they had mis-bored it during the manufacturing process and consequently it wouldn't hold the collets straight, you get what you pay for!  While the holder kit wasn't exactly cheap, it certainly wasn't high dollar precision equipment either
With careful setup and periodic adjustments on both the mill and lathe I find I can make just about anything within my ability and it works well enough 
XCell Spectra G
Radikal G20
Some obsolete nitro helis too... |
