Hard decision....4 axis mill for $2500.

Group,

Here's a hard one for me to decide on. Maybe some of you know this
machine type and controller.

The machine is a Berney (Swiss?) T38-CNC horizontal mill with a 4th
axis. The control is a Siemens Sinumerik. It's not clear if the
control is an 800, 810 or 820, literature for all those controls is
included. Delivery date of the machine was 1988.

The machine appears to be very high precision (so clean you'd want to
have it in the living room if you didn't have a wife). Travels look
to be about a 6 to 8" cube. Optical scope over the up to 50,000 rpm
spindle to observe the cutting.

The seller has never fired it up, but assures me it was running when
he bought it (and I trust him). It came out of a Siemens Medical
facility where it was used with diamond blades, some as thin a few
thousands to slice various material. Siemens replaced it with a 5
axis machine.

My main concerns are with the control, is it still supported by
Siemens and how expensive to repair, if needed? The seller thinks
it's a color graphic controller and the literature seems to confirm
that.

One downside is the machine's spindle. As it is there's no way to
hold a shank type cutter. The end of the spindle is about 1/2"
diameter with tapped hole in center, it tapers back for about 5/8" to
nearly 3/4" diameter. A number of wheel arbors are included.
Appears like some sort of standard grinding spindle taper. The
spindle is a cartridge unit, so the machine may have been offered
with different spindle types. With this spindle the machine could do
precison form or cutter grinding.

I know I could put the machine to work, I just don't have much time
now for a project and am not particularly interested in retrofitting
unless the controller was very full functioned similiar to what's
there now. Retrofitting with an equivalent controller would involve
more money than I'm willing to invest in this type machine.

Thoughts?

thanks,

Doug