Advice on low cost system

I'm a real newbie and interested in CNC for production of various
parts mostly of aluminum and I'm trying to determine if the smaller
machines like the MaxNC 10-2, Sherlines or the like are sufficient
for my needs. The MaxNC machines look very intriguing to me because
you can buy them as a completed unit and because I don't have much
electronics experience so I'm a little nervous about doing a
conversion of a non-CNC machine to full CNC but will pursue that
route if the smaller machines are too underpowered.

This is simply hobby milling/machining oriented so production speed
is not terribly important. I would like to be able to mill aluminum
up to 3/4 or 1" thick and want to be sure that the machine in
question can handle this.

I would also like to have the ability to mill round stock. Ideally
I'd like to be able to put a gnurled surface onto round stock as well
as standard threads - with the addition of a fourth axis will this be
possible with the smaller machines or will I need to go to a CNC
lathe?

Thanks for the advice